just diagnosed

[sailorguy]

Hi everyone!!!

Just found out that I have prostate cancer. A DRE in a regular checkup led to a visit to a specialist, another DRE then Biopsy, PSA etc. Got results and had discussion with the doc regarding options. I just turned 55, am in pretty good physical condition with no other health issues, we caught the little bugger early, so am going for the surgery option.

Could have gone in for it in July, but waiting for September, as it works out better as far as getting time off from my job, as opposed to going on medical leave. Doc says no big deal to put it off for that short a time.

I do not pretend to be an expert on this disease, all I do is HAVE it. So am relying on the uroligist to give me sound advice and hold up his end of the project. Apparently he is pretty good, for what that is worth....

I have to be fit, well and free enough to sail down to San Francisco from here (Vancouver) to take part in a singlehanded ocean yacht race out to Hawaii, then sail back home again, by next summer, about 6,000 miles all told. I am assuming this will not be a problem...comments???

Any hints regarding post-op recovery would be helpful. Anything pro-active one can do to help it (recovery) along???? Have booked 8 weeks off work for it - hoping the worst will be over by then.....Work is somewhat physical, I run a crane so lots of climbing ladders and changing cables. Is this long enough???

Also, back to the incontinence thing here for a minute....What do you use for diapers/pads??? I know nothing about this.... do they fit in regular clothes or do you need to buy new stuff??? This would be a good idea to do before surgery if required. I live on my own, so how limitied are you in the first few days home after the operation?????

I am sure I will have some more questions as time goes on. Will continue to check in with this forum and as time goes on to be able share my experiences with others.

bye for now....Jim K

[grynch55]

hi Sailor...what to say...where to begin....first of all welcome (?) to the club.
I'm a 52 year old male. I was diagnosed with Prostate cancer back in March and had daVinci assisted prostectomy on May 14th.

diapers...I have had very few problems since my catherter was taken out 6 days after surgery.. I did wear pads for a few days but I had no problem with fitting them under my clothes...I did of course have to change from my usual boxers to "tighty whities" for awhile but that is hardly a major complaint

recooperation... my doc gave me the approval to go back to work 3 weeks after surgury ( for personal reasons I extended that for a couple more weeks ) and when I asked him about cycle riding he just looked at me and said why not. I was a little nervous about getting back on the saddle and while I havent done much more than a few slow rides I've had no problems at all with that ( some here have described discomfort and pulling issues )

oh.. and the delay in returning to work ( I go back tomorrow ) my wife and I have just returned from a holiday in Crete and while we were not doing and active sports we were swimming everyday and walking into the nearby town for dinner everynight ( and staggering home ... Ouzo anyone? )

You sound quite fit now, so I think the key for you is finding a good surgeon and , well....leaving the bits up to him

have you investigated as yet various surgery options... open, laparascopic, davicni assisted ( I have become rather evangelical about davinci but I can appreciate where each has its supporters )

good luck and of course let us know how you get on.

cheers
greg

[grynch55]

p.s.... its hard to say but for a physical job I would say 8 weeks sounds about right

and as you live alone.. I would try to talk your doc into a few extra days in hospital...living over here (switzerland ) I had the relative luxury of being able to spend a week in hospital recovering. My brother back in boston had the same op in January and was sent home from hospital less than 24 hrs after the op. I couldnt imagine doing that myself and certainly not doing that to go home to an empty house

[aus]

Most important thing is to find the very best surgeon available to you, regardless of which kind of surgery you choose.

This aspect can not be over stated, as choice of surgeon often has a huge impact on prognosis.

Robotic can have some short term advantages, however a top surgeon usually has his patients out and about in a relatively short time even with open surgery.

It's worth reading a good book on the subject: there are several worth reading, but as you have chosen surgery, the book by Dr Peter Scardino would be ideal.

John

[able5]

Originally Posted by sailorguy

Hi everyone!!!

Just found out that I have prostate cancer. A DRE in a regular checkup led to a visit to a specialist, another DRE then Biopsy, PSA etc. Got results and had discussion with the doc regarding options. I just turned 55, am in pretty good physical condition with no other health issues, we caught the little bugger early, so am going for the surgery option.

Could have gone in for it in July, but waiting for September, as it works out better as far as getting time off from my job, as opposed to going on medical leave. Doc says no big deal to put it off for that short a time.

I do not pretend to be an expert on this disease, all I do is HAVE it. So am relying on the uroligist to give me sound advice and hold up his end of the project. Apparently he is pretty good, for what that is worth....

I have to be fit, well and free enough to sail down to San Francisco from here (Vancouver) to take part in a singlehanded ocean yacht race out to Hawaii, then sail back home again, by next summer, about 6,000 miles all told. I am assuming this will not be a problem...comments???

Any hints regarding post-op recovery would be helpful. Anything pro-active one can do to help it (recovery) along???? Have booked 8 weeks off work for it - hoping the worst will be over by then.....Work is somewhat physical, I run a crane so lots of climbing ladders and changing cables. Is this long enough???

Also, back to the incontinence thing here for a minute....What do you use for diapers/pads??? I know nothing about this.... do they fit in regular clothes or do you need to buy new stuff??? This would be a good idea to do before surgery if required. I live on my own, so how limitied are you in the first few days home after the operation?????

I am sure I will have some more questions as time goes on. Will continue to check in with this forum and as time goes on to be able share my experiences with others.

bye for now....Jim K

You mentioned "relying on the uroligist to give me sound advice and hold up his end of the project"...

That's the most important advice you'll get because we don't know your condition, HE DOES! Since most of us here on this forum are not urologists and don't know your specific issues, all we can do is share our own personal experiences and wish you the best.

I do heavy labor and quite a bit of outside work. I'm a lineman for the local phone company. I was away from work for 9 weeks but could have gone back at 6 weeks. For guys that do office work and "drive a desk" most of the day my uro says they usually go back to work in 4 weeks.

When it comes to Kegal exercises, I'm lazy and never really got serious about the minor incontinence issues that I have. I still wear a pad (Depends Guards for Men) a day for the minor dribbles that still exist. Not a problem under clothing but you have to wear them with "tightie-whities". Maybe some day I'll consider it important enough to work the Kegal routine and get back to 100 percent. Right now I'm at about 98 percent regarding leaks. Regarding ED, I'm back to my pre-op performance!

You say about your doctor, "Apparently he is pretty good, for what that is worth...."

Good at what?