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Steven
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Any surgery is nothing to take lightly.Prostate surgery is major surgery,that is why it is recommended to have a couple units of your blood banked before hand.My father had surgery with the two main side effects plus other complications and he went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.That is one reason I sought out another option,proton beam therapy.Please check my previous posts.I would be happy to send you a book on Proton treatment and a DVD from Loma Linda University Medical Center if you get me your address.At our US TOO meeting last week there was discussion on Da Vinvci surgery.A study done down in Portland by Oregon Health and Sciences(I think) indicated that there is a significant percentage of cases that have cancerous tissue left behind after DaVinci surgery.I am sorry I don't have the details but it is worth checking into. Surgeons want to practise their craft.How much practise do they need? |
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kdm731
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I know surgery is not to taken lightly and is the reason I am trying to collect as much data as possible from people, who have either had it or from those who chose other options. I think I read your other posts about your treatment at Loma Linda and I know you strongly recommended it, my address is : Ken Michaels, 5317 N. Kenmore Ave., #2A, Chicago, IL. 60640 I appreciate your help and input. Thanks. I am a single 64, white male, who has recently been diagnosed
with prostate cancer. My PSA was 7.1, but has also been as
low as 3.1. My Gleason score is 6. I recently went to Mayo
for a consult and was strongly advised to get a prostectomy.
I am scheduled for surgery in April but am quite frightened
and unsure about this. |
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hawaii
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kdm, just a few further thoughts on what srciaran has offered. I totally agree with his diet emphasis, I have been on a very healthy diet ever since my diagnosis nearly a year ago. My thought is that the good diet will markedly slow any progression, no matter where one stands in the realm of prostate cancer patients. I have not read anywhere that your Gleason of 6 is unlikely to worsen over time, as he suggests. Maybe we should read more about Gleason. Overall it seems to me that your PSA is considerably higher than his. And though you may well be able to forestall aggressive treatment for some time, you want it before cancer cells leave the prostate, and we don't have any good way of knowing when that moment approaches. The DRE taken by your urologist is a good marker, but not definitive. Catching this early means the surgery will not have to take any of the fragile erectile nerve bundle in order to eliminate the cancer. That plus avoiding the need for followup radiation should give you a good return to normal erectile function. And a top quality surgeon will assure a return to excellent urinary continence. For sure there are many cases where surgery is costly in quality of life, but my reading indicates that those cases are generally where the surgery is not so timely or the surgeon is not of the highest quality. And I recognize that it is difficult to evaluate surgeons. And a good personal rapport is not sufficient, in my mind. Your homework will pay off for you.
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srciaran
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kdm, I don't disagree with anything Hawaii has said. Your PSA is twice the 10%-of-volume marker used to call the cancer "low grade." But you have time to make sure you are making the right choice. I sense the panic you are feeling, and you have to get past that before you can feel good about the decision you make. It has to be a decision you can live with. It's hard to feel empowered with something like this going on, especially when you also have to deal with the dehumanizing medical/insurance maze. Two things that have helped me are knowledge and improved diet and exercise. I keep a composition book and write down what I learn. And eating better has been hugely helpful. Despite this, I am more easily stressed than I used to be. It was worse before I started eating better. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Take the time to learn, to get healthier, and to select the best surgeon you can find. You have nothing to lose by doing any of these things. |
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kdm731
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At this point I am a mess. I mean that. What I thought was a reasonable, well researched decision has turned me into wondering if I know what I am doing at all. I've been rereading my pathology reports, calling my doctors at Mayo and asking how many cores were cancerous and what about margins, etc. Maybe I shouldn't be so honest here but if not here, where. I'm not a doctor, many of you have gone through this and yes you are sensing my panic because I am. I feel overwhelmed and unsure about everything. Sclaren. this is not directed to you because I think you are trying to help without pushing. Yes, all the red tape is horrible, realizing the changes in my life are difficult, and I am feeling very stressed. I am a single 64, white male, who has recently been diagnosed
with prostate cancer. My PSA was 7.1, but has also been as
low as 3.1. My Gleason score is 6. I recently went to Mayo
for a consult and was strongly advised to get a prostectomy.
I am scheduled for surgery in April but am quite frightened
and unsure about this. |
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hawaii
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kdm, you are single and don't have a wife as a support. those of us here can easily relate to your stress and confusion. but we are distant. I hope you have one or more close friends with whom to share your medical situation as well as your emotional state. you'll get your feet solidly underneath you again, soon I hope. But I advise you to reach out to your friends, if you can. |
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srciaran
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The realization I finally came to was this: Cancer is just a word for a whole range of diseases that share some common characteristics. What is not common to all is this: not all cancers are a death sentence. I keep running across this phrase: "living with cancer." I think that is an important and brilliant thing to consider, because everyone here is doing that right now, from those of us who have not yet done anything, all the way up to those who underwent treatment and are still unsure that it was completely successful. We're all in the same club. Millions of people are living with cancer right now. And every one of us panicked, second-guessed our decisions, and fought our best and worst instincts. You, kdm, are not alone. I apologize if anything I have said here has caused you distress. Obviously, we all want to help, or why would we be here? I truly don't advocate any approach. I ask myself every day if I am doing the right thing... and most days I feel pretty good about it. Not every day. I think things could be worse for you, kdm. A lot worse. At the very least, you have the Mayo Clinic on your side -- one of the most respected medical institutions in the world! I think you are doing the right thing in asking a lot of questions. Your doctors should be accountable, in that they should support their reasoning, and should be able to defend the choices they recommend. Keep your chin up, buddy -- you will get through this!
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Steven
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Ken, I have sent you two links directly to your email address,one on a CBS News story on Proton Therapy and another by a journalist from MSNBC who had robotic surgery. Mike Stuckey's story is just a matter of fact journal of what he went through.This is far from a horror story.I have met Mike here in Seattle and he is doing fine on all accounts. I am mailing Robert Markini's book "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do It" and the new LLUMC DVD to you today. Once again,check into the US TOO support groups,they are all over the US and can be a good resource. You will beat this. |
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