Back in August I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Three weeks ago on December 8th, I had surgery to remove my prostate.

This place is nearly all dudes and of varying races and ages and we're all going to have to deal with our prostates sooner or later. I figured I would create a thread so if anyone had any questions about my journey through all of this, ask away and I'll be happy to share my experience. Or, if anyone else has had prostate issues and was willing to share, feel free to add on. Prostate cancer is something that is easily treated with a very high cure rate, provided it's caught before it starts spreading outside of the prostate.

If no interest, then this thread will drop by the wayside (but not the oasis) and we can go on with our lives. Get your PSA tested!

I wish you all the best.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good luck with your prognosis, I hope it works out. How old are you out of curiosity? My dad was diagnosed but they found it too late and it had spread past his prostate so removal was not an option
unfortunately. I don't remember exactly how long he fought it but I believe he hung in there for about 7 years or so. Eventually it spread to his spine and liver and he passed in 2018 at age 69. Agree with your sentiment to get tested earlier rather than later.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What were your initial symptoms or did they catch it via a physical ( urine test, PSA number )

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Thanks Brick!

I'm 55, actually got the diagnosis just prior to my 55th birthday. Should work out just fine for me.

EDIT: I'm sorry to hear that you lost your dad to it. Condolences to your family. Hope that he was surrounded by family when he passed, and I hope he was as comfortable as possible.

You and if you have any brothers will have to watch your PSA values. My urologist in Illinois said that for every "immediate" relative (brothers, fathers, your father's brother(s)), your chance of cancer increases. My uncle had his removed 15 years ago, now both me and his son have been diagnosed.

Thanks for sharing this.

I will pray your recovery is complete.

Echoing what you said, a yearly PSA test is a good plan.

_________________

Actually started about 10 years ago. I was getting up a bunch of times in the middle of the night to piss so saw my PCP who put me on meds which didn't help much. Went to a urologist who did a microwave procedure to shrink my prostate. At the time, my PSA was about 3.2 which was high for my age but normal for me with my enlarged prostate. Also had a biopsy at the time which was negative. The procedure helped me but wasn't going to last.

Fast forward to May of this year. I had been struggling to empty my bladder for the past couple of years so I went to a urologist to have it checked. Figured I would need some sort of TURP or equivalent to shrink the prostate. Got a PSA test and it ended up being 4.9 (but had no other symptoms) which is pretty high for my age and higher than previous. Because I already had a biopsy, my urologist recommended an MRI assisted biopsy. So, got the MRI which showed one lesion highly suspicious of cancer and one other which was not much. So, had a biopsy and of the 8 cores they took of the highly suspicious lesion, 6 were cancerous. What was also pointed out during the MRI was that my prostate was growing into my bladder, obstructing the urethra and thus, I couldn't fully empty my bladder. So after consulting with a couple of surgeons and radiation oncologists, I figured that surgery would kill two birds with one stone so I opted for robot assisted laparoscopic surgery to remove the prostate.

EDIT: during any physical exam of the prostate (and I have had too many the past 7 months), nothing unusual was felt. And after they removed the prostate, they didn't see anything outside of the prostate capsule so it's very likely it was confined to the prostate.

Should be getting the official final pathology any time now.

Thanks, Seacrest. Will know in three weeks if I am cancer free. Takes about 6 weeks for PSA to fully leave the body so when I get my PSA checked in three weeks, if they got it all, I should have a 0 for my PSA. If it's anything but, then that means rogue cells and I'll have to get radiation treatments.

a couple three years ago I had to run bunch of tests because my bladder felt like it had become the size of a pea. In the end my PSA was good, not even slightly elevated and my prostate "felt great" according to the urologist. I didn't think it felt great. Gave me some antibiotics as there was some sign of infection and something else and told me to drink a ton of water and it hasn't been a problem since.

I’ll be sure to start asking. I’m 45 now and it didn’t come up in my physical. Unfortunately I lost my younger brother 4 years ago so I’m the only male left. Again, glad you caught it in time.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Not a fan of it.

Good luck with your recovery, The Division.

_________________

Dang, man, sorry to hear about your brother.

When I lived in Illinois, my urologist, due to family history, suggested that around 45 (maybe even 40 if there is a strong family history) is when you should start monitoring PSA. Hopefully, you can get one done the next time you're getting a physical.

Another reason I posted all this stuff is because guys typically don't take care of their health as much as they should. I got PSA tests regularly up until about 2014 (was living in the UK at the time) then I got PSA tested in 2016 and 2017 (I'd get one during my work physical) but after 2017, they didn't give us physicals at work any longer, so I didn't get one for four years. Not too smart on my part. Could have detected it earlier, I suppose, and with my bladder obstruction issues, could have gotten it taken care of before now. But what's done is done.

Thanks, Peeps.

Good to hear that, DS. Hope it stays that way for you. When I was living in Illinois, a couple times my PSA was higher than my normal (one time it was 7.7 or so), my urologist would prescribe antibiotics then have me get another PSA test. Both times it came back down to my normal.

I hope you're ok. I'm going to schedule an exam.

they took your prostate? Does your shit still work after they do that or is it no sex from here on out.

Good luck with that. One of my guys from school passed about 4 weeks ago from Cancer. I think I noticed that something was going on with him about 4-5 years ago at least as there was a noticeable weight loss. Just figured that he knew and really didn't want to talk about it. Turned out that he didn't really know. He waited until he couldn't breathe (in August of this year) before going to the doctor. When he finally went for a diagnosis in August he was already at stage 3 for Lung Cancer. He tried to put up a fight after that but it was pretty much over by that point and died in Nov

_________________

Honestly I'm in the same boat as most guys, I hate going to the doctor. It's irrational, but it's something that has always bothered me to a great degree. And I have to do better.

Thanks for sharing Division and the best hopes for a full recovery. And to everyone here who has lost friends or family, I'm really sorry for your losses.

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

My dad died from it in 09 from Cancer of the bladder.. He swore me to secrecy when he was diagnosed. At the time they gave him 6 months to live. They advised him to have surgery and so he did. After he had surgery he found out that he didn't need to. After that he said screw you to the doctors and began crashing on a ton of holistic self help books and medicines. He also changed his diet and became a Vegetarian. It helped him tremendously. Instead of 6 months he lived another 6 years until he died in 09.
I won't say that I have a distrust of doctors. but I do always keep in the back of mind that they are in the "for profit" business too. And as the old saying goes "there isn't money to be made in the cure, there is money to be made in the treatment"

_________________

That's a great idea! while getting a DRE isn't the most fun thing in the world (well, maybe it is for some), it only takes a few seconds and it helps them determine if anything breaks outside of the prostate.

Little did I know the first time that the D didn’t mean numerical .

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

They did take it. Two major issues after surgery is incontinence and ED. Incontinence happens because the urethra is severed from the bladder and then it's sewed back on, so those muscles have to heal. Today is three weeks post surgery for me and two weeks with no catheter and lying down and sitting, the incontinence is much better. It's when I'm moving around that I still get some leakage. It is improving, though, and can take up to a few months. I expect that by April, I should be about back to normal. There are surgical procedures that one can get to help with this as necessary.

The ED/sex portion: I'm shooting blanks now because they remove the prostate and the seminal vesicles so there is nothing to store semen or sperm so no more birth control needed for me and my wife. Since the prostate is very close to the nerve bundles that control erections, there is a bit of trauma done to those nerves, even if they use techniques to spare those nerves (which they did for me) and they need a bit of time to heal. Can take up to 18 months to get to a point where a guy can have an erection, but outcomes vary depending on age, health, if you had ED prior to surgery, etc. They usually prescribe Viagra or Cialis and have patients use that to help. If that doesn't work, penile implants are a fairly routine surgery to help those who cannot get it up (less than 10% of patients need the implant). Boner on demand sounds pretty good at my age...

I'll check with my surgeon in three weeks but I'm ready to have a go of it and see what happens...

edited for typos

Thanks and sorry to hear about your friend. Guys don't do well with managing our health unfortunately.

Thanks RR, yeah, totally agree about the hating to go to the doctor. My urination issue was so bad that I figured that a doctor visit couldn't be as bad as my bladder obstruction. While I got news I wasn't expecting, now it's dealt with from both the cancer and the obstruction, as I can now go like a racehorse!

I’m guessing the frequency at night is abated too ?

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Sorry to hear about your dad, Link. Glad he got a lot more than the 6 months he was initially given.

Without a doubt! Earlier this summer, I would get up probably 4-5 times, barely emptying my bladder each time. Now, especially if I don't drink a lot of liquids at night, I can go all night without getting up. The information I got is that it was recommended to not drink after 7 pm so that your bladder muscles can get used to collecting more fluids and thus, you can hold it in better. But, during Christmas when I was with friends and family drinking, I did not stick to this regimen and ended up getting up once to take a leak. So yeah, MUCH better!

Blood work was pre any treatments so it was good baseline. Its about time I head back for a more complete physical anyways though. Follow up was good too as the urologist wanted another test. I'd say thank god for insurance but I don't think I hit the deductible. That guy had terrific bedside manner. And huge knuckles and the touch of a brick layer.

I am lucky in having a good family history when it comes to cancer. high blood pressure and cardiac stuff not as lucky but so far so good there. But now that 50 is getting closer I know that is when my folks had to start dealing with issues so its only a matter of time so. My GP tells me I'm helpful but he is also the town Vet and the hardware store owner so you never know.