A couple of years ago, I started an “ask the cancer patient” thread. A couple of months ago, I was diagnosed with a different kind of cancer. So, what the heck? Let’s do it again.
As before, I heartily encourage anyone else who is going through treatments, or has been through it, to jump in. Background:
The first time (7 years ago) was large B-cell non-Hodgekins lymphoma, treated with chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody treatments. It was successful.
This time, it’s prostate cancer, treated with a robotically-assisted radical prostatectomy. It was probably successful. We don’t know yet. I’m still recovering.
Ask anything you wish. I’ll probably answer, unless it’s about my sex life (I post here under my real name). If you are going through what I am, feel free to PM me. And, men, if you’ve never had a PSA test, turn off the damned computer and go get one NOW!
The radical prostatectomy is the removal of my prostate gland in its entirety, including some surrounding tissue. The “robotically assisted” part means that there were cameras and lights inside my abdomen, and the surgeon was using waldoes (a remote-operated gripper and scissors) with an immersive 3D display to do the work. It’s more accurate and requires six small holes instead of one big one.
My uncle had this procedure about 1 year ago and it was totally successful, including a resumption of a successful sex life* (I know this can be an issue with prostate patients), so here’s hoping your outcomes are as successful as his!
*What can I say, my family has boundary issues.
Sixteen months since mine (also robotic), and still no measurable PSA. Wishing you at least as good a result.
(Oh, and assuming you have a catheter, I would suggest having a “coming out” celebration when you get it removed. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it was damn near like being born again.)
Not directly related to your cancer, but do you have any issues with insurance and billing. Is it a pain for you to get your treatments paid for? I know a lot of people express getting the treatments paid for is a loophole of paperwork?
There is hope for lymphoma patients ,even when things look grim. A friend, 46 years old now, was diagnosed with lymphoma 3 years ago. He went through standard treatments and went into remission. It lasted 7 months and came back much worse.
This time they did a stem cell treatment that was as close to torture as a human can go through. He went through extreme radiation to kill all the cancer cells in the stem cells. They extracted and cleaned the stem cells for a while ,until they accumulated enough . Then he was radiated killing his immune network .He was in a plastic tent in the hospital. The stem cells were then re-injected. It has been 9 months since he was found clean of cancer.
He is back playing racketball and golf. He has not returned to work yet.
He had a scare ,when his neck swelled looking like lymphoma was returning. His quarterly checkup up came and the doctor checked him out. He said he had a blood clot. Kirk said “alright '. The doc said a clot could kill you if it migrated to a bad spot. He said” I don’t care , at least I don’t have cancer’. It cleared and he is doing fine again.
I have been told by my oncologist that a third of the people they treat get a blood clot somewhere. Apparently it is a common side effect of both cancer and chemotherapy. I had a deep venous thrombosis and am being treated with bloodthinners on top of the chemo. At least I can’t feel any side effects from the bloodthinner except a little pain where I injected the last dose.
I’m not very active on this site but I’ll check to see if I can answer anything. I have (or had before the operation) cancer in the colon and am almost through with the chemo.
First I want to wish you a speedy recovery and good luck.
I don’t know much about prostate cancer, but I thought I’d read or heard recently that some doctors were taking a “wait and see” approach with prostate cancer. Apparently some prostate cancers are so slow growing, something else will kill you long before the prostate cancer gets you.
So my question is how did you make the decision to have a prostatectomy? Was it because you had cancer previously or did you have a fast growing prostate cancer? Did your doctor discuss a wait and see approach, or was it pretty clear cut that your prostate had to come out?
I had an aggressive thyroid cancer a few years ago, so there was no debate in my case. I found out it was cancer on a Monday and on Thursday I was in surgery.
Thanks for all the good wishes and good thoughts. I won’t be back to 100% for months, and I am still having issues, but I’m vertical and the prognosis looks good.
No sugarcoating. The first time, my doctor called me after a biopsy (I was at a trade show in Las Vegas) and said, “come home. You have an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow.” I pretty much spent the next few days in shock, and told them to start treatment ASAP. I’m not scared of things I understand, but I knew nothing of chemotherapy and the anticipation was awful.
With the prostate cancer, it was easier to take. I also appreciated having a procedure with a 97% success rate, as opposed to the 50/50 chances I had with the lymphoma.
True. Treatments like the monoclonal antibodies that I got with my chemotherapy are amazing.
True. It can take a long time. Had I been 72 instead of 52, I might have made a different decision. The thing is, prostate cancer is relatively easy to treat when it’s confined to your prostate, as we think mine was. Every day you ignore it is another day that it might spread to your lymph system or bone marrow, at which point it becomes a serious bitch. The operation and the recovery aren’t pleasant, and there are risks of serious side-effects, but all in all your odds are excellent. Cancer in your bone marrow isn’t good.
I was told by a MD that every man will eventually developed prostate cancer, if he lives long enough. But some men would have to live to age 175 to develop prostate cancer.
My paternal grandfather died of prostate cancer, at age 70. He had 6 sons, all served in WWII and all of the lived until at least age 80 but none had prostate cancer. AFAIK. Son #4, my father, is the only one still living at age 89 and has never had any prostate problems
I am 49, and as of my last checkup earlier this year, everything is A-OK.
Another comment on getting tested for prostate cancer: According to my surgeon, if you have an immediate family member (brother or father) that has had prostate cancer, then your chances of developing it are double the population at large.
Insurance companies are pushing doctors not to perform PSA tests as a part of a regular checkup, because they are usually negative and the insurance companies view them as a waste of money. I requested one anyway, and it caught the cancer that wouldn’t have been detected otherwise. Get tested, men!
