Going in next Thurs Apr 23

Scheduled for robotic surgery at Mount Sinai in NY, i really feel this is the right choice for me and i found one of the best surgeons, but can't believe how stressful this is. Hopefully next Thursday at this time i will be on the recovery side.

Age 56 dre on 12/22/08  psa 3.4 on 1/12/09  psa 3.8 on 2/13/09               biopsy on 3/9/09   diagnosed on 3/23/09   3 out of 12 pos. gleason 6

JT

Hi Jake,

All of us here went thru the stress and fear that you are experiencing right now and believe me, we can all sympathize with you. The days before surgery are the worst that you'll probably experience with this disease with perhaps the exception of the the pre PSA test result days.
I'm sure everything will go very well and I'm looking forward to greeting you on 'the other site' in about a week.
All the best to you and hang in there. Stay in touch.

Magaboo

Hey, Jake

If you weren't a little nervous, or even angry, I'd be a little worried. We have all gone through the same thing as you, and, trust me, things do get better. I'm about three months out from surgery and seem to be dealing with the recovery quite well. Continence is total, ED has it's moments, and my golf game still stinks. But I've been told that will get better, too. Surgery is what it is and it does take time to get back to feeling somewhat "normal." Do the exercises, eat what you're supposed to,(soft diet upon returning home and increase to semi-soft when you feel comfortable), take any medications needed, and get busy healing. Follow the doc's orders...no hedging on that...and good luck. Let us know.

Bob

Hello JT. I just went through surgery two weeks ago. It is VERY fresh in my mind. You need to concentrate on the thought that this surgery will remove the cancer from your body, and that will make the post-op worth it. Also, you have to release your grip on self control, and trust the surgeon to be able to do his job, as he has many times before. Placing my fate in the hands of others was the hardest thing for me, but I feel SO much better here "on the other side", improving every day. You will too.

Jake T said...
Scheduled for robotic surgery at Mount Sinai in NY, i really feel this is the right choice for me and i found one of the best surgeons, but can't believe how stressful this is. Hopefully next Thursday at this time i will be on the recovery side.



Age 56 dre on 12/22/08 psa 3.4 on 1/12/09 psa 3.8 on 2/13/09 biopsy on 3/9/09 diagnosed on 3/23/09 3 out of 12 pos. gleason 6


JT

Why the big rush? Your numbers don't warrant it, you have plenty of time before needing treatment. You should not go into treatment feeling so stressful. Take your time look at all options and then when only comfortable with your decision should you schedule your treatment whatever it is or isn't. Your saying you feel that radical surgery is the right treatment for you sounds more like you're still trying to convince yourself. That's only natural so give yourself some time to really feel that way. There are no do overs after a radical treatment make sure you are absolutely convinced you are doing the right thing. You were diagnosed less than a month ago, no wonder you're stressed. Some people take more time shopping for a car than you're doing in choosing major surgery.

Hey Jake,

It's natural to be nervous about surgery. A lot of guys worry, is it going to hurt (not until you wake up, and then you're on painkillers), is it going to work (odds are good), am I going to survive (odds are really good).

It might be helpful to read about what the experience is like. There are some posts around here somewhere; they might be hard to find. I can remember being wheeled into the OR, and everyone was pretty busy, kind of ignoring me. The room was bigger than I expected. The anesthesiologist said to me "You'll be asleep in 14 seconds." I asked "Should I count down?". "Sure, you can count," he replied. "Fourteen, " I said, and next thing I knew, I was lying in a different room. Had an urge to take a leak really bad, so I tried to get up. Someone or something held me down. Then I realized, I'm supposed to have a catheter in me. Kept nodding off and waking up for who knows how long, maybe hours. I barely remember being wheeled to a hospital room. Lucky for me, my wife had just arrived, and we were happy to see each other. The nurse I had was great, he checked up on me often, making sure I had pain meds if needs, and anything else. I wasn't really coherent until the next day. Riding home in the car was not so fun. Felt every little bump. For that matter, sitting down was not so great for a while. I'd either lie down or make sure the chair I chose was very soft.

Good luck.

DJ

You're correct Billy. I'm not giving any medical advice I'm just suggesting he slow down from rushing into anything. I say that to all. In fact the only regrets I've seen here have been from a few who later wish they would've taken more time researching. From Dx to treatment this is such an emotional time for all of us. No way should anyone make a decision when one is the most vulnerable. He doesn't need to have it done ASAP. He should postpone it. He can always get it done a month or so later. Many experts, not me advise upon dx you take a breath and calm down. Hell if I would've done what I thought was best a few weeks after dx I would have major regrets now. Like I've advised many here. When it becomes overwhelming due to info overload take a week off. Go somewhere or just try to put it out of your mind for a week. Later upon deciding I also suggest wait a few days after to reflect on that decision then go ahead without looking back. He was just dx less than a month ago.

Hey Jake (and to all others who will be following in your footsteps now and in the future),

I was debating on mentioning this (since it might be intuitively, blatantly obvious), but one thing you can do to relieve stress during the months, weeks, days (ok even hours) leading up to your surgery is to have as much fun with your wife/partner as possible. After all, it is probably going to be a lonnnnng time before lovemaking will be the same again.
Also, since you ARE stressing out one other thing that is useful to do is ask your Uro, PA (and any other Docs you have available) for some samples of L, V and C.
Not only will this help you work thru any stress induced ED, but will also give you some invaluable knowledge about what might work for you on the other side when you start rehabbing on the ED side.
If your doc asks if you have any ED symptoms you can always claim YES due to your current stressful state and as I said that you would like to see how they work before surgery so you'll better know what might be expected in the months afterwards.
(That said, L and V worked great for me in small doses before and so far 2 months out I am presently getting nothing out of any of them --full doses or beyond -- but at least I know they DID work).
So, you still have time and you probably need no real appointment, just call and ask and see if they'll give you a bunch for the rest of your days leading up -- and maybe even some for afterwards -- to keep the blood circulating etc etc.

Hope you like this advice!

Jim

To all, thanks for the feedback and good wishes, some mentioned the information was sparse and is was so there is the expanded version. After my initial dx by my urologist, a friend who is a MD recommended a second urologist which i went to, from there i went to Dr Goluboff who is Director of Urology at Columbia Presbyterian in New York who does rrp. Next day had an appointment with the Chief of Robotics in Mount Sinai in New York who has done over 1800 rrp. He is the only one that performs the surgery and has been working with the same operating room staff for 10 years. I did research on cryosurgery and brachytherapy and know there is only minor discomfort with these procedures but i ruled out these options out because of my age and the results of salvage surgery if needed in the future. Thanks again and good luck to all. Jake

Age 56 dre on 12/22/08 psa 3.4 on 1/12/09 psa 3.8 on 2/13/09 biopsy on 3/9/09 diagnosed on 3/23/09 3 out of 12 pos. gleason 6 1st core 80% 2nd core 40% 3rd core 2%

Hello Jake, and welcome to your new extended family. Living in New York, I know that the chief surgeon at Mount Sinai is an excellent doctor. You can view him on Youtube. He will make you feel assured and confident with his background and knowledge in this field.My husband had his surgery at Brooklyn Hospital by the chief surgeon there, Everything is going well.. just waiting for next appointment to check his PSA level. But, being that my husband works at Mount Sinai, he decided to keep this personal matter under wraps. Needless to say, I would have prefered he had the surgery there. Take care,, and remember, This to shall pass.. Bless you...

May today mark the first today of your cancer free future. All the best in your recovery!!