New member to the zero club

New guy here.

First, thanks to management for the forum and the many members for sharing. The community here has helped me grasp some of what this journey is about. Other than one friend who traveled this road two years earlier, I did not know of any local support. I've gained perspective on how blessed I've been to have an early diagnosis, and so far, recovery ahead of what statistics might say. My wife has been pure gold.

I'll add a signature later, but I joined the PCa brotherhood after a biopsy in May 2011. Over a few weeks RALP emerged as my best option. In July 2011 the diseased tissue came out. Surgery went well and the pathology came back reporting clear margins. Relief! Catheter was out at 1 week, followed by plenty of pads for another week or so. Things improved in fits and starts from there. By the post op followup at 7 weeks the pads were gone and PSA was 0.03. Today was my 4th post op PSA. Zero point zero one!

The next challenge is ED. HealingWell has helped me set realistic expectations while learning far more than could be grasped in the haze between biopsy and surgery. Insurance has been little help on this aspect, but samples from the doc plus VED rehab have show some life is there. I meet with my urologist next week and am expecting a good discussion about the next steps.

Explorer59

Fantastic news! Welcome to the Zero Club! Celebrate!

Best of luck...this is a long strange trip!

Hero

Welcome Explorer

Your history is very similar to mine, diagnosed May 11 and Ralp in July.

Let's hope we can both keep hitting those zeros!!

Welcome to our fraternity that you didn't have to rush to join. Sounds like you have been lurking around in the shadows for some time.  I had my RALP last June and until I joined HW I had not talked to another man who had PC and surgery. Do not forget the first round of drinks in the zero club are on you tonight.

Terry

Thanks to all for the welcome. I'm really glad to see several mention RALP and a string of zeroes. May you all have many more zeroes to come!

Terry, I first found the forum while looking for validation of what my uro and surgeon / oncologist were telling me on treatment. Once the surgery and initial recovery were in the rear view mirror, I decided a better understanding of the longer term effects was needed. So yes, I came back to lurk, gleaning bits and pieces. Then the mental aspects of this deal started getting heavier. Part of that was discovering that insurance did not consider ED as a result of cancer treatment as a covered condition.

My doc told me to not over-think it and give things time, as continence was largely a non-issue and PSA was tracking good. Once I started to read more than search results, I realized that there are plenty of guys in a similar boat. Some are worse off, a few are better. Most importantly for me, I realized the importance of time in managing expectations about ED recovery. So, here we are.

Tomorrow will be the follow-up office visit for the latest PSA, and I expect my uro to support discussion of Dr. John Mulhall's ED treatment protocol.

Explorer59