Happy about your Prostate Cancer Treatment

Unfortunately the Internet is not only a source of sobering reality, but at times a source of overly negative exaggerated anecdotes and incorrect information ( I remember reading that with my stats I could expect to live 10 years). With this thread, I hope to provide the potential visitor/newbie with a glimpse of our positive anecdotes.

I've read a ton of outstanding success stories on this site. The circumstances and level of success may differ, but they all share a positive outlook and a self perception of success.

In my case, I am 30 months out of surgery and my PSA is currently still undetectable. This is my primary focus and am grateful to still be scoring a zero. Understanding this may change anyway, even though I've been advised it probably won't, I have also developed a greater appreciation for my life and the people I care about. I believe this to also be a positive effect of my treatment.

I was extremely fortunate to be continent from minute 1 and although I feared this would change as I aged, so far no signs of things getting worse. Only when I eat asparagus (three/four times in 30 months) do I unexplainable develop a sense of urgency which lasts about 10 hours.

I was also very fortunate with potential ED issues. I had sex with a full Cialis induced erection 30 days out of surgery and was able to ween off ED pills within the end of the first year post op. Short of dry orgasms, sex is basically the same. If anything, slightly more mechanical but I attribute aging to that too.

I suffered mild depression and PTSD after the diagnosis and treatment but that has also seemed to go away.

I think my PSA anxiety is better. I was paralyzed by this in my first 18 months but it seems to ahve gotten better. I still want a tattoo of a Japanese dragon with the sword of damocles in its mouth though.

I was prepared for the worse when I chose treatment but so far have been rewarded for my choice. I feel that the benefits of treatment are not only related to my disease but also to my outlook on life.

If you have anything positive to say about any aspect of your treatment, whatever that treatment may be, including Active Surveillance which includes tests, please share some of your personal experience here.

If you have nothing but negative sentiments about your treatment please start a new thread :)

edit - changed lurker to visitor as suggested later on in this thread.

Post Edited (davidg) : 8/15/2013 6:34:53 AM (GMT-6)

I guess I can post here, my positive does outweigh my negative.

I'm still learning so please don't confuse my ignorance with negativity.

RP- So far I'm ok with it having little to no incontinence issues I will call 10% which is slowly getting better on my 5th. week.

ED ? Being a chicken I wont know anything about nerve sparing till the 23rd of this month when I see my surgeon. (It still don't work)

I chose the RP over RT only because I was told I wouldn't be able to chose surgery if radiation didn't work.

What I would have changed? Not much except gaining more knowledge when I was diagnosed.

Im still a little scared about my first pSA on the 16th. I just know it wont be good.


I believe I still made a good choice.

Had cancer, got treated, got cured.

No ED problems, no urinary problems, no cancer.

Thank God we live in an age where men can beat this if they catch it early enough. A few decades ago a lot of us would be in Potter's Field by now from this darned disease if not for modern medicine.

Heck yeah I am happy about it!! Happy to be alive!!!

So far I have the triple crown: Cancer free, no incontinence, and good sexual function without meds. While I certainly wouldn't wish a cancer diagnosis on anyone, I feel very fortunate at this point. If I could ever get over the PSA anxiety part, I would say my life is pretty much normal.
For me and my personality, surgery was the only choice--and one that I would do again.

Tom

davidg - sure with a thread like this, many will report good and bad, a few fortunate ones may have all glowing remarks, but have a feeling they would be rare. Most have had a least some issues, some more than others.

With me, since I had both surgery and radiation, and both failed quickly, leaving me with a PSA of 60.x as of April - hard to see a win in any of that.

Surgery left me with all the stricture and catheter time issues.

Radiation left me with an Urostomy, chronic fatigue, and severe chronic pain - no win there

The only glowing thing, the single greatest positive, is the miracle of having zero ED, either post surgery or post radiation, and still true to this day. Like you, aside from dry orgasms, my sex life is identical to where it was pre-PC. I realize I am in the extreme minority on this point, but forever thankful I have something good come out of all this darkness.

Despite my own troubles, always aware that there are those still much worse off than me, for starters, I am still alive. Some of our own brothers can't even say that, rest their souls.

But being a pragmatic person by nature, it is what it is. I feel neither blessed or cursed, simply a case of the cards I was dealt, and I still try to make the best out of them, though with the relentless pain issues, its hard to have a sincere smiley face most of the time.

david in sc

I'm not happy with the 10 years it took to find my cancer or the knowledge of doctors over this period. I also feel that if I had followed the recommendation of my surgeon I would not have had the same results. It was just a fluke of luck that my wife mentioned my DX to her doctor and he told her I should not do anything until I had a consult with Scholz/Lam.
That consult changed everything and turned all I thought I knew about PC around. The treatment changed from surgery for a low volume G6 to Brachy/IMRT with 9 months of HT for high risk cancer.
I'm more than satisfied with my treatments as I have had no SEs and a consistent 0.1 for over 4 years.

Casper,

I was glad to see you post. I had noticed you hadn't been around much lately, and was hoping that wasn't a bad sign. Good to see you here at HW once again.

Hope you are doing ok, all things considered.

david in sc

just glad you are doing ok, my friend. since I am not real handy, come to sc and I could keep you busy for days. been waiting 5 years to have my wife's new kitchen range vent, actually vent to the outside of the house, but too afraid to cut into the wall, lol. Being left handed, I am a walking disaster around most power tools.

Ms WW,

That was funny...

Tony

TC-LasVegas said...
Ms WW,

That was funny...

Tony

It was intended to be.

Glad you caught the humor.

Very happy. I believe I am getting the best opportunity for a long term durable remission with a minimum of side effects. The only side effects have been from the HT and I had my last Eligard shot two weeks ago.

I'm OK with my treatment so far. Surgery went very well for me, few SE's. After 12 months I had salvage radiation and 12 months ADT3. Radiation was a walk in the park. ADT3, not so much. But it appears to have done the trick. Since I am over 24 months past the end of HT with an undetectable PSA. Treatments have worked for me so far. Only think that I would have done differently, was the SRT. The pelvis was raditated but not the lymph nodes. If I had to do it again I would have the whole thing done at once.

I'm very pleased with the outcomes of the surgery that will be three years ago one week from today.  I'm completely continent and have none of the urgency I had prior to surgery.  My weight is down 15 pounds, my golf game is a stroke or two better than last year, and I think I'm a little better looking . (plenty of room for that!)

I feel great for a guy who's celebrating his 68th birthday today.  In fact, I'll remove the qualifying statement and simply say, I feel great.

I'm grateful to my conscientious primary care physician, to my uro/surgeon, to my wife who pestered me to seek treatment, to the DaVinci machine, and to all my friends who, for whatever reason, seem to think it's somehow special that I've waged this (thus far) successful battle against cancer.

I'm also grateful that the cancer experience has allowed me to know you great guys and gals here on HW.  Bless you all, and as Bud might say, "Let's all beat this crap."