Would to do it again? Have surgery that is

Yes and Yes again

Explorer
This is a very valid point
"I will point out though that the 2+ years from before diagnosis to present day may well involve some loss due to simple aging. As a result a straight up before and after comparison may not be entirely valid."

However prior to surgery I didn't need ED meds and my Surgeon was certain I'd get back to my pre-surgery abilities. That never happened. In fact after 3 months penile injections failed, even though I didn't have venous leak. So in my situation I remain very disappointed where I landed post-surgery with erectile functioning.

zampilot said...
Considering the life altering, permanent life changes would be a slow painful death from PCa, yes, I'd do surgery again, no problem.

Of course, but those aren't the only choices.

 As I said, the more I see here on HW, the less I understand why surgery continues to be viewed as the so-called "gold standard" and as the treatment pushed foremost and and hardest.

Andy Grove of Intel challenged the gold standard back in the early 90s and came up with his own plan -- BT, HT and EBRT.  I've shared this link many times over the years with guys struggling to make a decision but like I said earlier many guys "just want it out".

http://www.phoenix5.org/articles/Fortune96Grove.html

ed

 

I think I can safely vote a resounding Yes for my hubby! :)

While he still may be at 50-60% (which is 'enough'!!) with the ed, and still wears 1 pad per day for confidence; he's just as °frisky° as ever! ;) One would never guess by his actions, abilities, or attitude that he ever had an issue with pc. I am very proud and appreciate how he's handled it all.

In our situation it seems attitude is everything, along with maybe a wacky sense of humor too! ;)

We remain very thankful that he had the surgery. And very thankful I discovered this board just prior to his surgery!

Yes, I would do it again. I still have all the side effects but I knew that going into it and accepted the gamble. I found out much more about my cancer with a post-op pathology report. In fact, I was quite surprised at had bad it was and my Gleason was upgraded as many men are.

I found no use in keeping a cancerous prostate in my body. I have a back up plan if I need it for recurrence.

I joined Healing Well 2 weeks before surgery but my surgery date had been chosen weeks before joining.

Bill from Florida

I was 40
My margins were clear
I was continent from the first minute
I was working again in a week - ten days
I was having sex with meds within 30 days and without within months
I have scored 0s for 3 years (keep crossing fingers)


What do you think? Do I regret it? Would cognitive dissonance have anything to do with my opinion or would facts and results have more to do with it?

There are various wonderful treatments, surgery clearly being one of them. There are circumstances in which one form of treatment is probably better than another.

Post Edited (davidg) : 9/19/2013 7:57:08 PM (GMT-6)

RickRed40 said...
Casey59,
You raise a great point. I'm leaning toward believing most men react to the news of PC based on their own experiences with other people living and dying from a diagnosis of cancer. I think the stats are already in. It's an established fact that too many men are choosing aggressive treatment when their diagnosis doesn't call for it.

I have another question on my poll and maybe men might answer some of these questions as well. If men would copy paste this into their answer and put a check by those which are true, so it would look like this if it applies, and I'll give my answers:
X I'm less interested in sex - AS IF
X My erections aren't as hard - NOPE, exactly the same
My penis is smaller - NOPE, exactly the same
X During sex I leak urine - Never have in my life
X I enjoy sex less - Quite the opposite. Sex rehab, and the excuse to rehab opened up new things for us and helped us break down walls and taboos with the result of having a really great sex life currently. I enjoy it more now than ever as does my wife.
X I feel less manly in the bedroom - not at all and my 20+ year relationship with my wife is way too sound to fall in that mental trap.
X The intensity of orgasms are diminished - Seriously dude, quite the opposite. MAny men here have described the new orgasm as being akin to female orgasms (waves/duration) - No complaints here.
My erectile abilities remain the same or better - Exactly
My enjoyment of sex remains the same or better - Isn't this getting redundant?
My interest in sex remains the same or better - yes, redundant...
I don't leak urine - nope
My level of hardness is the same - dude? Didn't we all just answer these above?
The intensity of orgasms remains the same or better - and they're dry too...
I'm happy with my sexuality post surgery - Yes I am. I am not happy with taxes and trying to soar like an eagle while working with some turkeys.

Thanks for so many responses so quickly - Are you sure you want these responses? Looks liek you're searching for other responses.

RickRed I'm a Brachy guy but wanted to throw something out here - what do you expect those that chose surgery to say, that they regreted it? They did their research, made THEIR decision on what THEY felt was best for THEM, and went for it.

I'm not at all surprised at the results you're getting on this thread. The guys weighing in are well versed and made the right decison for themselves. I'm glad to see no regrets out here!!!!!

 He told me that with surgery I'd be immediately incontinent and suffer ED but with radiation it would be 3 years before I was incontinent and had ED. So, I was going to get to the same point anyway but more slowly. 

whoever told you that is not someone i'd want treating me.  i'm three years past treatment and I've never been incontinent one day and my ED is fully corrected with a mild dose of Cialis.

ed

 

Rick,

As a G9, I really had no choice, so my answer is yes.

I think the problem is the way most determine their man hood, by their ability to get hard and have sex. I would maintain we are wrong, and need to really consider what makes us men.

I wonder if the guy who cut his arm off with a pocket knife to save his life feels like a freak ? Is it possible he feels like a a for doing what he had to do to save his life.

There are many HW guys who have consulted with professionals to deal with some of the feelings you mention. It s not uncommon.

Good luck to. Enjoy your years of life.

John T said...
Cognitive dissonance is alive and well. Ask the same question of radiation and Brachy patients or even HIFU patients and you will get the same answers. They are all happy with their choice even if it didn't work.

John, there are literally dozens of cognitive biases that are alive and well. Among them:

Availability cascade – a self-reinforcing process in which a collective belief gains more and more plausibility through its increasing repetition in public discourse (or "repeat something long enough and it will become true")

Confirmation bias – the tendency to search for, interpret and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions

Empathy gap – the tendency to underestimate the influence or strength of feelings, in either oneself or others.


Sorry, but telling men here that they are happy with their treatment is simply a result of cognitive dissonance and not a rational and personalized choice is dismissive and, in my opinion, less than productive in fostering mutually beneficial discourse. One could easily counter the accusation of being prey to cognitive dissonance by accusing the messenger of being victim of confirmation bias or many other cognitive biases that exist. Would get us nowhere.

I would repeat my exact treatment because in my personal case, after very careful analysis and consultation with experts, it made sense. This is further reinforced by the fact that the treatment worked (so far).

It's like my car. My lease is running out. I like my car. It has performed well. I have the option of replacing it with a different car. But I will probably lease the same car again. Not because I have to justify the initial lease, but because that decision has worked out for me (other than gas consumption).

Davidg, I couldn't agree more.  I tend to cringe whenever someone tells a guy who's feeling good about his situation, his choices, his treatment, his outcomes, that he's exhibiting cognitive dissonance.

we we do have some guys who place themselves on pedestals around here.

ed