New here, glad I found it

Hey Y'all,
I just found this forum this morning and it looks like a Ton of great info. Since there is no "new member intro" page like some other forums, here's my story. I was diagnosed in early November 2013, 4 of 16 regions were G6 (3+3) stage T1c. This was discovered AFTER Low T treatment brought on the typical warning signs. I did what I thought was a lot of research online, but obviously found gaps in that research after I made my decision (a lot of info to digest).

Had nerve sparing robotic surgery last month with so far great results - The G scores were confirmed to be accurate by the pathologist report with no obvious cancer breach of the prostate. Just got my cath taken out yesterday and am now dealing with leakage issues, but from what I've read here and elsewhere, its within reason for my situation.

Great site, Im sure I'll be lurking here if not posting.
Thx all

Thanks Tom,
Im now convinced that getting the Low T treatments and the resulting prostate symptoms are what allowed me to get diagnosed early. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Im sure Im like so many men that knew Very little about it going in, other than its Cancer which to the uninitiated, equates to an eventual death sentence. Now, after what I do know and am still learning, I am an eager advocate of PSA testing early and early treatment.

Now, for me its on to phase 2 - bladder control.

Welcome aboard Otis!
Sounds like a good path report and you are settling in on your recovery.
Keep up on your walking and preparing to deal with the ED issues.

Good luck in your recovery!

Bill from Florida

Peter,
The symptoms I had were what I would call the usual warning signs - weak and interrupted urine stream, increased frequency and urge to go, as well some minor pain at urination. What prompted me to get it checked out was my primary care Dr told me when i first went in after my Low T diagnosis, was that the Axiron he prescribed would not cause PC, but would feed it if it is already there. My primary care Dr has a family history of PC, so he was very persuasive in getting further testing done.

These symptoms came on in a very short period of time (about 2 months) where they werent there before. My PSA was still relatively low @3.5, but it did go up from the pre-Axiron testing. They ran a "Free PSA" test which came back @9.1 along with the normal PSA test and that plus my age(56) are what prompted him to recommend a biopsy. Initially, they thought it was more likely an enlarged prostate and not cancer, but the biopsy came back positive.The rest is history as they say.

Hi Otis,

I'm glad you were confirmed as a G6. If you have to have PC, that is the one you would select if given a choice.

Did the doctor ever mention having an enlarged prostate? While weak/interrupted urine streams can be symptomatic of PC, it is usually a classic signature of BPH.

If so, you were much as I was -- extreme BPH in my case that was making urination very lengthy and difficult. It was almost a blessing when G6 came knocking on my door because the surgery took care of both problems (including, hopefully, the cancer).

Wishing you the very best of luck & health,
Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Pathology showed Gleason 3 + 3, pT2c, N0, MX, R1
adenocarcinoma of the prostate.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, 9/9/13 PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Firm erections now briefly happening in early mornings, 2 years post-op.

Otis,

Yeah, a lot to absorb, both pre- and post- treatment. But there is a lot of knowledge on this board, so feel free to drop in and keep us updated with your progress.

You are past the hard part now, and you are rid of devil incarnate, aka catheter. Your stats look really good, so here's hoping you have an easy and complete recovery.

Robert

Hey Otis,
If you haven't noticed already - these are a great bunch of guys that all got voted into a club we didn't want membership in!

You have passed a major hurdle, I have the day I got the catheter out marked on my calendar. That's a huge step to feeling normal. Congrats!

As far as the leaking, for me it was the part I thought about the least before surgery and yet the part that was hardest to handle post op. The good news is it gets better every day. I am 10 weeks out and dry. Erections are about 90%.

Baths and hot showers became my best friend for the first few weeks after my catheter was removed. I just hated the feeling of being damp all the time. My wife was very caring and compassionate in every area except this... I think her comment was "Welcome to the world of every teenage girl!" I laughed... she was right.

I would advise measuring your leakage improvement by week rather than by day. Trying to figure out if you leaked less today than yesterday is a tedious drill. You will be able to see the improvement week by week.

Your doing great! We're praying you have a quick recovery.

MoMo