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Rehab before treatment

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Posted 7/28/2015 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
There's a story/article today on npr.com about starting rehab exercise before surgery, radiation, or chemo for cancer treatment. This story says that the treatments will be more beneficial if rehab is started and not waiting until after the treatments.

This sounds like something anybody would assume. But then it comes as a pretty big shock when you're told you have pc. People come to this site daily that have just received the news. So while you're deciding what treatment you will have go take a long walk and maybe stop and do some pushups and situps. Get pro-active. Piss on the beast.

God bless and have a great day.
Posted 7/28/2015 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Surgeon instructed me to come in in excellent cardio shape - that it would make his job easier, make me better handle anesthesia, make recovery smoother, faster.

As our guru Tall Allen said in another thread, it was good to have a way to participate beyond selecting a surgeon/hospital.
Posted 7/28/2015 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
I was thinking of initiating a new topic on this.  I saw a reference in some book that said physical therapy for incontinence before PC surgery was a good idea.  I located a therapist, and even though I'm now looking at SBRT rather than surgery, I followed through with the PT.  Wow; have I learned a lot about Kegels and the pelvic floor.  I was nowhere close to doing them right (and the therapist actually had me on ultrasound with a full bladder demonstrating what is the correct method.  IMHO, this should be the first recommendation for anyone looking at incontinence as a side effect.
Posted 7/28/2015 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
I'm a big believer in getting your body ready for whatever your body is going to face after any type of prostate surgery or radiation. I'm a daily treadmill walker at home so I made certain I did not "rest and slack off" before my RALP. I did a series of kegels three times a day to really get in touch with my body, especially when I urinated. I knew that if I could feel what was happening, I'd be better able to deal with whatever I'd face after RALP. Well, when the catheter was removed, I was dry and stayed dry. I really believe that my exercising before surgery (plus obviously the skill of the surgeon) gave me the best possible outcome.
Posted 7/28/2015 11:06 PM (GMT 0)
I weighed 220 when I receivd the cancer diagnosis.  Two months later, when they weighed me in the surgical suite, I weighed 200.  Daily walking, biking, and other physical activity did the trick (plus I lost my appetite when I found out I had cancer).  The surgeon told me later that the loss of belly fat had made his job much easier, and I'm sure it helped my recovery as well.  Five years later, I've kept the pounds off and weigh 205.
Posted 7/29/2015 10:48 AM (GMT 0)
I think the same could be said about learning how to and building kegel muscles before treatments as well...if I would have known then what I know now I would have done a lot more!
Posted 7/29/2015 11:03 AM (GMT 0)
I too went into surgery at top condition as I maintain that as part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, my 50 mile a week running program has given me a robust blood supply in my groin and pelvic area so I bled a lot more than the surgeons expected. shakehead

While I did not need or get a transfusion, they did keep me in hospital for a full week instead of "overnight" to make sure I had recovered sufficiently before release.

I had been doing kegels forever as I am 64 and things sag as you age. blush
Posted 7/29/2015 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
While our personal history and genetics play a part, I agree with the premise. Being in good physical condition before the trauma of treatment plays a big part in the recovery process, and I believe it makes a difference in the severity of the SE's.

Numerous times it's been stated that men who have ED issues before PC treatment are much more likely to have ED issues afterwards. The way I look at the ED front is that the treatments generally move someone "down the ladder" a step or two from where one was before treatment. In my case, for a while before dx, I was at a level of occasional impotence, that I put down to stress or fatigue. Not really enough to worry about, things worked pretty well most of the time. Today, everything works, and works well enough without drugs, but a lot more effort is required to get the desired result. Down one step. as it were.

Am I in great physical shape, no. I really need to lose 25-30 lbs. I need to get my cardio strengthened. In our town, a new recreation center is under construction, opening this fall or winter. Once it opens, I'm going to start swimming 3 times a week.

This also makes a huge difference mentally. When I went into surgery, I had been using the treadmill daily, been kegaling several times a day for a while, etc. I had done everything I knew to do to get ready. I knew I was going to get through it well. That made a huge difference, I believe.
Posted 7/29/2015 11:46 AM (GMT 0)
For the two months before surgery, I increased the amount I walked significantly and did kegels while I walked. I am not sure if this helped, but I had no leakage post surgery. I still do a lot of walking, golfing, etc. but quit running and triathlons (knees).
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