5 year surgery anniversary

Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of my PC surgery. I was diagnosed and treated at age 41.

My PSA has remained “zero” since the surgery. I’m 99% continent since a few weeks after the surgery. I managed ED with injections for the first year or so, then pills for another year or two. Today, I get perfectly fine erections naturally, but choose to supplement with 10mg Cialis for kicks Even my surgical scars have faded so much that I can’t find them any longer.

My only notable lasting effect from PC/surgery is dry orgasms, mild peyronies (loss of length, but no curvature) and difficulty achieving orgasm - which was not a problem prior to surgery and unclear why PC surgery contributed/caused this.

I am very fortunate and very thankful.

Gedman

Excellent!!!

5 done and 50 to go!

Andrew

Gedman, nice post, congratulations. Hope you get another 5 years, then another5, and another5, and another 5.

Hey, what comments did you ever get from Tewari about the PSA going to .03 then back down. If you remember, we both started to rise at the same time. Except your ent right back down, and I'm at .06.

Seeing Tewari on Friday

Pratoman said...
What comments did you ever get from Tewari about the PSA going to .03 then back down?

I never discussed it with Tewari. His staff said that .03 was still "undetectable", so I saw no reason to discuss with Tewari unless I had consecutive rising PSA much higher than .03 level.

Gedman

gedman said...

Pratoman said...
What comments did you ever get from Tewari about the PSA going to .03 then back down?

I never discussed it with Tewari. His staff said that .03 was still "undetectable", so I saw no reason to discuss with Tewari unless I had consecutive rising PSA much higher than .03 level.

Gedman

Thanks Gedman. I have a hard time with that. They told me the same thing, they consider it undetectable until it gets to .1. But the test detects it. .01, .02, even .03 I can understand, its just noise, beyond that, i dunno. JMHO.

In any case, I'm really glad for you that you are at a true undetectable.

deerslayer said...
Can you share with me what was your deciding factor to go for the radical surgery? Thanks

I chose surgery for a few reasons:

• I met with Dr. Ash Tewari (world renowned PC surgeon) and Dr. Michael Zelefsky (world renowned radiation PC specialist). Both of them recommended surgery as my best option for the following two reasons:
  
• I was (and still am) young and in excellent physical shape with hardcore gym workouts 3-5 times per week. The doctors and I were confident that my body could tolerate surgery and recover well.
  
• The most important deciding factor: Since I was diagnosed at age 41, I was focused on living another 40+ years after treatment. But there are no studies on such long-term success rates and long-term risk factors related to treating PC with radiation. Consider the math: The average age of a guy diagnosed with PC is 66 years old, and the average life expectancy for men in the US is 76 years old. Therefore, even if researchers wanted to investigate 20, 30, 40 or even 50-year outcomes of guys treated with radiation - most of the patents will have died of old age long before they reach the 20/30/40/50-year milestones.

There is a bit more detail into my decision process in the "Intro" and "Plan" links below in my signature.

-Gedman

Pratoman said...
I can understand, its just noise, beyond that, i dunno. JMHO.

I hear you. And I'm not suggesting that my approach is correct and yours is not. Every guy has to do what is right for them.

I considered two factors:
1) PC is a slow growing monster. I chose to wait longer for a more clear trend to develop, and felt the risks of waiting were small, especially since my surgical pathology report indicated that the PC was contained and my Gleason score was 4+3.
2) I'm an engineer, and I recognize that maintaining precise and consistent calibration of extremely sensitive equipment is difficult. Therefore, I'm comfortable attributing the small increases and decreases in my PSA history to calibration drift, unless a clear trend proves otherwise.

-Gedman

Yay Gedman! Good for you! You are 1 year ahead of me!