New and nervous

        Hi everyone, diagnosed about three weeks ago so i guess my journey is just starting but is moving fast. The initial shock has passed but we still have some sad moments its nice to have others to share with. R.P is all set for Nov.21 at Mayo Clinic  Rochester, Minnesota. God Bless.  John and Tracey

John W. Age 50,

Diagnosis Date: Sept. 06

PSA      5.6

Gleason   6

 

 

Yes, the waiting will be frustrating, but will go very quickly. The ups and downs are normal - if you want to call all this "normal." The good news is, you have time to get in better shape, do regular kegels, and generally get your body and brain ready to move on to the other side of this. As time goes on, you'll be very glad you found the great folks on this forum.

Sorry that you are a member of this forum. It appears that you have moved relatively fast in educating yourself about the treatment options and have chosen one of the nation's best facilities to have your surgery. Just curious as to whether you are having the open or Da Vinci procedure? I was diagnosed on July 7th and will be having my Da Vinci on November 1st at Vanderbilt Medical Center. I am stage T1c with a Gleason of 3+3 = 6 with 1 of 10 core biopsy samples with 40% adenocarcinoma. I took about a month educating myself and doing research before finally deciding on the Da Vinci. My PSA was 4.3 but had climbed from 3.2 in six months. While I feel invaded by the PCa I think God that the PSA test was developed. Life is great and I expect to enjoy it well following my surgery. Good luck and stay in touch with this forum as it has a lot of good people contributing and you will get a chance to help someone else. Also, if you have not been there already I would encourage to visit www.yananow.net and especially read the mentor experiences. This can help you a lot in managing your expectations. I fully believe that there are many positive experiences from men that have had surgery with good results but because of that they are not contributors so keep in that in mind as you participate.

Tamu

If you have an experienced doctor, Robotic Laproscopic is the answer! He should have done at least 200. The robot is much more precise than a human hand. Some benefits of the robotic procedure are:
* Reduced trauma to the body
* Reduced blood loss and need for transfusions
* Less post-operative pain and discomfort
* Less risk of infection
* Shorter hospital stay
* Less Catheter time
* Faster recovery and return to normal daily activities
* Less scarring and improved cosmesis
* And everything I've read says that there are better odds against having a problem with Continence and Potency.
(My original Urologist wanted to do it the old fashioned way so I switched doctors. Don't be afraid to do the same!) Do your research!

I had mine on Aug 11, 2006 at St Lukes in Milwaukee, WI.
http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/services/cancer/whatwetreat/prostate-cancer.asp
http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/doctors/display.asp?id=8329

I was feeling good after 3 days. I was feeling great after one week! Riding my motorcycle after 3 weeks. Only had catheter in for 7 days. Incontinence was minimal right away. I did do "some" Kegel exercises prior to surgery for about a month (not as much as I should have.)

Some sites you could look at:
http://www.henryfordhealth.org/125076.cfm
http://www.or-live.com/memorialhermann/1391/event/webcast.cfm?

Good luck to you all and anyone who reads this in the future.

Mike C

Post Edited (1mikec) : 10/15/2006 10:13:56 PM (GMT-6)

Hello John & Tracey,

No matter what; this is not going to be an easy journey, but you won't have to make it alone, and it doesn't have to be so scary. We have all gone through it, and we're here to help take away the fear. Please ask as many questions as you can think of. We are here to help in any way we can.

Glen