Posted 2/10/2008 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
They do for the most part. But not always (yea, I think they should)
Many surgeons will halt a surgery if lymph nodes are or appear to be involved. But my take on that is that they should continue anyway. (Tony's opinion mired in a contraversial discussion again). In reality, how can you really pathalogically test a prostate thouroghly without physically damaging it anyway? In my case my highly experienced surgeon told me after surgery that my prostate felt normal, and my seminals appeared and felt normal. So he might not have been able to tell where the cancer was completely anyway during the procedure. He did tell me that there was suspicious tissue he could not remove without damaging my rectum, so he couldn't take more margins. Then a week later, not only was he right about that area, but elsewhere as well I was positive for carcinoma in the margins and had SVI bilaterally. So should he have stopped the surgery? I am glad he didn't. Studies are beginning to show that when the cancer becomes hormone refractory, it starts doing so mostly in the diseased prostate area before elsewhere, (Dr. Myers, Mayo Clinic, et al). That matters to me at my stage. So side effects and all, good riddance to that prostate.
Tony