I'm new/ well new to this forum anyway.

Roger, you did find a good place to ask and learn. I am surprised that your Doc did not at least point you in the direction of information that describes this journey. You will find it here. You have passed, what for me was the worst "mental" part of the journey, i.e. the Dx and figuring out what to do. You are "on the other side" as they say. That is good. Next step, catheter removal and discussion with Doc about post-op pathology report. Biopsies only give a sense of the real situation, though they are indicative of the situation. A pathologist examines the entire gland (and lymph nodes) and determines if the Pca has expanded outside the prostate. If so, then there may be more treatments to discuss. Based on Gleason 3+4 you have a high liklihood that it is contained and such a score is not considered "aggressive" but rather is on the "intermediate" level. "Low" would be 6 and under. The patholgy report will tell for sure whether it is 3+4 or something else.

Following the catheter removal/pathology review, the next chapter is dealing with "retraining" your bladder as a nurse told me. This can take up to several months to get total control, so we are told. Some take more, some less. I am 10 days out and still working on it but it seems to be getting better each day. After that, the next step is recovering in the ED department. Some bounce back quickly, others take a while, some, depending on the procedure do not.

One thing for sure though, we are all very grateful to have it out of us and behind us as we deal with the new chapters one day at a time.

Another thing you must do for yourself and your family, is study and understand what your own situation is as you proceed on the journey.

Best wishes to you,

TeddyG

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling better just talking about this with someone who knows whats going on. After reading here I feel like some one has switched on the light and I'm not stumbling around in the dark. I will get a copy of the pathology report when available and figure out how to add it to my Sig. I know they took 12 biopsy's and from the six on the left side 5 were positive for cancer. The biopsy was done on March 4th 2009. I was originally scheduled for a biopsy in October of 2008, but the first urologist office had a problem with their probe and cancel my appointment several times, after that they said they would call me when the prob was repaired. When December rolled around I was so stressed out from worrying, that I called them and they had forgotten about me. I received a return call (on my answering machine) from the urologist that did the rectal prostate exam and scheduled the biopsy originally. She apologized over and over and said that the situation was inexcusable and assured me that My biopsy had high priority at that point. I returned the call and was told by a secretary that I couldn't get an appointment until Feb 2009. I received a second call from a  different secretary later that day and was told that I had a biopsy scheduled for Jan 2009. I was at the 2:00 pm appointment at 1:30 pm at which time I was told the doctor was tied up elsewhere and they wanted to know if I would mind waiting until 3:00 pm. I declined and had my General practitioner refer me to a different Urologist. This urologist got down to business and did the biopsy and then the surgery. I don't know how long this cancer had been in my prostate, but I can only prey that it didn't spread while I was setting around worrying for 6 months. Sorry for the ramble, but this is some scary stuff to have to deal with own your own.

Ohio State, No offense taken. Humor has got me thru many trying times in my life. I am called Kneedeep for a reason. I love to tell jokes and have a tendency to embellish a bit on my fishing stories. My fishing buds gave me the name and they have learned to number my stories, so when they have already heard a particular story, the just call out the number and I'll change stories.   Thanks for listening