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Surgery Date Set and.. a little humor for us with PCa

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Posted 1/24/2010 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
Well, 6 weeks after diagnosis and I have reviewed all the options.  Talked with 1 radiation oncologist and 4 surgeons.  My decision is to have Robot Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy with Dr. Joseph Smith at Vanderbilty University Medical Center.   He has over 3000 RALPs and the entire Urologic Surgery Center seems first rate and extremely compotent.  With 3000 RALPs (plus another 2000 RRPs before switching to Robotic) I believe Dr. Smith has seen just about every variation imaginable and I feel confident he can handle my surgery.  He has very good numbers for his outcomes as I stated in another post.  The only drawback is that he is in high demand thus my surgery has been set for April 7.  He was very confident that with my low volume, low risk cancer that whether I had surgery in February or in April I would have the same outcome.  I feel good about this decision. 

Now on to the humor:

I called the incontinence hotlline.........They asked?  "Can you HOLD please?"

Impotence... nature's way of saying "No HARD feelings."

Rick

Posted 1/24/2010 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
Ricky, I believe the better the surgeon the better the outcome... it looks like yours is VERY experienced. Did your homework, did your deliberation, gone through the hard part of deciding. Now relax. My experience was I found a lot of peace after I made the decision. The hard part is over (no pun intended!). You are going into it with the right attitude. Rest well.
God bless.
Posted 1/24/2010 12:12 PM (GMT 0)

Ricky D - Good decision.  You looked at everything thoroughly, then made your decision.

I did that too.  With about the same stats as you (I was told my cancer was slow growing), I did not rush and decided I could live with a four month wait time to get the surgeon I wanted.  I attribute my good outcomes post surgery in large part to him.

I used the four months to engage in what for me was a vigorous walking program of 5k a day.  I also used portion control when eating.  I lost 15 lb in the time between being told I had PCa and the surgery which my GP had wanted me to lose for several years.  This exercise and weight control also contributed hugely I believe to my good outcomes after surgery.

Of course the downside is that you are waiting longer than normal for the surgery which, if you are like me, will give you more time to fret and be stressed.  I found that in order to really understand PCa, you have to be in the PCa club which is why I was so happy to find this forum.  It was really helpful to read about guys who were going through the same thing.

3 months post op and I am very happy with the decisions I made. Hang in there Ricky.  You have made the right decision!!

Skeener 

Posted 1/24/2010 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
Rick, I had Dr. Smith do my surgery back in August 2009. I was very pleased. I do have a positive margin post surgery but believe that Dr. Smith did a great job for me. I've been dry since getting cath out and excellent results at 5 months post surgery with erections using Levitra.

Do you live in Tn? Or travelling to Dr. Smith? I live near Chattanooga.

Larry
Posted 1/24/2010 9:41 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like a good choice and decision for you. With your numbers, the extra wait for the surgeon of your choice shouldn't impact the results at all. Now's a good time to breathe and relax.

David in SC
Posted 1/25/2010 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Speaking of humor--isn't it time for a link to the Ray Steven's PCa song again?

CareBear

Posted 1/25/2010 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
Probably so, Carebear, would be good timing
Posted 1/25/2010 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
I live 2 hours from Nashville in Huntsville AL.
Posted 1/25/2010 2:25 AM (GMT 0)
Ricky,

We wish the best for you and thanks for a little bit of humor. It's a rainy day in Georgia so any brevity helps. You are going to a great place for surgery so that helps with any anxiety that surgery might bring. Keep us posted.

Michael

Posted 1/25/2010 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
A bit longer to give that old walnut a real workout GFMPH
Posted 1/25/2010 7:56 AM (GMT 0)
Making a decision as to how you're going to battle your PCa is very difficult. Certainly you are feeling a sense of relief for having reached a decision. Looking at your low numbers, I was curious if you considered Active Surveillance. I can understand if that was not an option for you, however.

Best of luck.
Posted 1/26/2010 5:00 AM (GMT 0)
Franchot
I did consider AS. I even brought it up in consults with the various doctors. Dr Smith actually said that was "not a crazy consideration".
However it came down to these factors:
1) Biopsies every 6 months or every 12 months would wear on me. Could I keep myself sane with all the imaginary symptoms I would "feel".
2) Between examinations and testing this thing could grow to the point it was "outside" the prostate and a completely different problem. Much more difficult to cure.
3) At a realtively young age (55) and reasonably healthy it seems nearly certain that I would eventually be needing treatment. If that was 5 years or 10 years down the road would I be able to recover as well as I would at 55. What if my health was not good at that point?
4) Surgery allows a complete examination of the removed prostate with definitive pathology results. As well as the PSA monitoring would give an early indication of success of surgical cure and any follow up needed (radiation, HT, etc)

1,2, and 3 above ruled out AS in my mind. 4 helped me make my mind up for surgery over other treatments.
Posted 1/26/2010 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Ricky,

Thanks for posting back your thoughts. Those are very good reasons to seek out surgery as a treatment. (And some of the same things that I have thought about myself.) As I monitor my PCa and continue through AS, your Number 3 reason really hits home with me. I watch myself age and notice how I more slowly recover from the everyday bumps and bruises of life. Imagine what surgery does to the body of an older person.

You've sought out a top surgeon so that's the most important step. Good luck with the rest of the journey.
Posted 1/27/2010 12:48 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings, Franchot and RickyD.  Just to amplify on the last couple of posts - my doc continues to say I'm his star patient and have done better than almost any of his other thousands of patients.  He attributes that to the fact that I am 15 to 20 years younger than most of his other patients.  All things considered, I'd just as soon have not had cancer but since I did, I am very happy with the treatment I received and the timing of that treatment.  David
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