Anniversary

about this time one year ago today my diseased prostate plopped into a stainless steel tray next to a small pile of lymph nodes. An assistant carried the tray across the room to a table where waiting jars were already labeled with information that had been checked against my wrist band.

The surgery was running long and as my weary surgeon manipulated the robotic pincers inside my abdomen to stitch my urethra to the bladder neck he thought about what explanation he should give to my waiting wife and to me when I woke up.

The main reason for the delay was that he had found more cancer than he expected and that it was mostly at the apex of my prostate where there isn't a lot of clearance between the prostate and other things that he had wanted to save. He'd had to cut wide on the right side -- those nerves were lost -- and he also had to cut uncomfortably close to the left side nerves as well -- they might recover and they might not. He was also slowed down by the sheer size of my prostate -- around 90 grams it was over three times as large as a normal one which gave him more work to do worrying it loose to get it out. The initial incision he had made just over my navel was too small and had to be enlarged. Adding to the difficulty was my unusual vasculiture. I am unusual, having three pudential arteries instead of one. The extra blood vessels to spare had slowed him down.

When he was done with the anastamosis he watched for a few minutes to make sure that nothing was bleeding excessively and then told his assistants that he was ready to remove the robotic manipulators, the lights, the cameras, and the other laporoscopic stuff cluttering up my belly and to get ready to close. As the C02 whistled out of the tube and my abdomin deflated he made his decision what to tell me.

He didn't want to talk about the worse-than-expected cancer -- the time for that would be when the pathology report came back and he could say something definite -- so he decided to explain the long surgery with the other two items -- my large prostate and my odd vasculariture -- and to give me a few weeks to heal in peace before he started talking about radiation and androgen deprivation -- the next phase in my now multi-phase treatment.

Thanks for sharing a tough story. hang in there.

Gee Peter, we share an anniversary. It was 21 years ago today I got married. My event was slightly less traumatic. But after 21 years I do still have scars. Here's hoping on your 1 year anniversary there are better days ahead.

Reb,

The scars of battle honorably fought are never disfiguring.

Everyone else,

Thanks for the encouraging words.

"...The scars of battle honorably fought ..."

That you have done, sir.

Peter,
Very well done, sir. I don't think that an English major could have done better! Lol
For the next 7 years and thereafter I am wishing you the same success that Tim G has had--undetectable.
As a side note, I appreciate you as a moderator. You know how to take care of business.
Bill

Peter, Iike so many others I really enjoy your post. Even with gut wrenching post like this one, your words say so much more.

I so often have reflected on our meeting at the GFMPH.

Cajun Jeff