I thought I would update you following on from my 7 week consultation and first PSA test since the surgery.
I had the surgery on 7/7/25 and left hospital (feeling terrible) on the 8th. I was re admitted on the 9th with chronic stomach pain. I eventually found that this was to do with gas, which a few others have mentioned. Left hospital on 11th feeling OK
I then had an infection the following week which wasn’t great but by 21st all was good and I was recovering well. The catheter was uncomfortable but bearable.
The catheter was removed 4/8, since then I have been using the Squeezy app and am dry overnight and now left with mild stress incontinence during the day. I’m really happy with this as incontinence was one of my major concerns.
ED is still an issue though.
I met with the surgeon on 27/8 and what he said was quite shocking, he said the cancer was much worse than they had anticipated.
I was assessed as gleason 8 and contained within the capsule (before surgery) whereas the reality (analysis post surgery) was that I was actually Gleason 9 and the cancer had breached the capsule, in fact most of the prostate was cancerous.
The surgeon said that if I had elected for HT/RT that it would have likely not worked, so it was good that it had been removed.
The good news was that the Lymph nodes were not involved and the margins were clear.
There is still slight numbness across my groin and thighs from the lymph node removal but it’s not problematic and the surgeon said it will ease/disappear.
The bad news is my PSA level is at 4 (down from 35). The surgeon didn’t seem too worried and said to have another blood test in 4-weeks, he felt it just needed more time to flush out. Hopefully that is the case!
Obviously I would have liked a PSA of 0.2 or lower, I just have to hope that it drops further over the next few weeks.
I thought I would share this as it might help people with high Gleason scores to decide their route. I assumed the initial results were fairly accurate.
There is still slight numbness across my groin and thighs from the lymph node removal but it’s not problematic and the surgeon said it will ease/disappear.
I would stick with my ‘choice’ despite a few issues along the way. I still have the option of HT/RT if the PSA level remains stubborn.
My wife has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, so now it’s my turn to look after her, she did a great job of caring for me.
Hope this helps someone and good luck to all (and your partners) on this rotten journey!
