TURP after RT?

From the advice I was given there is a much higher risk of complications with these procedures following radiotherapy. Example the risk of stress incontinence increases from 1-2% to 10-30%.

You might want to look into Intermittent self catheterization as being preferable to being left incontinent  following one of these procedures.

I am in a similar position and have opted to remain continent with ISC rather than risk becoming incontinent following surgery.

Difficult choices best discussed with you urology team.

Rob (Sandberg)

Hello Chris (Odd Man In) 

Simplez. (to quote a well known TV advert). You know I am at Christies - I needed my Radiotherapy but had my catheter for 10 months - consultants words - " Lets et the TURP done, allow the urethra to repair and then blast the cancer" - TURP early November - no issues, recovery sorted and Radiotherapy started in the first week of the New Year.

Yes you need the TURP before radiotherapy - been there got the T- Shirt. Give me a shout if you need any more details.

Kind regards - Brian.

Hi Chris,

I will be interested in the outcome of your question as I had RT nearly 3 years ago & wasn't aware of an increased risk of having a TURP or HOLEP procedure at a later date. 

I believe that there are other treatments such as Transurethal water jet ablation & Prostate artery embolisation amongst others but don't believe they are available on the NHS so would probably mean going private.  Whether these carry the same increased risk is another matter.

Best Wishes

Brian

My hubby delayed his RT by a month or so in order to have a TURP. The urologist did say he could wait until after but he seemed to think before was better although didn't go into detail as to why. It has made a huge difference to him and it was definitely the right choice in his case. 

Karen 

Hi Brian,

Now I am thoroughly depressed. There is no point in my doing the 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' thing but I'm devastated by what I'm reading now. I was pinning my hopes on someone on here sharing a 'success story'.

Silly really.

All the best,

Chris

Hello Chris (Odd Man In) 

Mine IS a success story. So I was diagnosed because my prostate had grown, crushed my bladder and stopped it from emptying properly by restricting my urethra.

The answer was a TURP - the issue I had was the long wait - 10 months - they were going to put me on the urgent list and didn't! So I had the catheter for 10 months whilst waiting.

2 pre op visits to North Manchester General then the day of the operation - in at 7 Friday out Saturday lunchtime.

Yes I had to learn to wee again but it was 10 months with a catheter,

I am now good for 4/5 hours without a toilet visit (unless I have been on the J W Lees bitter!!).

YES it worked for me - drop me a PM if you want and we can have a chat about it

OH! it's harder after radiotherapy as RT makes a "mess of the Prostate" and from what I understand alters it's density and shape.

Kind regards - Brian

Hi Chris (Odd Man In ), so having had RT should you have a TURP or HOLEP and what are the risks.  Are you still being treated at the Christie?  From everything I have heard, the advice they will give will be the best you can get.  I usually challenge my Doctors with ‘if you were me, what would you do’.

Hi David2017  I am still being treated at The Christie. In this case, I have found it difficult to establish whether I should be talking to oncologists or urologists.

Currently, my ability to rationalise my options is coloured by my deep regret at not having explored the TURP option carefully before opting to start hormone therapy and get EBRT scheduled quickly. All I could think about was "get rid of the cancer". Perhaps the clock was not ticking as loudly as I imagined.

The regret is crushing me today, I'm sorry to say.

Chris

Chris (Odd Man In , the thing about looking back and regretting is that you don’t know what would have happened if you had done things differently.  You might have stopped the cancer metastasising for all you know, by having RT, so don’t beat yourself up.  Your focus needs to be on where you are now and going forward.  Keep positive if you can.

Hello Chris (Odd Man In ) 

If it helps it was Urology who sorted the TURP out - I was passed to oncology after the TURP.

I would think as it's a surgical job It's Urology you need to speak to.

There's a Maggie's at The Christie in Manchester - why not call in and have a chat with them, If they think you need some counselling they can help with that too. I am not too far away if you want to sit down over a coffee (or a beer) and have a good vent!

Kind regards - Brian.