Prostate Friendly Bike Saddles

Put your post code into ISM  UK and check who stocks them near you  and go and try.  

Ismseat.com 

Hello Tom,

I've been a keen cyclist before starting treatment, I had a few weeks off cycling after the biopsy, but returned to cycling.

My oncologist asked me not to cycle from my radiotherapy planning scan until the end of radiotherapy, I don't know if he was overly cautious, but I followed the advice. I resumed cycling a couple of weeks after finishing RT.

I now cycle a few times a week but the reduced stamina due to HT means the rides are much shorter and slower.

Before treatment I've had ISM saddle only on my time trial bike as it allows easier lean forward, but since starting treatment I've put ISM on all my bikes, as it indeed greatly reduces pressure on the prostate area.

The saddles takes some getting used to, and need to be set up slightly lower than your normal saddle, but I do highly recommend them. They're quite expensive new but you can get them on eBay at a decent price second hand.

There are other cutout saddles which are also considered good, I have friends using the Selle Italia SLR boost and very happy with it, It has a cutout centre rather than a fully cut nose like the ISM, I preferred the ISM. 

Hope this helps 

G

Thanks, that is very useful. I am not in a rush to get a new saddle until I’m further through treatment, but I won’t be back on the bike unless I do. There will be a gap between the chemotherapy and radiotherapy so I might sort something out then.

I looked at your About Page. You are a similar age to me and similar Gleason, but my PSA was very high, hence the chemotherapy, but in theory I am also on a curative pathway. They seem to have you on different drugs and I think I will have 20 days of radiotherapy, not 37. I wonder how they decide on different treatments?

Tom

Glad to hear you're on a curative pathway!

I guess the oncologist may have different ideas, also where you are matters as the drugs availablity differ between the devolved nations.

I'm in England and get my Abiraterone via my workplace private medical insurance, I know in Scotland and Wales it is available on the NHS for my staging, but not in England. I fully fit the Sampede trial recommendation for using it, but it's not approved NHS wise in England yet.

I am in England too, but not with private medical insurance. There is no evidence of spread other than a suspect ‘positive’ on one normal size lymph on the PET, but the oncologist is assuming undetectable spread around the body because of the high PSA and attempting to smash the invisible cells with chemotherapy before they gets going.

It sounds like The Abiraterone is working for you so that’s good news. I’m aware of the Stampede trial but didn’t know of that recommendation.

It does sound we're very similar, my oncologist too said he's assuming undetectable spread due to the Gleason and psa. What was your initial PSA if you don't mind sharing?

This is the result for Gleason 8-10, high PSA non metastatic:

www.thelancet.com/.../fulltext

It was 108 at the GP. They referred me to the hospital whereupon I learnt what that meant. Up to that point I had no idea. They took another PSA and it was 133. They were expecting a lot of spread. CT scan and Bone scan were clear miraculously. MRI showed the prostate outline looked intact. Biopsy 4+5. PET scan also showed nothing but one lymph node and that wasn’t very conclusive. Maybe my PSA is wild,  but they have to take it on face value. Perhaps my health, age and fitness has kept it at bay?

You're very fortunate to have no spread, being young and fit always helps.

Good luck with your treatment!

Thanks, and good luck with your ongoing treatment too. Also thanks for the link. The conclusion is pretty clear. I did some research and it seems that NHS England have made a cost decision not to use this treatment. Whether chemotherapy is cheaper or more or less effective I don’t know.

I’m aiming for the all out positive approach you seem to have. I guess you are nearly two years in, whereas it’s been six months for me, so it is still new, but sorting out my bike is one thing I can do.

All the best, Tom

I have my dark days too, but you learn to enjoy what you can do rather than mourn what you can't. Keeping on a cycling topic, at the beginning of treatment I was incredibly frustrated I couldn't cycle the distance and speeds I used to do, and every ride was slower than the previous. I was thinking what's the point cycling if I can only do 20 miles when my usual rides were 80 before, but eventually decided I prefer to cycle the 20 mile and enjoy being out on my bike than staying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself.

Staying positive is a battle, but a battle worth having.

Feel free to message me directly if you just want to talk about this stuff, sharing makes things easier sometimes.

G