New kid on the block.......soon to be the chopping block :)

Hi CC and welcome

You don't give a PSA  or Gleeson figure?

One thing to say about having surgery, have u been told about possible ED issues regarding surgery and I have to add that obviously not everyone has problems.

But you are still very young compared to the usual age suffering from PC and ED something big to grapple with at your age.

See what others say

Regards

Steve 

Hello Crazychef  A warm welcome to our little community. I can't give you any personal advice regarding surgery but good luck with it and I hope post surgery you make a quick and full recovery.

I can comment on the hormone therapy - Prostate Cancer lives on testosterone - it's the food for the cancer cells. If the cancer has no food it can't grow and spread. The Zolodex has been given to stop any further growth before surgery.

I am sure you will have plenty of information from Community members (wives more than likely) regarding the operation and it's after care and effects.

If you have any questions however trivial please feel free to ask them.

Best wishes - Brian.

I will be 2 years since surgery in January . Surgery itself was very straightforward with little pain and no peri-operative complications . My PSA has stayed undetectable so far . 
Gleason 4+3 , PSA pre op 11 , No complicating factors or extension .

But my life has changed a bit . I have had mild to moderate urinary incontinence since surgery , which has now stopped . This didn’t interfere with my life much ( did major walks , social life continued) , but I’m glad to see the back of it . 

My libido is less , erections are less strong and less well maintained .

But I am 70 and not surprised by these changes .

I now have PSA checked every 6 months , and especially round that time I am very aware of the potential for recurrence . No regrets about surgery , but it’s not a decision to be taken lightly . Bill

Morning Steve. Thanks for the reply

Apologies for missing such a crucial bit of information.

my PSI was 6.9 when discovered in July, not sure what it is now.

The said it was stage 1-2 initially then moved it to 2. So as Insay, very early by all accounts which I am massively grateful for.

regarding ED, yes I am aware of this and discuss with my wife before making any decisions. She is a  qualified nurse for the NHS and has seen it all. We have two grown up kids and her response was simply “I would rather still have you here than worry about anything else”

great answer but I understand we all have our needs so I will figure that bit out as soon as surgery is done. Apparently there is allot of help in that department’ available although I have  no idea how effective it will be.

Thank you for that advice Brian. Very much appreciated. 

Great advice , thank you so much. I am concerned about all of the things mentioned so far. Incontinence is a big one, especially in my current job but I’m pleased to hear it subsided and everually spped. That gives me massive hope

I know I have big challenges ahead but as my doc said, out of the 3-4 primary treatments available to me, surgery is the most invasive but also gives me another option for a primary treatment if it does come back. Ultimately that was why I chose to take it.

im hoping for a complete cure (as I expected all are) and am ready to fight for my family to make sure they don’t endure any further trauma due to the big C.

both my wife and myself lost our fathers to different forms of cancer and the devastation it caused is just horrible. I’m not putting my family through that again so yeah…..sleeves firmly rolled up d I’m ready to do battle with this thing growing in my body.only gonna be one winner

Bob's post was interesting cos u can see that he has been affected but accepts it because of age, similar to mine.

Cos  u have low stats surprised they didn't suggest active surveillance , would give u more time, did  they not not offer Radiotherapy.

I do mention again your age is important here, virtually a spring chicken

All the best

Steve 

They offered me radiotherapy , bracheiotheraoy !?!?, surgery and something else but monitoring was not one of them.

i can only assume it is because they feel they can get rid of it as it’s so early. To be honest the radiotherapy option didn’t appeal to me as there is no guarantee that it will shrink or disappear. Surgery means they SHOULD be able to get it all removed. I know there is always a chance it can grow back but I will have to take my chances on that one.

in my mind, remove & recover is the best option, even with the side effects.

the other options seem more about ‘control’ and hope.

of course I may be wrong but that’s how I see it.

even if they don’t get it all out, I can then go back and get radiotherapy tas a back up.

you can’t do it the other way round from what my surgeon said due to radiotherapy leaving scar tissue.

Hello Crazychef 

As you are young fit and well you would have been offered, Surgery, Bracyhtherapy or a combination of HT/RT. As the cancer has not left the gland there are a couple treatments but not "common user" treatments.

You should really read up on all 3 as they are all different - don't get me wrong but a surgeon will advise surgery, an oncologist one of the latter two treatments.

I can fully understand you have chosen surgery because you want the thing out and you can have HT/RT is the Big C comes back but not the other way round.

You do need to listen to advice of others who have "been there - done that" regarding exercises and pads etc and I am sure you will sail through it.

On a personal note - I had no choice in the matter - but I would not have chosen surgery - even now after 22 months on the HT/RT journey. (You can read my personal journey by clicking on the icon of the beach next to my name).

Best wishes - Brian.

Thank you for the advice Brian. That is indeed why I am here. To pick up on other people’s advice about what is to come.

in fairness, the surgeon didn’t offer me any advice . He just explained the processes and possible outcomes for each one. The nurse I saw was a bit more helpful in terms of the reality of things.

i know it may be a rough ride in terms of functionality and possible side effects such as ED and incontinence etc but i have to pick what I think is the lesser of the three evils for my circumstances and age.

I hope to have at least another 30 years on this planet. After that I’m not fussed hahaha so a few years of discomfort SHOULD give me the better chance of survival. I will work on the rest with things like pelvic floor exercises etc and any other advice I can get that will also help me make the most of this shoddy situation.

im already glad I joined here as it’s been helpful already and it’s not even been 24hrs.thank you all for the advice