Newly diagnosed

Good Morning Barnman  A warm welcome to the Prostate Community - we are a decent bunch.

I am on the HT/RT treatment route so I can't answer your question myself, however there are plenty of forum members who have had surgery so I am sure you will receive some replies.

Many of the Community members who have undergone surgery have kept a diary of their journey both before and after surgery and if you click on their user name and /or icon you can read this.

Enjoy your holiday in the New Year and i hope the surgery goes well.

Best wishes - Brian.

Many thanks Brian. How do I identify these members? 

Best regards BM

The best way to search for them (I do know who they are but under the Community Rules I can't identify them!) is to go to your home page, where it lists the threads under "discussions" scroll down these to look for threads relating to Surgery. When you read the posts on each thread you will pick up on forum members who have had surgery.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Barnman

My husband had his prostatectomy at Addenbrooke’s hospital 9weeks ago. His original diagnosis after Biopsy and MRI was

PSA 14.1

Pirads 5

Gleason 3+4=7

T2 N0 M0

After surgery he has done extremely well. He had his catheter in for one week and after removal has suffered very minimal incontinence. He uses only two pads per day and consultant says he is ahead of the game! Erections on a scale of 1-10 are a three but very early days in that department 

My husband is 63 and has returned to his normally fit self very quickly and has had no complications for which we are grateful 

However when the pathology report of the prostate came back last week my husband’s disease was upgraded to T3a as it was found to have breached the capsule and had reached the bladder neck. So that was a bit of a shock after being told on several occasions that it was contained! Good news is they managed to take the whole prostate with clear margins and my husband’s current PSA is <0.02

He remains Gleason 7 Grade group 2

so good result so far. No more treatment as of yet. Only 3 monthly PSA tests which we hope will remain undetectable.

Our advice is if you are eligible for surgery take it because you never know the true extent of your disease until the prostate is in the surgeons hands and it has undergone histology 

Better out than in as we say!

All the best on your journey and if you need to PM me please do so

Best Regards 

Beverley

Thank you Beverly your feed back is much appreciated. Have bone scan today so fingers crossed. If all goes well will schedule surgery 2nd week of Feb. Consultant says he will try and save erectile muscles but I am aware of all of the potential challenges that lie ahead. I am 67 and in pretty good shape however am of African origin so that puts me at slightly greater risk I believe. I might pm you as we move along. My partner has joined the forum for a carers perspective. 

Many thanks and kind regards BM 

Happy to share my husbands journey as he travels along his path and message me anytime.We are aware too that challenges may lie ahead. Life has changed for us all with our diagnosis but we will adapt to our new normal 

above all stay positive, 

All the best

Hi Barnman and welcome to the group. This is the right place for advice and support. Can I also recommend the Macmillan Helpline, should you need it. The people on there have a wealth of knowledge.

I was in a similar position to you G4+3=7 T2c and had surgery 3 months ago. My recent histology showed 'clear margins' (they think they got it all) and I have my first post op PSA test tomorrow. Hoping for a low number.

I was fortunate in that my incontinence cleared up after a few weeks and I don't need a pad at all now. As to ED, well it still works but not quite as well as before. As Beverly says, its early days.

How the surgery affects these things depends upon the extent to which nerves around the prostate can be spared. Your surgeon will develop a plan for the op based on your scans and biopsy results and will be able to tell you what to expect. Due to the extent of my cancer on both sides of the prostate, I wasn't expecting much and have been pleasantly surprised.

Could I recommend watching the Youtube video that UCLH send their patients in preparation for the op. It gives a good understanding of what to expect and also the treatment options for ED, should they be needed.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5451F1350c0&si=o9KDOml4XFIuxqg2

Please feel free to ask me anything.

Cliff

Many thanks Cliff that is reassuring and detailed to know. Will certainly watch the video. Best regards BM