My bjc mytime3/18/2024 ![]() ![]() However I am hoping this will lessen enough to allow a return to work in 6 days. Its very uncomfortable to stand in one position or sit upright. ![]() I take four-hourly pain tablets and spend most of my day in a recliner. The pain at the wound site and around my scrotum feels like sunburn and it doesn't go away. Hopefully the leakage will stop completely but it is not going to happen overnight. I do mild exercises to strengthen the muscles around the wound site. There is some urine leakage but this is expected at such an early stage. Home recuperation has been all about coping with incontinence, the pain of surgery and idleness. This was a painless procedure and it provided some immediate comfort. The catheter was removed 2 weeks after surgery. My bed rest at night was undisturbed, a nice change. The catheter was a nuisance but it did cut the urge to urinate, particularly if I laid on my side. ![]() This was an enormous relief, further treatment will be unnecessary and visits to the doctor will be for checks only. The pathology report after surgery indicated that there was a clear margin cancer did not reach to the edge of the prostate. My earlier yoga exercise no doubt helped to mitigate the effects. He seemed to think this was a good option and I'm not sure why however the body position during surgery is somewhat contorted, not that I knew anything about it, and my back ached for 24 hours. The surgeon entered my body via the perineum. I was also able to walk around the ward on the second day. I felt quite well during this time and enjoyed the rest, companionship of the nurses and patients and regular cups of tea. I was in hospital for 4 days and during this time received regular pain relief and tutoring in the management of a catheter. I'm hoping to return to work next Monday. ![]() The surgery took place on 16 June and its now 6 July. Watching and waiting didn't appeal at all although we did flirt with the possibility of trying extreme diets to see if we could arrest the cancer but in the end something was telling me 'get it out!' Furthermore my 'youth', my otherwise healthy state and resassurances about the surgeon led us to feel optimistic about the outcome of surgery. Okay, there would be possible incontinence and loss of erections to deal with but the radiotherapy option seemed to have similar side-effects and some possible bowel damage thrown in. Surgery appealed mainly because it offered the chance of a once-only treatment that would leave me free of cancer and able to continue life as before. I use 'we' here because my wife has provided invaluable support throughout. (Apparently this form of treatment can enlarge the prostate and if your prostate is already impeding urine flow this treatment extenuates the blockage.) However after a cystoscopy (another camera, this time inserted through your penis, again, not painful) indicated that my urethra was too restricted to proceed. It appeared to have a high success rate and the side-effects appeared less extreme than other choices. We decided Brachytherapy might be the best option. We researched treatment options thoroughly and read extensively about the experiences of fellow travellers. My comment as we I walked from the appointment: 'Well if I'm going to have cancer I guess this one is a good one to get', wasn't appreciated by my wife Jean. The result, delivered on a fateful 1 March 2004, was 10% cancer in one sample and 40% in another from the left side of the prostate. However ultra sound pictures were being looked at and some snipping of 6 tissue samples took place. Perhaps my description of the equipment is a little misleading. Again I didn't find this painful at all, merely uncomfortable. In a process that took about half an hour I had an ultrasound probe and pair of scissors inserted into my rectum. Despite another inconclusive DRE, didn't find DREs painful just uncomfortable and mildly embarrassing, but that soon passed, a biopsy was the next step. The PSA had hit 9+ and the alarm bells started ringing. In January 2004 I thought it might be time to have another look. Subsequent testing through to 2002 saw the PSA rise to 7+ but after DREs by the local doctor and a urologist we decided to take no further action. I was concerned about frequency of urination and alerted to the wisdom of prostate testing by a newspaper article. My prostate history started in 1998 with a PSA of 4+. ![]()
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