April 2011 PSA of 4.9. Dr asked for another PSA. May 2011 PSA 4.4. Sent to urologist. He could not feel cancer. Said biopsy not necessary. Offered Proscar or Avador to shrink prostate and reduce PSA and risk of cancer. I chose not to take medication as I didn't think I would have cancer and disliked meds.
Dec 22, 2011 PSA 5.3, still no symptoms of prostate trouble but urologist recommends biopsy. April 2012 Biopsy. Stage 1 cancer, Gleason score 6, 5 out of 10 samples had cancer, all on one side of prostate. Urologist goes over options. Active surveillance not an option. Decide to do my due diligence.
Book meeting with oncologist June 2012. Talk to lots of people and research on line including Yana now. After weighing all options decide to go for surgery. Didn't like the idea of radiation. Decided I wanted the cancer out of my body.
Operation Sept 7 2012. Successful. Margins were negative. Biopsy showed an increased Gleason score of 7. Urologist had offered to send me to Vancouver for robotic laparoscopy but I opted to stay with my surgeon because I liked him and he seemed very competent and confident. He did a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
Catheter out Sept 21. Able to go for walks as soon as I left hospital. Did a mountain hike at 4 weeks and it set me back a bit. Don't rush recovery time. Was playing tennis at 6 weeks with no pain or problems. May and December 2013 PSA tests are negligible. Still wearing diapers when I play sports but day to day activities I don't use them. No erection since operation but I can achieve orgasm. Was given a supply of Viagra after operation but haven't tried them yet. So far not an issue with my spouse.
February, 2015. Almost 2 1/2 years after operation. Blood tests have all been good so far. Still wearing a diaper when I play sports as extra exertion causes incontinence. Still playing lots of tennis, slowpitch and basketball. After 2 years on diapers it is second nature. The odd leak when not wearing diapers can be exasperating at times. Sexually I can achieve orgasm, no problem but only get semi hard. Haven't bothered using medication to achieve a fuller erection. No other side effects at this time.
April, 2016. 3 1/2 years since operation. PSA numbers still excellent. I still play all my sports but have to wear diaper as I cannot control incontinence when exerting myself. Still have minor leakage at other times but it is rare. I am looking at surgery and inserting a sling which will reduce incontinence. Still can't get a full erection but not an issue.
Still cancer free after 4 years. Maintain a very active life style and have to wear a diaper for sports. Some leakage outside of sports as well. Can achieve orgasm but still can't achieve a full erection naturally. I am currently on the waiting list for surgery to insert a sling and hopefully alleviate my incontinence problems.
Still cancer free after 5 and 1/2 years. PSA is negligible. Had surgery December 17, 2017 and had a sling installed. 6 weeks recovery. Operation was a success. Threw my diapers away. Playing all my sports with no incontinence. Probably should have had this surgery sooner. Better late than never. A couple of rare dribble issues otherwise back to normal.
Coming up to 7 years and cancer free. My incontinence issues are a thing of the past thanks to my sling operation last year. Still very active in sports with no ill effects.
Saw my urologist in December, 2019 and got a clean bill of health and even though we enjoyed our annual visits he said I need not see him any more but to continue on with my annual testing with family doctor. Still active with all my sports but the last few months have had some rare minor dribble issues usually when I am over exerting. I guess my warranty on the sling operation is up. I started using tight jockey briefs under my sports shorts and haven't had a problem since.
PSA numbers still good. Still maintaining a very active life style, use a pad if I anticipate above normal exertion in my sports to prevent the odd rare leak.
Numbers are still good. My sling warranty must be up as I have slight incontinence occasionally after over exertion. Still very active with sports.
Jim's e-mail address is: pigjim13 AT yahoo.ca (replace "AT" with "@")
