My journey started with a slightly elevated PSA of 4.2 during my annual physical. I was referred to a Uroligists for further testing. Upon a DRE examination the doctor felt some hard spots on my prostate and scheduled me for a biopsy. My biopsy was performed on 9/4/15 and went relatively smooth. I opted for the ansthesia instead of being awake for the procedure. It was supposed to be an outpatient procedure but I ended up spending the night in the hospital for observation. The nerve (Vagus nerve) that regulates the heart rate was somehow stimulated and caused my heart rate to drop while in recovery. As a precaution I was transported to the hospital to ensure I hadn't had a stroke because they thought I had some facial droop. Turns out I just have a crooked smile. I was discharged the next day.
9-14-15: I arrived at my Urologist office to get the results of my biopsy. I arrived about 45 minutes before my appointment time and it was one of the most agonizing 45 minutes of my life. I'm finally called back to see the doctor and I'm a nervous wreck. He comes in and makes some small talk before giving me the results. He says "I have some good news about some bad news". My heart dropped at that moment. He goes on to tell me that out of the 14 samples taken 4 had cancer in them. At this point I don't hear anything else that he's saying. Thankfully my wife was there to take in the rest of the conversation. He tells us the Gleason score in 3 of the the 4 were 3+4 and the other a 3+3 and that he was confident he could cure me. We were sent home with some literature to read over to help us understand the test results and treatment options. At this point i'm a total wreck and can't even think straight. I was set up for CT and Bone scans to ensure there was no spread outside of the prostate.
9-18-15: I arrived at the hospital at 10am this morning for my CT & Bone scans. I was given an injection for my bone scan & sent down to Radiology for my CT scan. I had to drink 1-1/2 bottles of Dye while waiting to be called back. I had to drink another half a bottle after being called back. Not the best tasting stuff that's for sure. After being taken to the room for my scan it only took around 6 minutes. I was also given an injection of Dye as well. The dye did make my bowles move rather quickly. I was not expecting this at all. May have just been me but just a heads up. An hour and a half later my bone scan was performed. I was done 20 minutes later and on my way home. The preparation for the tests took longer than the tests themselves. I meet with my Urologist on Monday to discuss my test results and treatment options in more detail. I'm leaning towards total removal of the prostate at this time but still undecided. Will update later.
9/21/15:I met with my urology doctor, Dr. Scott J Rhamy to discuss the results of my CT & Bone scans. Both scans came back clean which was a huge relief to my wife and I. Dr. Rhamy went through all of the available treatment options available to me. He was very thorough in explaining each treatment option, the pro's & con's of each and the viability of each for my situation. I was already leaning toward the RLP surgery and Dr. Rhamy was of the same thinking as myself. He referred me to Dr. David A. Miller since he does not perform the surgery. Dr. Miller comes highly recommended and I'm very comfortable and happy with the treatment I've recieved at Virginia Urology. I have an appointment with Dr. Miller on 9/24/15 to set up a date for surgery. I will update soon.
I met with Dr. David A. Miller at Virginia Urology to discuss my date for surgery. He went over my CT & Bone scan results as well as my biopsy results. He was very thorough in explaining everything. He explained that my surgery could not be performed until six weeks after having the biopsy. This time allows for the prostate to fully heal. With that being said my surgery date has been set for 11/4/15. I have been set up for pre-op orientation as well as a pre-op class for ED education and rehabilitation after surgery. I've started on my Kegel exercises as well. I will update as I get closer.
Hello everyone. It's been a while since I last updated. Since my last update I've had my ED education class as well as the pre-op orientation. Both classes were very helpful & informative. I went for pre-op testing on 10/27/15 to get registered for surgery. They took more blood & urine as well as administered another EKG. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions. The entire process took me 45 minutes but could take as long as 2 hours. I'm six days away from my surgery and starting to get on edge a little. I'll check back in post-op.
November 3, 2015
It's the day before my surgery and I'm both nervous and anxious at the same time. After a nice hearty breakfast I'm on a liquid diet. I also had to start doing my bowel prep to empty my intestines. I chose the grape flavored magnesium citrate from Walgreens. I put it in the refrigerator and drank it cold. It actually wasn't that bad at all. My initial intentions were to be out of the house for the day to kill some time. After the prep started to work my plans quickly changed. Plan on being tied to the house because you're gonna want to be close to a bathroom. I had to drink two; one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
It's been a few years since I've contributed and for that I'm sorry. I'm happy to report that I've remained cancer free since my surgery. Erections are much better even though I still require the use of Viagra.
12/3/19 - Hello all. I hope everyone is remaining upbeat and positive. 11/4/19 was my four year anniversary of my surgery. Up until this point i have remained Cancer free. I have an appointment on 12/12/19 to check my PSA. I'm confident that it will be 0. I know a lot of you guys are new here and are scared and nervous about what the future holds. I'm here to tell you it gets better. The erections get better, the incontinence gets better. The main thing is to stay positive because that's half the battle. My erections are fairly normal but I still use the Viagra as a fail safe. Don't rush the erections. You'll drive yourself crazy. It was almost 8 months before i was able to maintain an erection. My wife was really great in the fact that she was really understanding. I was the one pressing the issue and it made me depressed as hell. I had to change my focus and that changed my outlook. Find some hobbies to take your mind off of it. My incontinence wasn't that bad. Make sure you're doing the Kegels. They really help. If you haven't had surgery yet you should really be focused on doing them. They really helps after surgery if you've already started on the exercises. You can reach out to me if you have questions or just need to talk. IT GETS BETTER!!!
Melvin's e-mail address is: amstechva AT gmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")
