Prostate Cancer Survivor

PSA After Prostate Surgery

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 08:30:17 -0800

I have not posted to this site since last November so I thought I would provide a one year update since I had my prostate surgery one year ago. I had a worry last March when I had my 2nd PSA reading at 9 months. It was 0.07 which is getting high for not having a prostate. A 0.2 reading is the standard for cancer recurrence. I just had my one year reading and it has leveled off at 0.08. My doctor believes the readings are probably due to some non-cancerous prostate tissue left after surgery. If so, it will stay at the level from here on out. I will be getting PSA readings every 6 months from now on.
Also, I have switched to 20 mg of Levitra which is working very well. For the first time since surgery, I now get natural morning erections sometimes (not very often though). I have put prostate cancer worries on the backburner and am moving on with life.

Does Cialis Work? Yes!

Sat, 06 Nov 2004 21:52:04 -0800

I have switched to Cialis from Viagra. It works better. I especially like the longer effectiveness time. I can now take it the night before for morning sex rather than getting up an hour earlier in the morning to take Viagra.

I am now totally dry and have given my leftover pads to the Goodwill. I can now start this whole cancer thing behind me (hopefully) and get on with life.

Yippee - PSA 0.03

Wed, 22 Sep 2004 21:20:36 -0800

I went to the doctor today for the results of my first post-surgical PSA. It came back 0.03 which is great!! Anything below 0.07 is good news. 0.20 is the cutoff. Anything above that means that there is still a problem with either localized or distant prostate cancer cells. I have to get tested again in 6 months. The key is that the PSA remains low the rest of my life.
The doctor also said that I am doing great in the erecticile recovery arena. He said most people don't have any "stirrings" the firs 6 months after surgery. I got my first Viagra prescription and will try it this weekend.

Looking for some Feedback

Fri, 20 Aug 2004 21:16:55 -0800

Our webmaster has suggested we post an email address for feedback on our stories. Send me email at hammond941@excite.com if you have any comments on this weblog.

Status: great sex with my wife this morning. Not a full erection but enough for good penetration and an orgasm. This on the two month anniversary of my surgery.

A real breakthrough

Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:35:34 -0800

This is another post I made to USENET: alt.support.cancer.prostate.
I had a real breakthrough (in more than one sense) yesterday. Seven weeks after my successful nerve-sparing RRP (all negative margins) I had successful intercourse with my wife, although with just a wee semi-erection. No Viagra either. My surgeon said he would prescribe Viagra if needed at my 3 month follow-up visit, but that my wife and I should engage in vigorous foreplay prior to then and see how far we could go.
Just for information, I am a very early user of the internet beginning with a DoD account on ARPANET in 1981. I used USENET when it was first established.

Back at work

Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:00:12 -0800

This is my second week back at work and I have no trouble getting through the workday. I am using one pad all day but seldom need it. Just minor leakage maybe once a day when making a sudden motion. Hopefully, that will end in a couple of months. After reading related posts on usenet, I have ordered an inexpensive hand-operated vacuum pump to get the blood flowing in my penis on a regular basis. No use taking chances on atrophy. I am taking my first plane flight since my operation this weekend to go to my granddaughter's baptism.

My USENET post to alt.support.cancer.prostate

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:37:02 -0800

Here is a copy of a post I made to the alt.support.cancer.prostate USENET site on 21 Jul 2004 for archival purposes:

I am a newbie to prostate cancer, having only been diagnosed in May
with an RP 4 weeks ago. My surgeon has prescribed stimulation over the
next 3 months prior to my next appointment) to get the penile blood
flowing. My experience after 3 dry orgasms (with very limited
semi-erections) is that they are a pale reflection of the "real thing"
(with a prostate). It is over very quickly without the "point of no
return" feeling that the prostate feedback loop provides to the brain
prior to ejaculation. My scrotum has a dull ache afterwards without
the normal release of sperm. There was a minor afterglow, but not
nearly as intense as it used to be. According to the pathologist, my
cancer was 100% localized in the prostate and there is a very good
chance it is now history. I guess I will have to resign myself to live
with this orgasmic pale reflection from now on.

Bladder Control Problem Improving

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 19:43:54 -0800

Not too much too report over the last week. I plan on going back to work next week. Have been able to sit through a movie at the local theater without bladder problems. Also able to get to sleep last night without any extra-stength Tylenol. Still following my doctor's advice on daily sex therapy to keep everything tuned up for the future.

A dry orgasm

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 20:50:25 -0800

As I said in previous post, my doctor advised lots of "manual stimulation" and heavy petting with my wife over the next few months to try and avoid ED. Following his advice, I experienced my first "dry orgasm" yesterday--not with much of an erection of course. It is over very quickly without the "feedback loop" that the prostate provides as the final fluid build-up to ejaculation. It does, however, provide a remnant of the satisfying glow that pervades the whole body. It will have to do for the future.
Continence is improving every day. My doctor also advised 10 Kegel exercise repetitions at least 4 times a day building up to every hour to reacquire total continence. I have only experienced minor leakage when making sudden movements or trying to pass gas. I am confident these lapses can be overcome over the next few months.

No more catheter

Sun, 04 Jul 2004 11:53:19 -0800

I had my catheter removed last Wednesday and my bladder is starting to work again. My bladder is now connected directly to the urethra and the only thing controlling the urine stream is the external sphincter muscle (same as with females). I am wearing a pad because I do not always have full control of leakage during the day. My surgeon has recommended Kegel Exercises of my external sphincter muscle to strengthen it to assure future continence. It can take up to 18 months to fully regain control of this important function. I had a weak urinary stream because of the cancer tumor squeezing the urethra, but never an incontinence problem. Now, without a prostate, it is a very strong stream, therefore more difficult to control. I will keep working at it.
I have had a profound improvement in mobility without dragging around an external bag tied to a catheter. I am up and around and dressed every day. I can now go outside for walks. I am for the most part off of pain medicine, although I still take Tylenol or Aleve at bedtime to help me get to sleep.
My instructions from my doctor were to get into manual stimulation and heavy petting with my wife as often as possible to see if I can avoid future erectile dysfunction. I was told it might be as much as three month before anything happened. If nothing happened within three months, I was to go on Viagra to see if that helped. I am happy to report limited success on that front with a partial erection during the first such session two days after the catheter was removed. I am looking forward to continued daily sex therapy.

Gleason Score of 7

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 19:10:13 -0800

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer on the Friday before Memorial Day, 2004. This was completely unexpected and has turned my life upside down. This whole affair started when my doctor referred me to a local urologist because my PSA blood test was slightly above normal (4.9). I got another blood test a few weeks later that came back 6.6. Next was a prostate biopsy that took 20 minutes and was not very comfortable.

I found out the bad news three days later. Cancer detected on both sides of my prostate with a Gleason level of 7. That scale indicates the cancer is growing and active and needs to be dealt with quickly.

I am 66 years old and working as an engineer for a defense contractor in San Fernando Valley. My wife and I have been married for over 32 years with three children and three grandchildren.

As an engineer, I felt I needed to research prostate cancer and gather all the facts. My urologist already told me about the three major options: surgery, internal radiation, and external radiation. Our oldest daughter has a doctorate in pharmacy and I used to help her in school by researching National Institutes of Health abstracts for her. I found a lot of information on MEDLINE at www.nih.gov. I also browsed the internet newsgroups on prostate cancer. I quickly came across a definitive book for the layman: "Surviving Prostate Cancer," by Dr Patrick Walsh of Johns Hopkins. It is widely available for under $15. He outlines the pros and cons of all the treatment approaches and their side-effects.

I began to lean towards the "Gold Standard" approach--a Radical Prostatectomy. The advantages are that it is a one-shot deal. Get it over with and then recover. You also know how far the cancer has progressed and what your overall outlook is. With radiation, you never know for sure if the cancer was eradicated. I didn't like living with that uncertainty. Radiation can also have a long term effect on bladder, rectum, and potency problems.

Nerve sparing surgery will preserve potency and erectile function over 70% of the time. All my research pointed to the fact that the skill of the surgeon was the most important factor in this regard needed to find a Center of Excellence for this procedure--not a suburban hospital. I found that there were a lot of abstracts for medical journal articles on prostate cancer written by the Clarke Urological Center at UCLA Medical Center. After finding out they accepted MEDICARE, I booked an appointment with a well-known doctor in the field. After reviewing my biopsy results and an examination, his recommendation was a Radical Prostatectomy with nerve-sparing if possible to preserve erectile function (nerve-sparing surgery was not done before 1982).

There was a surgery opening in about 10 days and I decided to get this whole thing over with. His advice was not too wait more than 3 months with a Gleason score of 7. I gave blood that day for my own use at the time of surgery (it was used). A Radical Prostatectomy is a very complex operation involving a lot of blood vessels that must be clamped.

My wife drove me to the hospital on the morning of surgery. We had to report at 5:15 AM so we missed the morning rush hour. My surgery was delayed for three hours, however, due to a kidney transplant that pre-empted my operating room (courtesy of a dead LA motorcycle rider as the donor). I was given a general anesthetic which knocked me right out. The last time I had a general anesthetic was for a tonsillectomy in 1944 which consisted of someone holding gauze over my nose and mouth and pouring a bottle of ether on it. I was 6 and will never forget that experience.

I went home from the hospital the next day with a catheter (which gets taken out tomorrow) and with a lot of pain pills. It has been a long 11 days since the surgery, but I am off the pain pills and moving around. The good news is the pathologist report that my cancer was 100% localized in the prostate and I am considered 100% cured.