Kip
Foss and Linda live in Texas, USA. He was 63 when he was diagnosed in
June 2006. His intial PSA was 5.0 ng/ml, and although he does not know his Gleason
Score or staging it seems likely that his Gleason Score would have been 6 with
a staging of T1c. He chose Laporoscopic Surgery. Here is his story:
THERE
WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE
REMINDER
IN 2011
SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
I
am 63, 175 lbs., 6 ft., in excellent health, work a full time job outside, very
physical work, I can easily out work any 30 year old, don't smoke or drink, am
never sick, yet I got prostate cancer. The plant doctor had been watching my PSA
creep up from 1 to 5. At 5 he told me to see a urologist.
The doctor gave
me medicine for a prostate infection just to make sure that the PSA was not coming
from that. When the numbers didn't go down he did a biopsy. A few days later I
got the dreaded call from him.
He said that I had cancer, had probably
had it for 2-4 years, that it was a very slow growing kind, that it was only in
one side of the prostate, and that there was no need for me to worry at this point.
He
went over all but one of my options. I spent the next month calling and visiting
other doctors in the Corpus Christi area and one in San Antonio. In the end I
decided that even though I could safely wait another 10 years I wanted my prostate
out. I come from a long line of long lived people, as in 90 and 100 years olds,
and don't doubt that I might live that long. I figured that of all the things
I didn't need at 75 or 80 years old was a prostatectomy.
The problem, I
found, with living in S. Texas is that it takes a while for modern technology
to filter down here. All of the urologists around here recommended the old style
'open' prostatectomy where they cut you open from pubic to navel. Few knew about
laproscopic, fewer still knew about the di Vinci robot, and none recommended either.
Luckily, Dr. Fagen of Austin, Tx. had a presentation with the di vinci
robot in Corpus Christi at this time and I was not only able to attend but I also
got to play with the machine. Dr. Fagen also has a very informative pamphlet on
the options available for treatment. Seeing this 'robot' (its not really a robot
but more like a master/slave machine), reading the doctor's pamphlet and see the
lack of interest and knowledge about this procedure locally made me realize that
not only did I want my prostate out, but I wanted it out using this robotic procedure.
At
this demonstration I met 2 tech reps from the manufacturer of the robot. They
recommended Dr. Naveen Kella at Urology San Antonio. I made an appointment, saw
him with in a week, set a surgery date for 20 Dec. 06 and all was done. A nicer,
more friendly guy you couldn't ask for. We did have a little problem with getting
in touch with the assistant that had been assigned to me but once this was sorted
out all went well.
I had the operation at St. Luke Baptist Hospital in
San Antonio and again I couldn't have asked for a smoother operation. It didn't
take long for me to figure out that they really knew what they were doing. They
called me a few times the days before to let me know what to expect. We went to
SA the day before so I could start my bowel prep. I checked in the hospital at
5 am, all my paper work was in order, I was in the pre-op by 6 am, out like a
light by 7 am and woke up in my room about 12 am.
Now comes the best
part. I was reasonably awake by 1 pm and was up and walking up and down the hall
by 5 pm. I had 2 pain meds. shots that evening but didn't feel that I really needed
either. My abdomen was sore where they had made the incisions but it was nothing
that a couple of aspirins couldn't have taken care of. They do wake you at 1 and
5 pm to take vitals but other than that I spent a very comfortable night.
The
next day was mostly killing time. No more pain meds. The nurse gives you the small
catheter, another gives you a breathing device that helps you get rid of the anesthetic,
and other than that they pretty much leave you alone.
I am back home now
and feeling as fit as I ever have. I am not going to bench press 150 lbs. but
then I couldn't do that before I had the op.
If anyone on this board has
trouble with their prostate (which, if they didn't, they wouldn't be on this board)
I would highly, highly recommend one, getting it removed, and two, using the di
vinci robot.
Good luck to all.
Kip Foss
I
just returned from San Antonio having gotten my catheter removed. Not in the least
painful as I had been led to believe. I beat my body fairly severely in my work
and play so I was not afraid of the pain but it was nice not to have it.
The
pathology on my prostate came back and although Dr Kella said that the margins
were clean and he felt he had gotten everything he noted that cancer had appeared
on the outer lower face of the prostate. I will have a PSA done in 6 weeks and
another in 3 months. If the cancer has spread I will start a hormone treatment.
The
Dr. is part of a new research program by Sanofi-Syntherlavo, Inc. that is using
combinations of Eligard (a Lupron type hormone), and Taxotere (a chemotherapy
drug). Since I live about 250km south of San Antonio and work shift work it will
be very difficult for me to participate in the study. I am going to rely on the
PSA for a while and if it starts to increase then I will have to make a decision.
In
short, things couldn't have gone better. The was absolutely no pain, and no side
effects, aside from the expected short term (2 months) incontinence and loss of
erectile function which was expected.
Although
I took 4 weeks off work, mostly just because I could, I felt as if I could have
returned to work the day of the operation. A week after the procedure. I went
to California for a 10 day visit with my brother. I had no problems except mild
stress incontinence.
As
of 28 January, when I returned to work, I have been at full speed. I have a very
physical job that entails a lot of climbing and lifting and as of today, 6 April
'07, I have suffered no ill effects and can still out work any 30 year old.
I
have a friend, 60 years old, that had his cancer treated with 'seeds' and has
had to return for various scans to check for the spread of his cancer. Another
friend, 77 years, is on Lupron and told me last week that his cancer has spread
to his urinary tract. The above examples have nothing to do with the overall success
rate of these two methods in general.I only offer them as a reason why I am happy
with my choice.
I
can only recommend the da Vinci
method. Having had only one prostate there is little chance that I will ever
experience any other type of prostate cancer treatment.
I
will admit that the loss of erectile function was a bit disheartening but then
again at 64 I was not using this equipment nearly as much as I did at 24 or even
54. I think that this loss can easily be offset by the gain of enjoyable years
towards the end on my life. There are a number of things I would rather be thinking
about when I am 75 than prostate cancer.
Friends,
if you are researching prostate cancer treatment, which you probably are since
you are reading this post, I would highly recommend the da Vinci robot. If your
area of the country does not have a da Vinci robot please look around for one.
The difference between the da Vinci and the old fashioned radical open prostatectomy
is night and day.
Today
is 3 April 08. I officially retired last week and thanks to my prostate op am
looking forward to a long and worry free life.
I
have had NO trouble since operation. No pain, no incontinence, no full erection
either, but then I am still alive to tell about it. At 65 realized that I don't
really need an erection as much as I did when I was 25 so it is no big loss. Note:
I have also not tried any drugs or equipment for ED so I can't comment of how
useful these might be.
My
PSA scores have been below 0.01 since the operation.
I
have and have had (one died) friends locally with prostate cancer. Most that have
had their out with the open radical prostatectomy are surviving but don't recommend
the procedure. One has had various radiation treatments and is suffering because
of it. One was on Lupron. The mood swings that it caused made me stop visiting
him. He died of a stroke at 77 but the use of Lupron cut him off from a lot of
people that might have made is last few years a bit more bearable.
I
can't recommend the da Vinci laparoscopic method enough. Any man who has made
the decision to have his prostate removed would be well served by looking into
this method. You can check out the operation on YouTube. I just saw where they
are now replacing heart valves and doing hysterectomies laparoscopicly. Patients
are out of the hospital in two days as opposed to the 2 to 3 weeks before.
Since
my operation I have had nothing but blue skies. I get a physical every year and
so far my PSA scores have been so low they don't even register. I have had NO
problems of any kind. I still do not get a full erection, but then, as I have
said before, I would much rather see my grandkids than my erection. Being cancer
free is what is important.
If
anyone is thinking of having a prostatectomy I can't stress enough that they should
get it done using the Da Vinci robot. If they don't have the machine in there
area, as was my case, go to where they have one. Doctors in my area told me that
the old method was the best way. They told me this because they didn't have the
machine here. I went 150 miles to San Antonio and the experience could not have
been better.
