YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

SILVER

L J lives in Nevada, USA. He was 45 when he was diagnosed in October 2002. His initial PSA was 3.8 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was RRP (Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy). Here is his story.

I was diagnosed in October, 2002. After getting a second opinion, I opted for UCLA and DeKernion did the surgery on January 10, 2003 - it was nerve sparing Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy. My staging after surgery was T2b and my Gleason Score was 7.

Two urethral stricture surgeries followed - one surgery two months after RRP and the second a year after. I had pelvic floor pain for about six years after my RRP - Flomax helped.

Peyronie's Disease two years after RRP - erection pain along with that which is still with me. No cure for Peyronie's.

I wish I would have done more research on my treatment options. I regret my decision to this day that I opted for Radical - if I could do it over I would have done the Da Vinci surgery. Too late now. [Studies have shown that the outcomes as far as side effects and survival are concerned about the same with either type of surgery - what counts is the expertise of the surgeon and of course, the physical aspects of the man having the surgery. It is said that it takes a minimum of 250 procedures for a surgeon to gain expertise in the Da Vinci procedure - it is doubtful that many, if any, surgeons in the US would have had that experience in 2002.]

I am cancer free now for 7 years but the side effects are still with me and it's tough But everyone says you should be lucky your alive - that's a tough subject to discuss. LUCKY is a relative term.

 

UPDATED

January 2011

 

 

Still in Las Vegas, finally finding the will to start my Construction Business after Prostate Cancer and it's horrible side effects and the loss of my Dad July 7th 2009 and the loss of my younger brother July 14th 2009. Both non Cancer related just hard to handle losing a Senior and a Junior in the same year a week apart and 3,000 miles apart.

I still have Peyronie's and pelvic related pain bettered by Flomax. It was eight years Cancer Free???? on January 10th 2011. Unreal.

All the best to you guys.

LJ's e-mail address is: patronrus@cox.net