THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2015 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

Hi everybody,

It is September 30th, 2007 and I'm less than 24 hrs. away from my Da Vinci surgery and I'm a little bit nervous. I hope so very much that my Pc is organ confined and everything will become a bad dream after the surgery. According to all my tests, Bone Scan, MRI, MR Pelvis with contrast, CT Scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, the Pc is confined to the prostate. My only concern is that in these 3 months waiting for the surgery, my cancer did not spread beyond the prostate and is still confined to the organ.

My story started when I became a nightwalker to the bathroom 2-3 times a night. I had a check-up with my urologist in November 2006 and my PSA result came back 3.48 ng/ml which was still in the normal limit, I was told. The DRE exam did not show any irregularities of the prostate and I was told to check back in a year.

I had a premonition and after 8 months, in July 2007 I went back to my urologist to do the usual blood test for PSA. The result came back 6.5 ng/ml, which is elevated and abnormal and the doctor recommended a biopsy. The biopsy was performed on July 3rd 2007 and the bad news came on July 9th.The news hits you so hard and the reality is so cruel when you realize with a clear mind what is happening to you and what are your chances and options for the next stage of your life. I know, it is terrible to be told you have cancer and I'm sure the human reaction is mostly the same at each individual, regardless of age or skin color.

After the terrible shock, followed by a period of depression and sadness, you're trying to find a hope, like someone in the middle of the ocean, hoping for a ship to save him and pull him out from the black waters of desperation. This hope is here, it's real and it's called YANANOW. I'm very grateful and very lucky to have discovered this website which brings hope in our difficult and desperate periods of our lives.

I'm not a very religious man, but I do believe in God, and I did a lot of praying recently, feeling now relieved from any tensions and negative thoughts. I feel confident that my tomorrow's surgery will be successful.

I'll be back with more news about me after the surgery.

All the best, to all of you,

Vladimir

Later:

Today is October 12th 2007. I had my prostatectomy done on Oct. 1st at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. I feel very lucky from 2 reasons:

1. Having the right insurance which made possible the acceptance for the surgery
2. Having Doctor Samadi as my surgeon was the best decision I could ever take, in a lifetime.

High professionalism, extraordinary surgeon skills, very caring person. These are the words describing the best the Doctor I was lucky to have as my surgeon. He performed over 900 Da Vinci prostatectomies in the past years and I could not have been in better hands with such a record like this.

I have spent two nights in the hospital and I was released home on October 3rd at noon with my Foley ,"companion" attached to my most sensitive part of my body. The one week period of time with the Foley catheter in me was the worse experience I ever had in my life. I have to specify that I'm not circumcised and every little move, every step, made me feel the pain at the tip of my penis where the catheter was inserted. That spot was extremely sensitive due to the fact that the skin was pulled back when the catheter was inserted during the surgery. I should have put back the skin myself but I didn't dare to do so, and it was pulled back only seven days later, when the catheter was removed. By that time the skin was swollen and it was extremely painful when the doctor put it back in his original position. The removal of the catheter was also a strange, pain kind of feeling, but I was the happiest man when they took it out.

After the catheter removal I was anxious to find out the pathology report, and I called the Doctor to find Out the best news of my life. It was contained to the prostate "You're cured" he said. I wish you all, in a similar situation like me, to hear these magic words from your Doctor. It's a moment of joy you will never forget.

My staging, however has changed, from T1C before the surgery, to T2C which means cancer in both lobes but still confined to the prostate. The Gleason score remained the same:6, and my both side nerves were spared, thanks God.

I have to mention that I had to face all this nightmare alone, due to the fact that my family is in Europe waiting for the final paperwork to join me here in the U.S. I had all their support through the internet and that helped me a a lot in these difficult moments. Luckily, with the help and support of some good neighbours I have managed to go over the most difficult moments of the recovery period. I'm not out from the woods yet, I'm facing the incontinence issue every day, and I'm hoping that the Kegel exercises will do the job and the leaking will stop sometime. I don't have leakage during the night, only during the day, but in almost every position possible, sitting, standing, bending, etc.

Today I did some fast moves crossing the street to fast, to avoid a coming car, and later I had a small amount of blood in my urine. I have to be very careful from now on, especially that I'm intending to return back to work next week, meaning 16-17 days post surgery. I hope everything will be OK and I'll be able to work in the first week 5-6 hours a day. In six weeks from now, on Nov.13 I have the follow up appointment with my Doctor and I'll be back with news about my condition after that.

All the best to all of you.
Vladimir

Christmas Day Dec.25th 2007

First of all I wish to express my apologies for my delay in updating this site, to all of you who eventually were expecting my 6 weeks post surgery update. I had some unpleasant surprises returning to work and very soon I will find a new job more suitable for my recent health condition.

My six weeks post op check up was on Nov.13 and my blood test came back a few days later with the PSA result of 0.05. It's not bad, but honestly speaking I was hoping for 0.01-0.02 as I've seen on Yana a few post op PSA results from other patients.

Well this is it, from now on I will have to take care more seriously about my body, concerning the diet and exercise. Life is wonderful and I'm grateful for every day goes bye, knowing that I'm cancer free and hopefully will remain in this state of health for a very long time.

I wish you all the best, don't lose the HOPE and enjoy every minute of this wonderful life.

I'll be back after my 3 months post operation check up, at the end of February 2008.

Merry Christmas and a Healthy -cancer free- New Year' to all of you dear Friends!

Best Regards,

Vladimir

Hi Everybody,

Recently I had my second post op check up and my PSA is undetectable, same as last time < 0.05.

My incontinence has improved seriously, I'm using just one pad a day, and none during the night.The other aspect of the matter has not improved yet, but I'm confident that time will solve the problem.

I'm trying to eat healthy and stay positive. After all, LIFE is a wonderful GIFT, and most of us we realize this only after cancer strikes us. All the best to all of you,I'll be back in May '08.

Best Regards, Vladimir

Hi All,

Please excuse again my delay in updating this site with my recent health condition.

Last month I had my third follow up after my Da Vinci prostatectomy and my PSA is still 0.05, thanks God. My incontinence has seriously improved but I'm still using one pad a day just in case.My erections are very modest at this time but I'm confident that with time this will improve as well.

I'm trying to eat healthy and avoid stress as much as I can. Lately I've been focused on finding a better job, neglecting my usual exercises and I've gained some extra pounds. I will have to start very soon to shred the extra pounds with serious diet and daily exercise.

I wish you all well, I'll be back in August 2008.

Best Regards, Vladimir

Hi Everybody,

I'm sorry for the delay in updating my story. Life is wonderful, but sometimes can be hard and you have to face unexpected situations and have to fight for your survival. I had a difficult time of being unemployed, but now, thank God I have a job again.

I had my one year post surgery anniversary on Oct.1st 2008. Two weeks ago I met my Saviour, Doctor Samadi, who performed the robotic prostatectomy on me. After a few questions concerning my general state of health he assured me again that the surgery was successful and I should see him in 6 months.

The truth of the matter is that after one year post surgery, I feel great, I'm not wearing any pads (but still, sometimes I can notice a few drops on my underwear),and my erections are improving. My PSA result came back 0.05, and I'm totally satisfied with that. Knowing that the nightmare is over and you're cancer free, gives you a very pleasant peace of mind and you appreciate life at a totally different level.

I'll be back in 6 months with more news concerning my state of health. Wish you all the best to all of you, and for those of you recently diagnosed, do not panic, there is Hope and this website gives you the support and information you need to make the right decision.

God Bless You All.

Vladimir

Hi there,

I'm late again with my updates, I apologize for the delay. On April 21st 2009 I had my 1 1/2 years anniversary since my surgery was performed by the Magnificent Dr. Samadi from New York. My PSA result came back 0 to my great joy and satisfaction. Recently, on October 21st 2009, I had my 2 years anniversary from my surgery and the result was the same, 0 PSA. The results were obtained by the Beckman DXI Hybritech Methodology. This methodology is used only since July 1st 2008. Previously, my PSA results were obtained with a different methodology and the results were 0.005 a couple of times. However, the main importance is that after 2 years since my surgery, my PSA is undetectable and I feel very good about that.

I am trying to eat healthy and to work out 3-4 times a week. Everything is good so far, life is wonderful. Unfortunately, all my life I struggled with my weight, I have periods of time when I can loose easily 10-15 pounds, and after that if you're not paying attention that weight comes back very fast.

Recently I was contacted by someone from New York, who was in the same situation as I was 2 years ago. He saw me on YANA and he contacted me with some questions concerning the quality of life after the robotic prostatectomy. He had the same great opportunity and luck to have his Da Vinci surgery performed by Dr. Samadi. His surgery was successful and he is recovering slowly like all of us.

I was very happy to be able to share some of my experiences with him, and to give him useful information concerning the post surgery period. This is a great example how important is YANA for people like us, giving us the HOPE and information we need, making possible the contact between individuals to help each other and share our experiences.

Thank you Terry, Thank you Yana for being there for us.

God Bless You All

Hi there,

Recently I had my three years anniversary from my surgery, and the result for my PSA came back 0.00.

I am very happy so far, I can't complain at all, everything is going well. I strongly hope that in 10 years from now the PSA result will be the same and I will share my joy with all of you again at that time.

I thank God every day that I had the chance to have my cancer discovered at an early stage and the chance to have my robotic surgery performed by one the leaders in this field in USA, Dr. Samadi.

I wish you all well.

Vladimir

Hi there,

Sorry for not updating my health status for quite a long time.When you're healthy again and have no worries at all, life is beautiful and the time is flying away very fast.

Last October 2011, I had my 4th year anniversary since my surgery. The PSA result came back undetectable, zero. My doctor decided that from now on, a once a year visit should be enough. Everything is back to normal, considering my health. I'm trying hard to loose weight by going to the gym 2-3 times a week, and trying to eat healthy as much as I can. The temptations are there at every step of the way and it's hard to keep the distance from all the "junk tasty food" you see everywhere.

At October 1st 2012, hopefully my PSA will be again undetectable and I will celebrate my 5th year after having the surgery.

I wish you all well, don't loose the hope, and keep YANA on your desktop because it's your best friend you can have in those difficult times when you have to make the best decision of your life.

Best regards,

Vladimir

Hi my friends,

Yesterday I had my 6th year check up after the surgery.Today, I got the wonderful message on my answering machine that my PSA is undetectable, 0.00. I wish you the same to all of you, who might be at the beginning of this road. It's wonderful, after all the worries and nightmares, when you don't know how to pull yourself out from this awful situation, to hear years after the surgery, that you're ok and there is no more reason to worry about anything. Just to enjoy life at the fullest possible. It's a wonderful feeling, and I wish all the best, I hope you will take the right decision, and years later you will feel again the joy of life ,like I do.

God Bless You All,

Vladimir

Hi Dear Friends,

I'm sorry for the delay in my update. I really don't have any update at the moment, since I've decided to postpone my yearly check up for next year. The simple reason is that I feel perfectly fine, I don't have any insurance this year, and a check up for PSA and the doctor visit fee is approximately $400.00 from my pocket. Most probably next year I'll join a healthcare plan and then I can do my check up with less expense. It's been a long time since 2007 since I had the surgery, I feel great and I hope I won't have any surprises from now on. I'll get back to you with my PSA result next year, in 2015.

I wish you all the best, don't loose hope! Life is wonderful!

Vladimir

Vladimir's e-mail address is: vladivasiu AT yahoo.com (replace "AT" with "@")

NOTE: Vladimir has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.