THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2016 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

My name is Nick Korovilis and I live in Newcastle, Australia with my wife Maria.

I have family history with the monster ( I lost my father from it, within 5 days from the operation, back in '81) so I knew I was in the high risk club. I always joked about it, hoping I 'll belong to the lucky ones.

But I did take it seriously and kept an eye on it when I turned 50 and after. Yearly check up and last year the first PSA test. What a surprise when my GP told me that I came back with a 3.0

Everything happened pretty quick. She arranged for a Urologist to see me asap. The Urologist got my history and performed a DRE. He said he can feel something and ordered an MRI. And another blood test. A bit of a wait for the MRI (a month) as he wanted a specific hospital to do it.

MRI came back on the 16th of July. By them my father's ghost has taken hold and I 'm feeling pretty anxious. A call from his secretary bringing my appointment two weeks early raised a lot of hairs in the back of my neck.

Results confirmed PIRADS 5 lesion in the left apex. My wife left the office mid sentence. I stayed for the rest. I wanted to hear what the "Extra-Capsular extension" was. I was told we need to biopsy and off I want to find my wife at the steps. And arrange for the biopsy. I think "news" like that take a lot out of someone, but the impact is more severe to your close ones.

It took me a day or two to calm her down and tried to educate myself as much as possible.

My first problem was the biopsy. Everywhere I read, it said "local" anaesthetic. Someone said it felt like "21 gun salutes". Here in Australia they put you under. You don't feel a thing. In and out in one hour. So the reading about "21 gun salutes" was wrong. But the expression "light bleeding" the next day is also wrong. When I went to the loo the next day, I thought my insides dropped. And with them my prostate. So both were wrong. Of course in a couple of days all was clear. But the initial shock was terrible.

Results came back from the biopsy.

Number of cores: 16, (one finger guided)

Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma

Grade: primary 3, secondary 4 (3+4)

Perinural Invasion: Identified

Vascular Invesion and Extraprostatic Extension: Not identified.

By the way, my PSA results were down to 2.43 and according to the Urologist T2 , maybe T3.

From my reading I decided the less invasive procedure with quick recovery time. But my Urologist is not a robotic surgeon and there is no Da Vinci machine in Newcastle. So after some research, I visited Sydney and found a surgeon with very good experience in robotic surgery. Had to wait for 3 hours. Very busy man.

He is actually a teacher for the Da Vinci robot and to top it off, he also performs open surgery. Because of an old operation I had, there is a possibility that there is scarring and he can not perfom robotic. But he will not know till he tries to go in. He was very honest, which I liked very much. He actually told me that he believes both the types of operation depend on the surgeons skills and the only dif between the two is the recovery time. I hope mine goes according to "my" plan.

And I tell you what. They don't come cheap. I am in the top private cover and still looking for 12 to 15 thousand out of pocket.

So, to recap. PC, T2 (maybe T3), Score 7(3+4), opted for the robotic operation for quick recovery. All in the hands of the surgeon.

By the way, I came to realise no two cases are the same. A lot of ignorance out there. A lot of experimentation and guess work. The only way to keep sane is educate yourself, learn from others and adapt. And hope for the best.

I'll keep you posted. And if anyone sees Dr. McCoy from Star Trek with his magic gizmo before the 30th, please let me know. They brought the communicators out, maybe they have the gizmo too. lol

Apologies for the delay in updating.

No matter how much I wished, Dr McCoy never showed up. So I 'll have to deal with DaVinci. Btw, it looks more like a spider than anything else. I watched everything on YouTube but the actual op. Maybe one day. lol .

As planned on the 30th of September I entered the hospital for the op. From entering the hospital till I went under with the assistance of the anaesthetist a whole hour had passed. I only remember myself moving from the bed to the table. And a brief glimse of the robot just before.

Four hours later I woke up in my bed, surrounded by family and fully aware of everything. Both the surgeon and the anaesthetist have done their job perfect. No pain, no nothing. (ps, yes I am a heavy smoker). My hand went straight to my belly. The doc had said that due to an old operation leaving scarring, he might have to perform open surgery. What a relief. Nice small stab wounds. And ofcource the catheter. The night went uneventful. With the surgeon visiting and saying all went perfect, a giant weight was lifted off my chest. The "buzz button" worked wonders. I woke up in the morning, thirsty and hungry. After they served me a very light liquid breakfast, physio came in and off for walkies. All the accessories but the bag were removed. With the exception of my abdomen being a little bit sore, no other pain. In fact, no pain killers were required at all since that morning. Another visit from the doc later in the morning, confirming that all went like a text book and with a smile on his face he added that he will release me to go home the next morning. The day passed without any events. The nurses kept asking if I passed wind and they kept at it for the whole day. I spent my day between walking and resting. The next day, light liquid breakfast, physio and at 10am I was released to the world. After a 3 hour drive I was home.

The catheter proved a bit of a hussle but thanks to a member and his bucket solution, things went good. I took it easy and on Sunday I managed to pass wind. No bowel motion as yet, so I stuck to light liquid diet and with the assistance of a couple of stool softeners Monday was the first bowel movement. Relief all around.

Tuesday off to the doc for the removal of the catheter and the long awaited results.

The catheter came out nicely, pad in place and ooops, may have another one please. Lucky I brought a box. By the time a went home, I had gone through 4 pads. (3 hour drive, remember??).

The doc came in and brought the results with him. Big smile and went on to say all went perfect. All contained, no signs of spread and after a good chat we made an appointment to see him with the blood test results in the middle of November. Here is the patologist's report in a brief:

Tumor: Adenocarcinoma, Left posterior, Left anterior, Right posterior. volume 1.3cm3

Core biopsy Gleason score: 3+4=7, T2

Lympovasular inflitration and Intruduct carcinoma: Absent

Extraprostatic extension and margin involvment: Negative

Seminal vesicles and lymph nodes: not involved.

In my little corner of the world that means all good. Now we wait for the blood tests.

Now the story after the catheter removal. The doc said, no kegels!! For a week. That caused surprised. But I stuck to it. And the floods kept coming. Pads during the day. (4 to 6) and full on nappies during the night. From one side good from the other what a bother. Keeping dry in between is difficult. I am on the 6th day now (Oct 13th) after the removal, with slight improvement and starting exercises tomorrow morning. Bowel movements have almost returned to normal. I still keep a relativelly liquid diet. it helps a lot.

Overall the experience was nerve wrecking. YANA members were absolutelly correct. Go for the best. Research. Listen to others and make your own mind up, with the help of good professionals.

That's it for now. Next update hopefully after the 17th of November with more good news.

Had my first test last week and results came back "undetectable". I smiled at the doctor's office and did a dance outside his office. My wife smiled too. I could sense her relief. She has stood by me all this time and helped me with all her might. Next test in six months.

After surgery managable pain in the lower abdominal area. Uncomfortable in sitting. Like someone had kicked me. I spoke to the doctor and he told me not to be fooled by the small holes. It is still a major operation and usually there is plenty of internal bruising. It will pass. Slowly it did.

Incontinence has been an issue. I wear pads during the day and pants during the night. I think I did a couple of things wrong and I am paying for it now. Went back to work too early (the day after the catheter was removed) and being overweight. So I started extra exercising and walking again. Exercising the muscles and hoping for the better.

Erection-wise I had a few of them. I wouldn't actually call them erections but signs of life down there. I am still a bit afraid to engage in anything. The nappies are a big put-off. They only come in medium or large. Not "sexy".

That's it for now. Let's see the year out and keep an eye on things.

Nick's e-mail address is: nickkorovilis AT gmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")

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