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Paul Rhodes and Marina live in New South Wales, Australia. He was 57 when he was diagnosed in October, 2010. His initial PSA was 4.00 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6, and he was staged T1c. His initial treatment choice was Surgery (Retropubic Prostatectomy) and his current treatment choice is None. Here is his story.

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

What a shock to the system. I thought I was not meant to get this as I thought I covered all the bases pretty well eg. reasonably healthy, Non smoker, balanced lifestyle.

I have had PSA tests done for the last three years however last year (2010) the PSA result came in at about 4.0 when the previous years (2009) reading was about 3.0. The old index finger check determined that the prostate was normal size at that time with no abnormalities. However last October the prostate was enlarged so a Biopsy was scheduled.

Results came back with a Gleeson score of 6 + 6 I must admit I could not believe I had the dreaded " C " I read the material the Doctor gave me and decided that the only thing for me was the operation and get the thing out of me because I still want to be around to see the grandchildren etc.

I had the operation on January 18, 2011 using the open surgery method as my doctor reckons there is much better success at nerve sparing. [There are no independent studies that demonstrate that open surgery is better than RALP (Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Surgery) in this connection - the main factor comes down to the skill of the surgeon.]

I've been off work now for eight weeks and have been gradually getting back to my previous fitness although still vey cautious about overdoing things. I still get quite tired during the day and still relish an afternoon sleep to recharge the batteries.

The continence issues still take its toll on me and some days it goes right off the rails and sets me back two weeks. I find this only happens when I overdo things. So when they say take it easy it is true.

Now I am faced with another issue where the scar tissue from the operation is restricting my flow and I have to endure another ten minute procedure to open it up so I can take a leak without having to stand there for fifteen minutes. This is to happen on March 21, 2011 so I fill you in on the details in the future

Regards Paul.

UPDATED

May 2012

Well its been almost 17 months since Ive had the surgery and the continence issues still prevail. On busy days I have had to change the pads at least 4 times.(heavy leakage pads) Although this is much better than the 10 pads I went through just coming out of hospital. I did the Kegal execises but found I got to a point where they just werent helping. In fact some days actually went backwards. I got to a point where I was quite used to the leakage but found I was very concerned when I went to places outside my comfort zone. (Like when we went to Hawaii for a holiday and felt so uncomfortable that I couldnt even take the walk up to the top of Diamond Head in case I had an accident.) Very frustrating at times.

On 22nd of April this year I had the Advance sling put in and have found that although not 100% but at least 90% better and now I'm only needing a light pad to get me through the day.( absolutely fantastic result ) I can only imagine things will get better as time goes on with the exercises.

Up until now sex has been out of the question because of the leakage issues. I will update you on this in the next chapter.

UPDATED

July 2013

Hi, still having slight problems with continence although manageable. I dont think it's going to get any better. Sex is a non-event so try not to think about it too much. I just find another job to do around the house. Have thought about trying a rowing machine to try and increase the abdominal strength that may help solve the problem with continence. I'll see how this turns out. Apart from that life is still great. Have just come back from holiday in Thailand which was great. All the issues I had in Hawaii were not as much of a problem except the heat causes a little bit more swetting.

Regards Paul

UPDATED

October 2014

Hi, Still here and enjoying life. Since my last update nothing has changed. The continence issues still prevail although manageble. Can't drink too much coffee , Coke or alcohol. Sex still none event.

I haven't got the rowing machine yet so can't comment on whether the continence will get better. I haven't been doing the Kegel exercises either. Other than that, life goes on.

Regards Paul

Paul's e-mail address is: pxr2 AT hotmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")

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


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