Prostate cancer

[stuckmotor]

Anyone here dealt with it? I'm having surgery the 29th.

Caught mine early several years back, went out of town to Columbia SC and had it removed by robotic surgery. No radiation or chemo and no recurrence, knock wood. I recommend the robot for less pain and quicker recovery. I don't think you can do better than my doctor. If you want to go to Columbia I'll look up his name.
Stuck

 

[fried1765]

Caught mine early several years back, went out of town to Columbia SC and had it removed by robotic surgery. No radiation or chemo and no recurrence, knock wood. I recommend the robot for less pain and quicker recovery. I don't think you can do better than my doctor. If you want to go to Columbia I'll look up his name.
Stuck

"several years back".... may not be an adequate monitoring time!
Maybe 10+ years,...... for a more meaningful assumption of no recurrence.
PSA should be regularly monitored throughout this period.
Several friends have had reoccurring PC more than 5 years after surgical removal.

I have been free of PC now for 25 years,....but I opted for Proton Radiation, rather than surgery.

 

[stuckmotor]

Caught mine early several years back, went out of town to Columbia SC and had it removed by robotic surgery. No radiation or chemo and no recurrence, knock wood. I recommend the robot for less pain and quicker recovery. I don't think you can do better than my doctor. If you want to go to Columbia I'll look up his name.
Stuck

Fried,
Maybe you misunderstood my comment above: I wasn't trying to convince someone who needed follow up radiation not to take it.

Before giving my business to the group that did my surgery, I'd had a bad experience with a surgeon in my area and had my cousin in Columbia find me a good group. My doctor there did the biopsy and recommended robotic surgery and the specially trained surgeon who removed my prostate.

The OP.asked if any of us had dealt with prostate surgery and I simply relayed my experience. This his decision to make and if his circumstances make radiation a better option then he can make that decision I.wish him the best.

I'm glad your radiation therapy worked out for you.

 

[fried1765]

Fried,
Maybe you misunderstood my comment above: I wasn't trying to convince someone who needed follow up radiation not to take it.

Before giving my business to the group that did my surgery, I'd had a bad experience with a surgeon in my area and had my cousin in Columbia find me a good group. My doctor there did the biopsy and recommended robotic surgery and the specially trained surgeon who removed my prostate.

The OP.asked if any of us had dealt with prostate surgery and I simply relayed my experience. This his decision to make and if his circumstances make radiation a better option then he can make that decision I.wish him the best.

I'm glad your radiation therapy worked out for you.

My "radiation therapy" was not the IMRT radiation that you are likely referring to.
I did MUCH research on the PC issue before proceeding.
I met with Uruology heads of dept. at the Mayo Clinic, and John's Hopkins, with both recommending surgery (I was 55 at the time), but of course both were surgeons.

I opted for Proton Radiation (1995), which at the time was $50,000 (surgery was $10K), and was only offered at Loma Linda University Medical Ctr. in CA. (an exceptionally impressive place)
My company medical insurance paid all but $1,800 of that bill, as I was much too young for Medicare.
If you Google data on Proton Radiation, I think you will understand why Proton radiation is often referred to as the "gold standard" of PC treatment.

Proton radiation is now available at other locations in the USA.
Due to the construction cost, (up to $200M+), proton facilities are not available at most hospitals.
In 2020 there were approximately 29 Proton Radiation centers listed as operating, in the USA.

It should be noted that during the process, and post treatment, I had no pain or discomfort, and over all these past 25 years there have been no changes of any sort to my pre treatment daily bodily functions.
I am 80 now, still cancer free, and a VERY happy (old) camper!

I have more than a few friends who have since completed the LLUMC PC Proton Radiation program, ALL have done so with the same result!

 

[stuckmotor]

My "radiation therapy" was not the IMRT radiation that you are likely referring to.
I did MUCH research on the PC issue before proceeding.
I met with Uruology heads of dept. at the Mayo Clinic, and John's Hopkins, with both recommending surgery (I was 55 at the time), but of course both were surgeons.

I opted for Proton Radiation (1995), which at the time was $50,000 (surgery was $10K), and was only offered at Loma Linda University Medical Ctr. in CA. (an exceptionally impressive place)
My company medical insurance paid all but $1,800 of that bill, as I was much too young for Medicare.
If you Google data on Proton Radiation, I think you will understand why Proton radiation is often referred to as the "gold standard" of PC treatment.

Proton radiation is now available at other locations in the USA.
Due to the construction cost, (up to $200M+), proton facilities are not available at most hospitals.
In 2020 there were approximately 29 Proton Radiation centers listed as operating, in the USA.

It should be noted that during the process, and post treatment, I had no pain or discomfort, and over all these past 25 years there have been no changes of any sort to my pre treatment daily bodily functions.
I am 80 now, still cancer free, and a VERY happy (old) camper!

I have more than a few friends who have since completed the LLUMC PC Proton Radiation program, ALL have done so with the same result!

My memory will have to improve significantly to catch up to yours by the time I'm 80. My doctor's practice sent me a book put out by The American Cancer Society and if it recommended or even mentioned the type of radiation therapy you had I've forgotten.

The reason I told the OP about robotic surgery was to make him aware that there was a more pleasant alternative to the scalpel.. A friend of mine who lives in England had his prostate removed by conventional surgery a year or two ago and was on morphine for days while I didn't have any.

Another friend who was living in one of the states on the Pacific coast was enthusiastic about the radiation trearment he was to have around four years back. This distressed me because he was in poor health anyway and I was afraid his doctor recommended radiation because he couldn't stand the surgery. I hope he had the kind of radiation you had.
Stuck

 

[fried1765]

My memory will have to improve significantly to catch up to yours by the time I'm 80. My doctor's practice sent me a book put out by The American Cancer Society and if it recommended or even mentioned the type of radiation therapy you had I've forgotten.

The reason I told the OP about robotic surgery was to make him aware that there was a more pleasant alternative to the scalpel.. A friend of mine who lives in England had his prostate removed by conventional surgery a year or two ago and was on morphine for days while I didn't have any.

Another friend who was living in one of the states on the Pacific coast was enthusiastic about the radiation trearment he was to have around four years back. This distressed me because he was in poor health anyway and I was afraid his doctor recommended radiation because he couldn't stand the surgery. I hope he had the kind of radiation you had.
Stuck

Proton radiation is often not suggested, because it is more expensive than other treatments.
I did many months of research on the various PC treatments.
ABC 20/20 did a story back in 1995, on the remarkable effectiveness of Proton Radiation, and I got my LLUMC lead from that story.

My dad had died of metastasized PC in 1984.

The many additional sites across the USA now make Proton Radiation treatment available to significantly more people.
Proton Radiation treatment is also particularly beneficial to those with head, neck, breast, and eye tumors.
The very significant advantage of Proton Radiation is that it can be precisely targeted, to prevent damage to adjacent organs/tissue.

If interested; search "Brotherhood of the Balloon", or www.protonbob.com, and you will find hundreds of detailed reports from those who have had Proton Radiation.
It is an engineering/Physics process that is truly unique, and amazing!
I was fortunate to learn of it 25+ years ago, when it was still essentially in it's infancy.

 

[Sonny580]

Had prostate cancer surgery a year and a half ago ----now in diapers for the rest of my life ,as I have ZERO bladder control and never will! Its a hell of a way to live now but thats what I am stuck with. Its not a life anymore!
Had they told me this before the surgery, I would not have went thru it! I would have just let it go!
Kemo not the answer euther!

Wishing you good luck with yours, and prayers that you will have better outcome than I did!

 

[fried1765]

Had prostate cancer surgery a year and a half ago ----now in diapers for the rest of my life ,as I have ZERO bladder control and never will! Its a hell of a way to live now but thats what I am stuck with. Its not a life anymore!
Had they told me this before the surgery, I would not have went thru it! I would have just let it go!
Kemo not the answer euther!

Wishing you good luck with yours, and prayers that you will have better outcome than I did!

Not far from you (Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois) is where early Proton Radiation research and development was conducted.
Chemotherapy is not normally prescribed for PC, unless/until it has already progressed to become metastatic cancer.
Sadly, your current situation being the result of botched surgery, is all too common, but is very rarely openly discussed.

 

[LouNY]

All this reminded me to check my calendar I go in the middle of next month for PSA blood work,
that will be a year from when my radiation treatments finished, the six month one had good numbers we will see
what this one holds.

 

[DaveinValdez]

Having gone through Proton Radiation treatment at Loma Linda Univ Med. Ctr. we (25 yrs. ago) also had the bladder moved over, and considered ourselves to be involuntary members of.... "the brotherhood of the balloon".

The technician showed me the package one day. The male model on the front was smiling. The tech. said; "I bet he's never used one." It is an unusual brotherhood. One I don't have a hat or a patch for.