Prostate questions

[LBrown59]

LB,

This is a lot of great information!!
1*Unfortunately, the hospital that dad is getting the surgery done at does not have a robot yet. They are building the new addition and it will be included in the new wing, but he'd have to wait until early 2007 to have it done.
2*He is already going thru anxiety knowing he has cancer inside of him. Another 6-8 month wait would put him over the edge.

I have forwarded this infomation onto my dad. Thanks again!

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1*How far from Detroit is your dad? For me it was a 300 mile trip from where I live but worth every mile of it.People from all over the country are going there for the procedure.
2*I know that feeling all 2 well had the same anxiety all last summer.

Your dad and family plus you and your family are in our prayers.

 

[AndyM]

My father had the radioactive treatment in 1993. That kept everything under control for many years until 2004, at which time his PSA increased for the first time in years. Cancer was also discovered in his bones at that time, which had spread quickly. He passed away earlier this year at the age of 76. Even with the prostate cancer, he had lived a long life considering his mother, brother, and sister all passed away in their 50's with various other health issues which he also suffered from (like diabetes).

Since first diagnosed in 1993, he had 11 generally good years (including many, many enjoyable hours of tractoring) and two fair years before things went really bad about six months before he died.

Judging by the other responses here, others who have been treated have also enjoyed many good years after being diagnosed.
My advise is to enjoy life as much as possible after whichever treatment he chooses, because he could have many fun, productive years left!
Hopefully everything turns out OK.

 

[THS]

LBrown59,

Dad is about 500 miles from Detroit. Too far for them to drive. And Mom doesn't like to fly, so that wouldn't be an option either. The UW Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin does have a robot, but insurance won't pay for him to have the procedure done there. So he will be having the surgery at St. Mary's hospital which is also in Madison. Just keeping the fingers crossed I guess!

AndyM,

I think this will be dad's wake up call. I've seen it in his eyes in recent years that he'd like to stop working so hard and enjoy life a little more. When his knee surgery didn't heal as quickly as planned last spring, he opted to have my mom's brothers rent about half the land. Guess what? He suddenly seemed more relaxed, had more time to go fishing, time to go out to eat on the weekends. Mom says she "isn't ready to give up farming yet". But this year dad took on the entire farm again. Now we're in a bad drought. Not only is he worried about his surgery, everything is drying up and burning in the fields. All of my siblings have been telling them to give up farming and start travelling to places like Yellowstone, Florida, and my favorite, MAUI, Hawaii. This latest health development may actually turn out to be a good thing. It may point out to him that life IS too short, and he needs to enjoy it instead of working his fingers to the bone.

 

[AndyM]

I think this will be dad's wake up call. I've seen it in his eyes in recent years that he'd like to stop working so hard and enjoy life a little more. When his knee surgery didn't heal as quickly as planned last spring, he opted to have my mom's brothers rent about half the land. Guess what? He suddenly seemed more relaxed, had more time to go fishing, time to go out to eat on the weekends. Mom says she "isn't ready to give up farming yet". But this year dad took on the entire farm again. Now we're in a bad drought. Not only is he worried about his surgery, everything is drying up and burning in the fields. All of my siblings have been telling them to give up farming and start travelling to places like Yellowstone, Florida, and my favorite, MAUI, Hawaii. This latest health development may actually turn out to be a good thing. It may point out to him that life IS too short, and he needs to enjoy it instead of working his fingers to the bone.

When my dad discovered the cancer had spread to his bones, he sold off a couple of two acre building lots and used the money to take my mother across Canada (from Nova Scotia to Vancouver) and back across the U.S. (Seattle back to Ohio). He later said he pushed himself more than he should have, but he enjoyed himself and it made my mother happy.

Your father could have another 15 or 20 years left, but you should encourage him to enjoy life and do things he normally can't do while he's tied down to the farm. One thing I've learned in the past couple of years is there's more to life than worrying about work!

 

[THS]

To all the well-wishers:

Dad had his surgery today. Supposed to get in at 11:00, out of surgery by 1:00, back to the room by 3:00. Unfortunately, they were running behind so he didn't actually get his surgery started until 1:10pm. It was almost 6:00 before he actually got back to the room. But he made it through the surgery just fine, doctor said his prostate was about 70cc in size, which is larger than usual. Most men his age will have a 30-35cc prostate. The doc did say he recently removed a 180cc prostate, so dad's wasn't the largest one he's seen.

Prelimary estimates indicate the doc is 95% sure he removed all the cancer, although he said he may up his percentage a little higher once he gets the pathology report back next week. The lymph nodes seemed ok, everything else looked normal. The only problem that really occured was right after my brother and I left today, he experienced enough pain that it almost brought him to tears. When they were shuffling him around into the new bed, he might've gotten a kink in his catheter hose, and it was causing pressure on the surgery area because he wasn't draining out the catheter hose. I could only imagine the pain he was experiencing! But after moving the hose, it was almost instant relief, and mom says he's sleeping comfortably as we speak.

So on behalf of my family, I'd like to personally thank all those who helped us through this difficult decision. This site truly is a great source of information on all fronts!!!

 

[Justaplain]

Been there-- done that. Seeded and radiated 3 years ago. Just don't stray to far from a relief place for the first 6 Mo's. You get so you know the locations for a 10 mile radius. I was 77 at the time. PM me if you want me to write your Dad. bcs