Living with Prostate Cancer

Everyone was on my case to get a physical. I was 50 at the time and it had been 10 years since my last physical. I guess when you feel good and have a fairly active life with no medical problems you don’t think about getting a physical because lets face it, guys just don’t like going to the Doctors to get a check up.

I went to the local clinic and got a quick once over and a clean bill of health pending the results of my blood tests. To make a long story short I received a call from the doctor that my PSA was 7.0 and I need further test to determine if I had CANCER!!!. What a scary word to associate myself with. All I wanted was a normal physical so that I could tell everyone, “See I didn’t need one after all”. Instead I now have something that’s supposed to happen to someone else. Well like everyone else who received this news I went to the internet and scared the hell out myself before I went in to see the urologist to ultimately get a biopsy. I don’t know if I just had a great doctor or I just don’t feel pain but the biopsy was a little uncomfortable but not even close to the pain I thought was going to experience. It was over faster and less painful than getting a cavity filled. A few days later I got the call they wanted to see me back in the doctor’s office. He told me that I did have prostate cancer and that I had a number of options to treat it.

I contemplated everything from wait and see to a radical prostatectomy. I did a lot more research and also got a second opinion over the next month (still was hoping I didn’t have cancer). When the second opinion verified that I did have prostate cancer I had already decided that I would have my prostate removed mainly because of my age and the fact that I wanted minimize the risk that it would ever come back. The risks I was told I faced if I did have the surgery was that I could come out of it with being incontinent and or impotent. A low risk to happen but a price I was willing to pay if I could get rid of this cancer. I spent some time looking for a surgeon that I felt confident in and then scheduled the surgery.

I had the surgery two months later while I participated in a number of research projects for the University Hospital where I was having my surgery. It helped me feel like I was doing something positive while I was mentally preparing for the surgery. The surgery went as planned, I didn’t require a blood transfusion and it was done in a few hours. The worst part of the surgery experience was dealing with the catheter for 10 days after surgery and some scar tissue that grew a few months later that had to be dealt with (that’s a whole other story).

Well I’m 57 and its 7 years later, my PSA is still 0.0 and I have had no incontinent problems and no sexual problems as well. I do use Viagra some times but I think it’s more mental than anything else and what the hell if you can why wouldn’t you. For all you guys going through this crap right now all I can tell you is THERE IS LIFE AFTER CANCER!! I look back now and I am glad I made the decision I made. The decision to have the surgery or not will be different for many of you, make the best decision for where you are in life and don’t look back. Good luck and stay strong for yourself and your families. For me this experience is now just a blip on my life’s journey and one that made me think about what I am doing here on earth. Treat your cancer, get healthy and do something with your life!!

One last item of note and no one really talks about much, there is one permanent symptom from the surgery that can be a plus in a number of ways. Sex feels the same, there is still the feeling of ejaculation but there is none. Think about it.