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Tom Cat lives in Texas, USA. He was 50 when he was diagnosed in May, 2010. His initial PSA was 4.60 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7, and he was staged T1c. His initial treatment choice was Surgery (Robotic Laparoscopic Prostatectomy) and his current treatment choice is None. Here is his story.

THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2018 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

I wanted to write to give those men that are following me hope. I was only 50 when I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.

My PSA has been over 4 for several years. I had a negative biopsy five years ago. The first biopsy had more discomfort than I expected. That is medical lingo for it hurt. The Urologist doing the biopsy did not use a numbing agent prior to doing the biopsy. My primary care doctor wanted me to go back to the Urologist two years ago to get another biopsy. I went to the Urologist office and talked about the discomfort that I experienced during the previous biopsy. He wrote me a prescription for three tablets of Tylenol-3 (Tylenol with 5mg of codeine). After thinking about it overnight, I called and cancelled the appointment. Then this April, my primary care doctor again wanted me to go back to the Urologist. This time I went to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The biopsy experience there was night and day better. They used Lidocaine as a local anesthetic before doing the biopsy.

Lesson for men following me: If you need a biopsy; ask the Urologist if he plans to use a local anesthetic. If he says no, find a better Urologist.

The biopsy came back positive, 5 of 18 cores were Gleason of 7 (3+4) with up to 20% of the cells being cancerous. It also showed cancer on both the left and right sides. Since it was not slow moving (Gleason of 6 or less) [it unusual to have a Gleason Score lower than 6, which is the 'entry level' since January 2010. Prior to that 'entry level' was 2] and it was more than just one or two cores, I needed to take action. I selected robotic surgery at UT Southwestern Medical center in Dallas. I ruled out the radiation treatments because they seemed less certain of getting rid of the cancer and after radiation, surgery is a real mess.

I was very pleased with my surgery. Very little pain, waked around the entire hospital floor 12 hours after surgery and went home the next day. I will have a Foley in for 11 days and have 18 days scheduled off work. I likely could go back work earlier, but I have unused sick days and my FMLA request would cover me for up to 30 days if I wanted.

Now the good news for men following me: Today is one week after my surgery. I still have the Foley in but had a rather full erection and a very nice climax. I also got the pathology report that shows the cancer was totally contained within the prostate with 1 mm margins.

I will be happy to email with anyone that wants to discuss my outcome, and hopefully help them feel better about their decision.

I will also follow-up with updates to my progress on this site.

UPDATED

August 2010

It is now 8 weeks post-op and I have several items of good news to report:

1. My 6 week PSA was < .05 which is the lowest measure my lab shows for a PSA

2. ED has not been a problem. On 0 to 10 with 10 being firm like when I was a teen and 6 being firm enough for intercourse, I have been getting 6 - 8 most of the time. [See Glen Leslie on this subject!] The doctor has me on 20mg Cialis three times a week. No side effects from the Cialis. Out of pocket cost looks like about $70 a month after insurance for me. Plan ahead for your medical flex account if you are near annual enrollment. Check with your insurance company, some don't cover it.

3. I leak a little every day. However, I am generally at one pad a day. I work at a desk 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and one pad always covers that. Sometimes when I get home, I may change for the evening. I leak very little before noon and then a little more as the day goes on. No leakage at night at all since I am lying down.

UPDATED

October 2010

Three months post-op update: I had my second PSA test and it was undetectable.

No problem with ED. I told the doctor my erections were just as good three days after Cialis as the day I would take the pill. He said it was OK to stop taking them if I did not need them. I would rate them as an 8 on a 10 point scale now.

I still have a little stress incontinence. Mostly when I cough or pass gas. I have gone several days without pads, but most days I still wear one. Never need more than one. Usually just a teaspoon all day as far as the leakage goes. I have about 20 pads left in the bag I ordered, I will have to decide if I want to reorder. Initially I used Depends, but after reading others here, I switched to Tena Guards for Men. I agree they are much more comfortable.

UPDATED

April 2011

It is now nine months post-op and I don't have troubles with impotence or incontinence. PSA is still zero. Life is great.

I stopped wearing the pads the day after I posted my three month update. I realized I was just concerned that I might leak.

Summary: All good news at 9 months.

UPDATED

October 2013

I just got my new PSA score yesterday. It us up from 0.06 to 0.07. I know that it does not count as a recurrence until it reaches 0.20 (some say 0.10), but I do wish that it had stayed at 0.06 or dropped back down to 0.05. I am 54 years old, and my doctor has started me back on testosterone injections a few months ago at my request. Recent studies seem to indicate that having your testosterone in a normal level (around 500 - 700 for a guy my age) is a good thing and involves no more risk for a prostate cancer survivor than a low testosterone of 150. If you do get a recurrence, then you may what to get hormone treatments to drop your testosterone down to near zero, because that does slow the growth.

I feel good and have very minor incontinence when I sneeze or sometimes a little at night if I have drank lots of water within two hours of going to bed. Erections are fine, the Cialis (half of a 20mg tablet) helps but I can do fine without the Cialis too.

UPDATED

July 2014

I am 4 years post operation this month. Life is great. PSA back down to 0.06 a few months ago. No side effects. However, when I go to the men's room I can empty my bladder faster than most men. See there are actually benefits to having your prostate removed...

No urine leakage, No ED issues, overall a very positive time health wise. I am still taking 10 mg Cialis a few times a week because it helps make erections easier. I am still taking 200mg testosterone shots every two weeks. They help my desire for sex and give me more energy for life in general. I am 55 years old.

UPDATED

August 2015

Five years Cancer Free now. My PSA has gone up to 0.10 and 0.11 since I have been on the testosterone shots. I expected the rise, to me it does not indicate a return of the Cancer, but rather just an increased PSA due to the testosterone. However, I will continue to have it checked by the same lab every six months. I want to watch for doubling time. If it doubles in less than two years, I will be more concerned.

Continued no leakage, and no ED.

UPDATED

September 2016

It has been six years since I had my prostate removed. I am 57 years old now and have very little side effects. Maybe a teaspoon of urine twice a month, that is the extent of my urine side effects. I don't have any real erectile dysfunction issues. I do still take 10 mg Cialis (half of a 20 mg tablet) a few times a week. It is not required for me to function, but it does help make me quicker to rise.

Overall, I am very happy with the outcome. My PSA is up from 0.09 to 0.12 but I am not concerned. I am on Testosterone replacement therapy and that causes my PSA to read higher. I get my PSA checked twice a year, and just continue to enjoy life.

Tom's e-mail address is: tkc11 AT pobox.com (replace "AT" with "@")

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


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