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YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

 

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Frank G lives in California, USA. He was 63 when he was diagnosed in August, 2012. His initial PSA was 16.86 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7b, and he was staged Unknown. 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.

Had my prostate taken out 9/11/2013 difficult decision to make. Backed out of surgery more than once, consulted with many doctors. They said if I delayed any longer it could prove fatal. Almost chose hormone and radiation because it seemed less frightful. Decided on surgery as it would be a faster approach.

So on 9/11 had 2 hr surgery and got it done and over with. It's now October 1 and recovery has been good. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. So far, I am having problem with incontinence, but not bad. ED is still an unknown, haven't really tried in that area, but do believe I had a dry orgasm a couple of days ago, but told wife was not sure, may have been dreaming. Was prescribed something similar to Viagra, but have not taken yet. It took me a year to get to the point of surgery. I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in August 2012. So that's about it good luck. Surgery and post op was not that difficult up to this point.

UPDATED

October 2013

28 days since robotic laparoscopic prostecotomy. The doctor did the nerve sparing procedure and was able to save both nerve bundles. At this time I'm ok with my decision to do surgery instead of the hormone and radiation. Doing the radiation and hormone I feel would have taken months and possibility of prolonged side effects. I have no pain at this time and feel pretty good. Incontinence is a problem right now. Erections are ok - almost 90% with the help of a similar pill to Viagra. Was really scared to do this surgery, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. Had a bike fall early this year which was more painful than this was. The good thing about the surgery is that my cancer is no longer a problem both physically or mentally. Thank you for this website.

UPDATED

January 2015

PSA was very high 18. Gleason score 4+3. Doctors advised to get treatment or could prove fatal. Decided on robotic surgery to remove prostate (nerve sparing) to get it over and done with quickly. Consulted with 5 or 6 different doctors.Felt radiation and chemo would be a prolong procedure with unwanted side effects. Hormone treatment seemed very scary; doc said it would be a chemical castration; thought of that was very unappealing. Looked into proton treatment but too expensive and my insurance would not cover it. (One of the docs said it was the same as radiation therapy). It's been 15 months or more since surgery, still have incontinence but not that bad. Sex life is good, don't have the spontaneous erections as before but still happy with sex life. It was a hard decision to go ahead with surgery but so far it has been a good decision. At this time the cancer is gone and all the worry is gone concerning the cancer.

UPDATED

March 2016

My choice was robotic surgery and happy with that decision; am in good health and PSA; -1. Am glad I chose this procedure as didn't have side effects of hormone or chemo or radiation. Still have some incontinence, a nuisance but not a big problem. Sex is somewhat different am using Cialis. I do wish I would have had a healthy prostate but am grateful the prostate cancer has not spread.

UPDATED

April 2017

Removed prostate 9/11/13 robotic almost 4 years ago. My PSA should be 0.0, but it is 0.05, having recurrence. So after surgery doctors think some cancerous cells left behind. Currently just doing active surveillance. Doctors recommending hormone and radiation. Other than incontinence, no other symptoms.

Frank's e-mail address is: nohah AT juno.com (replace "AT" with "@")

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


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