A busy week last week piles of information and now the wait

Gleason Score from Prostate Cancer UK guide

Just back from letting my doctors know what is happening and finding out how to contact the district nurse if needed after the operation.

So last week we had one appointment with the designated personal nurse - 2 hours and the pre op appointment where further tests were done last Friday which lasted an hour.

The first meeting had lots of information including my current Gleason score of 7 as shown above, which given the circumstances was about as good as I could have hoped for.

We were informed 9/22 of the samples taken at the biopsy had cancer in them and that the level is currently T2 where the cancer is seen on scans but is believed to be contained within the Prostate. I am also fortunate enough not to require having the lymph glands removed.

The other good news was it is only in the left side of the Prostate so at worst it should be a unilateral nerve saving operation. The nerves impact the sexual feelings you have after.

So overall the stage is described as Localised (early) which is why I was provided with the three options of treatment.

In terms of the operation we were informed I have the joys of an epidural to look forward to before the general anesthetic is administered, antibiotics,  the joys of wearing flight socks.

Afterwards I will need to be injecting heparin for 2-4 weeks, have the joys of a catheter for at least two weeks and then incontinence recovery and no caffeine and preferable no alcohol. Guess a lock in at the pub is out of the question for a while!

Pain control is simply the classic Ibuprofen and Paracetamol mix. You also may be provided with some Codeine if necessary.

I have to say the treatment we have been provided with to date has been excellent and provides you with every opportunity to discover what is going to happen to you with total transparency as long as you are not too embarrassed to ask the personal questions in this situation nobody minds.

We were also informed how important it is to keep mobile and move around as much as your body will allow as soon as possible without overdoing it.

In terms of driving a minimum of 2 weeks but if able you can be a passenger if you are fit enough to get to places.

On the Friday I answered a lot of standard questions that you would expect, had an ECG, blood test weight height measured and received more information and 3 drinks you have to take for energy prior to the op . 2 the night before and one in the morning, in our case early as we need to be at the hospital for 7am.  Also found out to turn up with own PJ's and dressing gown. Everything else to be brought in the evening for a one night stay. Likely to be home again late the following day when the fun begins !

So now the wait for the operation,

We are already preparing and buying items we are going to need. I am to keep this updated as events occur.

Right now everything is focused on the build up to the operation and quite obviously a major topic of conversation ! Feeling ok about it so far.

Just an enlarged Prostate - new therapy

Given so many of my male friends are in the bracket to have their Prostate checked and may be suffering daily symptoms of a large Prostate (as shown in the image), the link below from the BBC from last year provides a positive way forward to improve your daily lives.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43877002

It can happen to us all

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49713937

The link is a story regarding Sir Rod Stewart from today's BBC 16/9/2019

The key passage to note is

"If every single man between 50 and 70 went to see their doctor, we would see the number of deaths reduced dramatically."

What are the symptoms?

There can be few symptoms of prostate cancer in the early stages, and because of its location most symptoms are linked to urination:

• needing to urinate more often, especially at night
• needing to run to the toilet
• difficulty in starting to urinate
• weak urine flow or taking a long time while urinating
• feeling your bladder has not emptied fully

Men with male relatives who have had prostate cancer, black men and men over 50 are at higher risk of getting the disease.

Weekend update

As you can see the pack arrived from Prostate Cancer has arrived with lots of information and samples of what you are going to need after the operation.

The last week was all about getting your head around the situation and finding out as much as possible. Without doubt the first thing I would recommend you do is contact Prostate Cancer UK and speak to one of their nurses to learn and ask if they can send you a pack out to you. Also do the 1 to 1 if offered as it provides you with an opportunity to talk to someone who has gone through your experience.

Emotions are far more stable as you accept the situation and move on. Do not underestimate the impact on your loved ones, it impacts them as much as you. Make sure they know exactly what is happening.

We have been doing research and learned what to expect in using a catheter. The doctors just say you will have one inserted for two weeks after the operation as if you know what they mean off course you do not unless you have experienced one.

The best You tube video we found to explain it  can be seen at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lIIYArTX4.

The most appropriate words are at at 9.12 the doctors states "You will feel very relieved to have your catheter removed. I am not certain the use of the word relieved is most appropriate given the subject but I am certain he is going to be correct!

Make sure you are positive about the whole thing, keep your humour and keep yourself busy,

A Prostate Cancer Blog

Hi and welcome to my new blog, this week on the 9/9/19 I have been prescribed with prostate cancer and have decided to create a blog for anyone in a similar position to learn from.

The journey to the operation

Whilst on holiday I noticed the frequency with which I was urinating and the urgency was increased significantly and resolved to see the doctor on my return. This I duly did, and the doctor actually said I had done exactly the right thing and he would undertake tests to make sure everything was ok.

So initially I had blood tests and urine samples taken. The latter did not highlight anything but I received a call from the doctor saying he wanted to talk to me about my blood test.

I arrived at the surgery and the doctor explained I had a PSA level of 3.7 when I should be less than 3 for my age and on that basis he would like me to have an MRI which I agreed to. To be honest I did not consider it to be an issue but in hindsight should of!

So the MRI was completed and then I was invited back to discuss the results, which had shown two areas of concern and they wanted to undertake a biopsy.

I won’t mind admitting I was expecting to suffer through this process but to be honest it was more uncomfortable than really painful. Yes, each injection made you jump and the taking of the samples felt and sounded like a staple gun inside you but you got used to it after a while and the 18 -30 samples were taken, I lost count. The worst bit was the probe entering which was totally alien to me.

I was expecting to suffer the next day but to my great relief I did not experience any issues at all and had minimal side effects.

I was the offered an appointment to discuss the results and unfortunately was told this week that my samples had indication of cancer at level 3 and 4. I was given three options of monitoring, removal or radiotherapy and chose the removal option. That was 3 days ago form when I wrote this.

Since then I have read up lots of information on Prostate cancer and contacted the marvellous charity Prostate cancer UK whose nurse was able to talk to me for 50 minutes and deal with all the issues I wished to cover. She also is sending out a full information pack.

As part of the Prostate cancer UK charity work, they provide one to one conversation with someone who has had the operation at a similar age. I spoke to someone who had it at the same age as myself and we were able to openly discuss all issues including sexual ones. This was incredibly beneficial, and I would recommend anyone in this position to do this.

The emotions have been all over the place as you read the consequences of the operation which range in severity and these provide you with the fear of the unknown. I am though determined not to let this get in the way of what I want to do and despite the fact I know this is going to be stressful and limiting I intend to work on getting better as quickly as possible.

The operation is in just over three weeks’ time and I will be updating the blog as  events occur with the pre op assessment in 8 days’ time.