December 18, 2010

  • Walking with cancer

    We are so tired.  My bride has been trying to do everything she can for me, and I think she has hit the wall emotionally.  For the first time today, she cried.  I said that she has to die before me, because if I pass away first, she will never make it!

    Today I had my first bowel movement since the surgery.  There are still some blood clots in my urine, and I have to watch my urine bag so it does not get over full.  Yes, these are things we have to deal with.  The facts are that I have a plastic tube inserted where God put a tube made of flesh, and the pre-surgical laxative suppository and Fleets liquid plus a liquid diet for a day before hand left me pretty empty.  But then the urinary tube makes it hard to have a bowel movement.  The tube makes my bladder sore, and my back sore, so I sit with a pillow placed JUST SO. Sometimes I feel light headed, especially after I take my pain medicine or bladder spasm medicine.  Then there’s the Cipro (no milk within 2 hours).  I am walking more normally, I am returning to normal in bodily functions, and we are dealing with the rest of it as we go. 

    Thing is, I was going to help sing in the choir at church Sunday.  That may or may not be possible in the morning.  It may depend on how I feel, compared to how well I can take the ride in our car.

    The doctor said that the lab report on my prostate showed exactly what they had thought before hand, early stage cancer with no cancer outside the prostate.  In a month, we’ll do another PSA test, just to make sure my PSA is zero.

    Before surgery, people would ask me how I felt.  Thing was, if I had no diagnosis I would not have known that I had cancer; I was symptom free.  If I had waited until there were symptoms, it may have been too late.  I may need hormones, because the prostate generates most of a man’s testosterone; we’ll see.

    My surgery was done with the Da Vinci robotic computer assisted surgical system.  I had 6 incisions! One through my belly button, one just an inch above the belly button, two on my right side and two on my left side, one of which had the drainage tube in it until the day after surgery.  Apparently this system can be used for several kinds of surgery, not just prostate cancer.  You can see that at www.davincisurgery.com My doctor said that my prostate had been somewhat enlarged, which probably contributed to my needing to get up in the night to pee; maybe now that will go away too!  No driving until the Foley catheter comes out on the 23rd; and no sex for at least six weeks.  We can do that. Then there are two possible side effects, ED and incontinence in 25% of men with the surgery; but again my doctor thinks nothing of the sort in my case because of my general good health and relative youth 58.

    Why am I being so out front with this?  Guys, get your PSA tested annually if you are over 40; if you are 30’ish get your PSA tested to establish a base line for later comparison.  It could save your life.

     

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