steveheinze

Steve,
Thanks for the news and info. Hope it continues to go well for you. I do think the unknown is the worst part of it. I appreciate the news, helps fill in some of the gaps. Hope the removal of the cath goes well. Will be interested in hearing about your progress as I will take this on as a challenge and will be a few weeks behind in my journey. Best of luck!

Hoping it went well for you today.....

Hello Steve,

So far, the hardest part for me was hearing the word CANCER, deciding on which procedure and then which doctor. I had my radical retropubic prostatectomy procedure on Feb 27th and on March 5th got a great phone call from my doctor stating that I am techinically cured. Going to my followup visit this coming Wednesday to remove the catheter. I am looking forward to the catheter being gone and start the next process. Stay positive and follow the Doctors advice to the letter. One more suggestion, take the pain meds whenever the pain starts. I tried on a couple occasions to try and tough it out - gave up being tough . I will keep you in my thoughts.

Good day. I hope you are doing well today. I see that you live in Langhorne. We are in Bensalem . I grew up in Penndel. I see that you are recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. I will keep you in my prayers. Have you started chemo yet? Our God Send, Joe, passed away from pancreatic cancer on 12/6/13. He was 74 but was never sick before diagnosis and we really thought he would have outlived me. My brother who is 69 has colon cancer. I believe he was diagnosed in 2011. We have started a group to help cancer patients - NO ONE SHOULD FACE CANCER ALONE - we are developing our group to help cancer patients emotionally, with information and eventually financially. You can reach me at LIGHTHOUSE80@COMCAST.NET if you would like. I am new to this group so I do not know if I get replies to my messages through here or some other way. I will be praying for you.

Steve - I am 54 was diagnosed as Stage 1 in November. I had the da Vinci robotic surgery 6 days ago. The surgeons completely removed the Prostate and saved all of my nerves and veins in just under two hours (not that it was a race). I was up and walking the following morning around 6 am and stopped taking the pain medication drip at that time. I was released just after lunch 5 days ago. I have to say I took some Tylenol for a couple days and feel no pain today. I drove my car around my small town the past few days and went out for a walk today despite the 10 degree weather in Northwestern NJ. I had bowel movements by Sunday and feel almost 100%. I will see my surgeons this Friday and they will remove the catheter, which is the only thing that is a pain, but it's all good.

Make sure you do your homework and make sure you find the right procedure for you and most importantly make sure you find the right doctors to treat you. My surgeon is a young guy who has been performing this type of surgery since his residency days. He has performed over 1,500 procedures and I can't say enough about him. God Bless Brother don't hesitate to reach out. Joe

Welcome to this site. I have been fighting aggressive prostate cancer for 11 years. I have made some mistakes and done a few things right in those years. I have posted a detailed writing of my journey for the past 11 years in the hopes that it may help others to see my mistakes and inform them on some of the things that may happen. In any event, I am glad you found this site. Here there are many "firsthand" information people who may be able to answer questions you have. In any event, don't forget the three main things to remember: Always get a second or third hand opinion; don't do anything to your body if it doesn't feel right or if you have that sinking feeling for no apparent reason that this is wrong for you; last, always keep a positive attitude and treat yourself like the temple you are. You are the caretaker of the temple and only you can guide yourself through this maze of decisions one who has cancer is continually faced with. The positive attitude can heal you as much as the treatment and drugs can.
Know that we are here for you and many of us have walked the same scary path as yourself with, in some cases, far less information, and knowledge. Use this site to assist in your education of what has gone on all around the world in the fight to control this disease. The great thing is it is all firsthand knowledge and that you are not alone in this struggle to control your particular cancer.
I hope that you find peace in this battle for it will do you more good than any drugs or treatments. May your God go with you, help you through the hard times, and enjoy the good times.
Welcome aboard. Michael

I was first diagnosed at age 57 at stage one. I asked my doctor what I should do. The only thing he didn't recommend was was to sit by and cross my fingers. You are very young as prostate cancer patients go(I have shoes older than you are) and you've caught this early. In my opinion, you should talk to a couple of urologists about what to do next. There is probably no rush. There certainly wasn't in my case. I sought treatment and I'm now 70 years old and was recently told that I am cancer free. I have a long way to go and you have much longer. This is not the end. It is merely the beginning of a new stage in your life. Good luck.

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/prostate-cancer

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

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GregP 3X Survivor
Team WhatNext Community Mgr

Making the decision - surgery or radiation was a very difficult one for my wife and I. My Gleason score was 8. Our only options were radiation or surgery. Active surveillance was not an option for us. I am now 133 days out from robotic prostate surgery. It was done at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. My PSA was .02 after the surgery. At this time I do not require any other treatment but I will continue to have my PSA checked.

For me, this was the right decision. I am 69 years old with a conic heart problem [A-Fib] and was told that if I did radiation I would have to have 2 and 1/2 years of hormone therapy in addition to the radiation. I was advised not to let any robotic surgeon work on me unless they had completed at least 500 operations. Mine had completed 1,000.

Most of the Drs. I talked to [We talked to four different Drs.] recommended that I do radiation but the surgeon was very confident and when I checked his background it was excellent. I found that talking to the professionals was most helpful. The antidotal information by well-meaning people turn out not to be as helpful.

My side effects include ED and urine leaks. I did have ED issues before the surgery and worked with my doctor to come up with a plan. One very good book, although somewhat dated, is Intimacy with Impotence by Ralph and Barbara Alterowitz. They are also on YouTube. Viagra works for me. I can have an orgasm and recently intercourse.

I had about 10 sessions with a specialist [Physical Therapy] re: the urine issue and I am getting the incontinence under control. Also, my wife and I also went to a therapist because the stress level in making the decision was high. She was very helpful.

One Dr. said no matter what we decided never look back. The other option could have been worse. All the love and best to you. I, and many others, are with you and your family. Take good care. Tom

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter