Bryan
Jones and Tia live in Indonesia . He was 49 when he was diagnosed in October 2007.
His initial PSA was 3.3 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6 and he was staged T1c.
His choice of treatment was robotic radical prostatectomy. Here is his story.
I
was diagnosed with a PSA of 3.3 in October 2007 in Brisbane when having a yearly
medical check up. My prostate was normal size.
The doctor recommended that
I wait one month and then have a further PSA. This I had done in Jakarta Indonesia
with a result of 4.99. I was referred to get a biopsy in Singapore on the 22nd
November 2007. Results came back as positive with Adenocarcinoma Gleason 3+3.
in core R2. I then had a MRI and CT scan which where both clear.
After
much consideration and some detailed investigation into the options available
to me I decided to have a robotic radical nerve sparing prostatectomy at Melbourne
Epworth hospital which was performed by Prof Anthony Costello on the 5th December
2007. My choice was based on the number of operations he had done and that he
has a substantial department focused on doing these operations on an ongoing basis.
The
operation was successful taking just over 2.5 hours. I was out of bed and walking
in a days and was out of hospital and walking around Melbourne with a catheter
in three days. I took a month off over the Xmas period which I would strongly
recommend as a sensible thing to do as this period is needed to get yourself back
on track. The first month is difficult with the incontinence. I did however travel
15 hours from Indonesia to South Africa by air on the 20th December 2007 and was
quite OK using Tena Mens pants.
I am now just over 3 months after the
op and have nearly full control of my bladder. Reasonable control was achieved
after 2 months. My advise is to try and carry on as normal a life as possible
during this time as it will come right sooner than you think. Impotency is an
issue but sex can still be great with the right attitude to the problem and an
understanding partner. Feeling is not an issue. In fact orgasm is more intense
than prior to the operation.
Hope this experience helps. The choice I
took was definitely the right one for my situation and age. My PSA two months
after the operation was 0.002. Surgical Margins are clear.
Bryan's e-mail
address is tiajones2006@gmail.com
