Dave
Arterburn and Edie live in California, USA. He was 55 when he was diagnosed
on July 31,2006. His initial PSA was 3.7 ng/ml, his iniitial Gleason Score was
3+4 = 7 and he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was Robotic Laproscopic
Surgery. Here is his story:
In
February 2003 I found out that my father had prostate cancer which had metastized
to his bones. At the same time I learned that my grandfather had died from prostate
cancer at age 70. After a year of much pain, my father died in March 2004.
Since
age 50, I have had regular physicals which included blood work for PSA. At age
50, my PSA was 2.6 ng/ml. By April 2006 the reading was 3.7 ng/ml. Given my family
history and increasing PSA scores, I decided to visit an urologist. My GP referred
me to Dr. Bevan-Thomas who practices in San Ramon and Fremont, CA.
During
my initial appointment with Dr. Bevan-Thomas, he indicated that my scores were
borderline (or below). He indicated that I could start the "watchful waiting"
or have a biopsy. I chose to have the biopsy which was performed on July 31, 2006.
On August 4th, I had my appointment to review the results of the biopsy. To quote
the Doctor,"Bummer, they found something!". Of the 12 samples, they found 8 contained
cancer.
That started the research project. I contacted friends and clients
within the medical community and received great suggestions and recommendations.
One recommendation, from a venture capitalist who underwent surgery about 2 years
ago, was to purchase the book written by Dr. Patrick Walsh, "Guide to Surviving
Prostate Cancer", and read it from cover to cover. I did that and continue to
use it as a reference. I consulted with Dr. Brooks at the Stanford Medical Center,
Dr. Carroll at University of San Francisco Medical Center, and others. I also
spoke to many fellow prostate cancer patients who had gone through various treatments.
I found these men to be more than helpful. It was almost like I had become a member
of an exclusive club where the members were more than willing to provide aid and
comfort. After considering the various options and doctors, I decided to have
the Robotic Laproscopic Surgery and have Dr. Bevan-Thomas perform it. Dr. Bevan-Thomas
has been performing this type of surgery since 2002 and had a very confident manner
without being arrogant.
I had the surgery on November 10th beginning at
about 8:00am. The surgery lasted about 2 1/2 hours and recovery took about an
hour. On the trip from recover to the hospital room, I experienced pain from the
bladder spasm. Shortly after taking the appropriate medication, the pain was gone.
I spent the night in the hospital and was released the next day around mid-morning.
Within
3 days following the surgery, I worked from home for 3 to 4 hours per day with
no problems. I also began walking about 1/2 hour each day around the neighborhood.
The cathereter was removed 5 days after the surgery. The removal was more discomfort
than painful. I returned to cardio workouts 3 weeks after surgery and very light
weight training as of yesterday.
Continence has been an issue since the
removal of the cathereter but has improved steadily. I have gone from 6 to 7 pads
a day to 2 to 3 now. I do the kegels regularly. The leakage is more a problem
while exercising.
ED has also been a problem. 2 weeks following the removal
of the catereter, I started taking Viagra and Levitra. So far, the results have
been very minimal, although orgasms are possible.
I have my first post-op
blood test and appointment on December 27th.
My
first post-op blood test results had my PSA at 0.1 ng/ml. Apparently my doctor
was expecting something under 0.1 so has ordered an ultrasenitive PSA test for
a few weeks out.
I
am sorry for failing to provide an update. It is funny how life gets in the way
of so many things.
Anyway,
yesterday marked the 18 month anniversary of my surgery. My quarterly blood test
reveals a PSA result of less than 0.1 so everyone is happy. Since a couple of
weeks after the surgery i have not experienced any issue with leakage. Again,
everyone is happy about that.
The
ED issue, unfortunately, is still an issue. Although things on that front have
improved, especially recently, it still causes much frustration! While Viagra
seems to be helping, it does not produce the results one would expect from the
commercials.
All
things considered, I am still pleased with the choice I made. I believe it was
the right one for me.
Thank
you for your interest.
Dave.
Dave's
e-mail address is: dave@awcpa.com
