YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

BRONZE

Don Cochrane and Darlene live in Barrington New Hampshire, USA. He was 48 when he was diagnosed on December 7, 2007. His initial PSA was 3.5 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 (3+3) and he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was Laparascopic Surgery. Here is his story.

TESTING: My PSA went from 2.5 to 3.5 in one year in 04/07. I finally got around to having a biopsy 10 months later (a week ago) and got the results today.

Out of 12 samples 3 were found with PC. My Gleason score is 6 (3+3) involving 60% of the 2 samples and 40% of the 3rd sample. One sample was identified to have perineural invasion.


FAMILY HISTORY: Both my brother (54) and my father (79) are Prostrate Cancer survivors (brother was diagnosed 3 years ago and elected surgery, no re-occurrence of PC, PSA is normal) (father was diagnosed 7 years ago and chose radiation seed treatment PSA is low/normal).

My mother died of Pancreatic Cancer 10 years ago. She was originally diagnosed with Colon Cancer 15 years ago.

PERSONAL HISTORY: I am 48 years old, overweight (5'10" 220 lbs), have not kept up with my exercise regimen I had prior to turning 40, and have maintained poor nutrition habits.

Part of this was due to life changes (divorce, 75 minute commute to my daytime job - a lot of stress - and working an evening job) but part of it is also due to negligence on my part at an important age in my life.

GOING FORWARD: I wish I could say that PC was the worst thing going on with my health, the worst is high cholesterol, obesity, and impending heart disease/diabetes if I don't change my life style. PC is just the first real wake up call the grim reaper is serving me.

I must deal with this PC over the short term. I'm pretty much decided on going with Surgery. I'm thinking February as I have an important business trip planned to go to Bangalore, India for a month.

I will be consulting on Monday (12/10/07) with Dr Sorcini at the Lahey Clinic Prostrate Center in Burlington Ma. They perform Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy at this facility. I have heard good things about the results from there and about the nerve-saving techniques they use to preserve erection functionality.


SUMMARY: I have always maintained a positive attitude in life. I am ready to begin the 2nd phase of my life, and I plan on sticking around for quite some time. I have a lot in life to be thankful/to live for.
I have a loving partner and she supports me in all things. I have 3 great boys (16, 19, 20) who I plan to ski/hike/play soccer with for many, many years to come as they go through the first part of their manhood.


GOALS:

Exercise:
PROBLEM: I haven't exercised.
SOLUTION: I love to exercise and miss it dearly. It will again become an active part of my daily life Monday through Friday, with some outdoor activity every weekend. 45 minutes

Nutrition:
PROBLEM: I am the worst eater. I dislike Asparagus and cauliflower, mushrooms and olives. I eat a LOT of red meat and starch and fatty foods and practically NO fruits and vegetables.
SOLUTION: I've already started on this one. Carrots and Apples and Oranges and almonds and salads and broccoli and peas and strawberries and bananas and juice and cereal and fish. Less fats and sugars.

Basically I'm going to try and follow Lance Armstrong's creed: LIVESTRONG!

 

UPDATED

February 2008

 

 

I had pretty good success preparing my body for surgery. I exercised half an hour a day and ate very well for one and a half months before my surgery. I had lost 15 pounds prior to surgery. I hope to lose another 15 pounds after recovery from surgery.

It has now been twelve days since my operation. I am doing quite well.

I was in the hospital overnight and released the next day.

I had catheter maintenance to deal with for a week after surgery which kept me in the house.

After seven days I had the catheter removed and have continued my recovery at an accelerated rate. I went off pain medication yesterday.

Incontinence has gotten less each day. I have been doing Kegel exercises numerous times during the day to improve bladder control.

I am able to walk and have started exercising again (started upper body and light tread mill this week). I have gotten out and walked or have gone for half an hour a couple times a day.

I feel my recovery is going along as well as could be expected and I'll be back at work full time one month after my surgery on March 13.

The Da Vinci laparoscopic prostate surgery is truly a miracle and I can't say enough about the talented work of the staff at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington Mass. My doctor was Andrea Sorcini. He did an amazing job. He believes during surgery he got all the cancer and it was isolated to my prostate (biopsy results following surgery showed no sign of cancer exterior to the prostate). This allowed him to spare the nerves and lymph nodes.

I eagerly await my next doctors appointment on March 19 to review my PSA results.

More info to come as I continue the fight of a Cancer Survivor.

-Don-

Don's e-mail address is: doncochrane@metrocast.net