J K and B live in Ohio, USA. He was 57 when he was diagnosed on February 25, 2008.
His initial PSA was 7.3 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6 and he was staged T1c.
His choice of treatment was Robotic laparoscopic surgery. Here is his story.
Additional
background information: we live near Columbus, Ohio.
As many others who
get this diagnosis have stated, the news that you have prostate cancer is not
only unwanted, but its completely unexpected. In my case, I had had a prostate
biopsy 5 years earlier that came back fine, and although I noticed increasing
difficulty with urination, I attributed it to BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia).
Even after my urologist pointed out that medications like Finasteride and Flomax
could help alleviate the symptoms, I resisted the idea of taking prescription
drugs. I don't trust 'em.
I had prided myself on keeping fit, exercising
regularly, eating mostly healthy food (except for perhaps too many beers now and
then), was a non-smoker, ate little red meat, had low blood pressure and cholesterol
around 200, etc. Why get dependent on prescription drugs?
After my family
doctor had called following my annual physical to let me know that my PSA had
risen significantly to 7.3, I came up with all kinds of explanations for the lab
results: I had run 5 miles the morning of the physical; my wife and I had sex
the night before; my prostate had grown since the last test (as Jerry Stiller
says in "Zoolander," approaching the size of a cantaloupe).
Looking back
at February 25, 2008, the date of my diagnosis (I doubt I'll ever forget that
date), I realize now that I was finding reasons to avoid hearing, "You have cancer."
I was floored. Cancer was found in two out of eight tissue samples taken during
the biopsy. The doctor gave me a copy of a personalized Patient Counseling Report
that explained more about the lab results, Gleason score, diagnosis and treatment
options and asked me to make an appointment to return the following week with
my wife so that he could discuss treatment options with both of us.
My
wife was at work when I returned home. I read the Patient Counseling Report, and
then the researcher inside me took over, and I spent the next three hours on the
Internet (that may have been the first time that I found this website). I won't
go into detail about my wife's reaction to the diagnosis - suffice to say she
was less prepared than I for the bad news.
During the week before our next
appointment with the urologist, we talked to many people - family and friends
- who were just as surprised. But I also discovered friends and associates who
had also had prostate cancer, and hearing about their own experiences was very
comforting.
Just as recommended on this site (I had also read pertinent
portions of "A Primer on Prostate Cancer" by Strum and Pogliano and "Dr. Patrick
Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer"), when we stepped into the doctor's
office for that follow-up visit, I was prepared with a list of over 25 questions
for the doctor. I had also made an appointment with another urologist to get a
second opinion, and I'm SO happy that I did.
The first urologist took the
time to answer all of our questions, but his explanation of the surgery treatment
option was limited to the traditional open radical prostatectomy - involving a
4-5 night stay in the hospital. When asked about robotic surgery, he replied that
he doesn't do it, and that if I was interested, he would likely refer me to the
Cleveland Clinic because the local surgeon that he would have recommended had
recently relocated to Florida.
Because of the size of my prostate (80 grams
versus 35 grams normal size), I would not be a good candidate for radioactive
seed implantation unless I went through a course of hormone shots for several
months to shrink it. Based on my research and readings, this was not surprising.
How
I found the "Artist."
It so happened that my wife needed some dental work
and told our dentist about my diagnosis. He provided the name of a urologist in
Columbus - a former neighbor, who he said had performed many prostate surgeries
and was well known in our area. My wife gave me his name, Dr. John Burgers, and
the researcher took over again. Entering his name in Google, I found out that
he practiced at Riverside Hospital, that he was a graduate of John Hopkins, and
that he was elected by fellow physicians in a Columbus Dispatch poll as the #1
doctor in town for the treatment of prostate cancer. Dr. Burgers was also quoted
in a 2002 article about Da Vinci robotic surgery and being one of the first in
town to use it.
I had been able to make an appointment with Dr. Burgers
the following week and to have all of my records sent to his office. My wife and
I met with him for an hour at the scheduled time, and I immediately felt comfortable
with the decision to have him perform surgery - so much so that I canceled another
appointment that I had made with a radiation oncologist.
It is now exactly
one week since I had the surgery. I was discharged from the hospital the next
day, and I'm scheduled to have the catheter out in two more days. Dr. Burgers
told us after the surgery that it was very successful and that he is sure that
the cancer was organ-confined. He was able to preserve the nerves and my bladder
muscle appeared to be in good shape. I've been walking regularly (now up to 3
miles/day) and I stopped taking pain medication two days after discharge. I feel
very lucky and blessed.
J's e-mail address is: semiretrd@yahoo.com
