John Sutherland and Sarah live in London, UK. He was 70 when he was diagnosed
on February 2, 2009. His initial PSA was 8.9 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7 and
although he says he was staged T2b, this seems to be the pathological staging.
It seems from his narrative that he would have been clinically staged as T1c.
His choice of treatment was robotic assisted surgery. Here is his story.
Annual
check-up revealed a marginally higher PSA than the cut off for my age group (70+),
at 7.3. Elected to use the UK private healthcare system (despite lifelong principles)
so
(1) I could have the surgeon of my choice (Prof Roger Kirby)
(2)
because so under pressure is the National Health System at the moment that cancer
detection in the aged (i.e. "those about to die") ranks somewhere below ingrowing
toenails.
First biopsy (Feb. 2009---like being shot in the anus with a
beebee gun, TWELVE TIMES) came up with one core, 10%, Gleason Score 3+4=7. No
pressure. Wait three months, says Kirby, then come back. April, second biopsy,
tiny spread next door core, Gleason Score 6.
Spoke to clever physician
friend who said do it, unless you really don't want to.
Decided on operation,
Kirby + his buddy D Vinci, two hours, only severe pain in the wallet (no "small
incisions" there). Lab reports back week later (today). margins clear, volume
tiny (0.05), Gleason Score downgraded to 6. I was less diseased than I thought.
What
was surprising was that the damn gland had ballooned to 100gms, despite a Greenlight
laser TURP (done by Kirby) four years ago. Another four years and it would
have been the size of the Goodyear blimp. And, of course, I would have needed
another TURP (of the
salami-cut kind).
Catheter removed today and I'm leaking like a rusty
bucket. but it's easier to live with something that will get better than something
which may get (horribly) worse.
My advice to anyone else? Don't let anyone
else advise you into something you're not positive about. it's not their prostate.
For
me, it was Pascal's wager (believe in God. If He doesn't exist, you've lost nothing.
If He does, you're a winner). the operation, of whatever kind, doesn't, one is
told, cause or spread cancer. And it does lessen the chance, for most of us, of
dying (prematurely) of it.
Thank you for this excellent website and the
fellowship it offers.
John Sutherland
John's
e-mail address is: uclejas@aol.com
