YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

BRONZE

Scott Gibbins and Susi live in Germany. He was 51 when he was diagnosed in March, 2007. His initial PSA was 6.95 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was3+3=6 and he was staged T2a. His choice of treatment was Robotic Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. Here is his story - as far as it goes!

My brother, who is 7 years older than I, was diagnosed in 2006 (he was 57 at the time). He had successful robotic laparoscopic surgery with Da Vinci in Arlington, Texas.

During a visit with him, he made me PROMISE to get my PSA checked as soon as possible. As I was going through a physical for my military reserve duty - with a "normal" DRE (Digital Rectal Examination), I casually asked my doctor if he could order a PSA test as part of my routine blood work, which he did. I asked if I'd hear anything about the results, and he replied, "Not if everything's OK."

My cell phone rang on my way home from work the next day, informing me that my PSA was elevated (6.96) and that I was being referred to a urologist at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

(I'll continue the story at a later date)

Later:

The urologist did a MUCH more thorough DRE and said he felt a suspicious bump on one side, indicating that a TRUS biopsy was necessary to rule out cancer, when combined with the elevated PSA.

Of 12 cores, only one contained cancerous cells, which (I thought) was a good sign. However, according to the surgeon, the fact that ANY cancer showed up means that there was enough there to be concerned about. He went through all my options for treatment, the usual list of unacceptable courses of action. Unfortunately I had to choose one, even if it was to do nothing.

The surgery offered at Landstuhl was the "old-fashioned" open RPP variety, which the surgeon assured me he was very experienced doing, and therefore quite confident in his results. I hesitantly agreed to schedule the surgery for 8 May 2007...to be continued....)

 

UPDATED

January 2009

 

 

Summoning all the courage I could muster, I kissed the family goodbye, arranged for a friend to drive my beloved Porsche home, and reported to LRMC on 8 May 2007. I went through the pre-op routine, had an IV started and was ready to be rolled into the operating room.

The anesthesiologist came and asked me if I'd had an EKG done the previous day (during a pre-op visit). I hadn't, so she ordered one done immediately. She noted an abnormality that indicated a previous heart attack (news to me!). Anyway, my surgery was cancelled and would not be rescheduled until I cleared a cardiac evaluation.

A few weeks later I had been given a clean bill of cardiac health, but had changed my mind about the open RPP at LRMC. I decided to approach my brother's surgeon in Arlington, TX and see if he'd be willing to take me as a patient. He agreed, and I was scheduled to meet him on 31 July with surgery the next day.

I had the robotic laparoscopic surgery with the DaVinci controlled by Dr. Justin Lee in Arlington, TX on 1 August 2007, and was home (at my brother's house) the next day. The initial drip to relax me put me to sleep before I left the pre-op room, and I never even SAW the DaVinci! I woke up in a recovery room with absolutely no memory of anything. The incisions were small and caused no pain, and the worst part of the whole experience was having a catheter in for a week.

After it was removed, I needed pads for a few weeks, but had no problems after that with leakage. I flew back to Germany on 17 August and was back to work on 20 August. My first PSA post-surgery was <0.01. The next two were the same, and the last one (6 months ago) was <0.1, hopefully not a real increase, just a peculiarity of the test.

It's time for another check, and I promise to let you know how that turns out!

Scott's e-mail address is: scottgibbins@yahoo.com