Ted
Mills and Michelle live in Tennessee, USA . He was 50 when he was diagnosed on
March 26, 2008. His initial PSA was 3.9 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and he
was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was open surgery. Here is his story.
I
had a routine company physical on March 26, 2008. I was in great health - ideal
weight, on no medications, working out in the gym three days a week, and jogging
three days a week. On April 1st while on the way to a meeting, I receive a follow-up
telephone call from my doctor telling me while my PSA was in the normal range,
it had jumped from 2.2 to 3.9 in a year so I should see a Urologist. My Urologist
was an old high school basketball team-mate and friend who had done a couple of
procedures on me in the past. He suggested a round of antibiotics. After another
PSA of 3.9, a biopsy was scheduled. On June 16, 2009, I get the fateful call,
"Ted, your biopsy was sent to John Hopkins and you have a low grade cancer in
it's earliest stage. Can you meet me in my office in the morning to discuss treatment
options?"
I was at work and the news was staggering. I immediately left
work and called my girlfriend, Michelle. The next morning, we met my doctor (and
friend) in his office. My heading was spinning and I became overwhelmed at all
of the treatment options. The last option he offered was HIFU. In fact, he is
the only doctor in the Knoxville area utilizing this treatment. If I chose another
form of treatment, one of his colleagues would perform the procedure.
After
doing an incredible amount of research (spoke with or visited 3 other Urologists,
approximately 50 survivors - some from this site, Duke and Vanderbilt Universities
where HIFU is in clinical trials, 3 doctors not in urology, and read numerous
articles) in the next six weeks, I scheduled HIFU with my doctor in the Bahamas
for September 27th. My biggest concern was maintaining sexual functions.
Two
things happened over the next couple of weeks that made me step back and re-evaluate
my decision. First, one of my best friends in college was livid that I would consider
a treatment out of the country not yet approved in the U.S. I have a 16 year-old
daughter and my college friend asked me "Ted, what is the best treatment to guarantee
you are going to be able to walk her down the aisle and see your grandkids?" Pretty
sobering thoughts.
Second, I do not know my biological father. Through
some research I found out his father died from this, he had his prostrate removed
and the cancer returned ten years later, and his brother may possibly have it.
When
I received the telephone call about my genetic history, I felt I had to treat
this as aggressively as possible. A friend who is a long time surgical nurse suggested
I see Dr. Garrett Lischer, a young doctor out of the Mayo Clinic who specializes
in nerve-sparing manual surgery. He told me "I can give you a pill to help with
sex but I cannot give you a pill to cure cancer." After two appointments with
him, Michelle and I had no doubts this was the course of treatment we should seek
and he was the man for the procedure.
I contacted my original Urologist
and friend and cancelled the HIFU. Surgery was scheduled on September 9, 2009,
with Dr. Lischer. Everything went pretty much as described by him and other survivors.
Two weeks later, my catheter was removed. Yes, the catheter was the worst part
without a doubt. My doctor told me on rare occasions, men have trouble urinating
once the catheter is out. Around midnight that night I got up to go to the bathroom.
Nothing came out. After several minutes of pacing, trying to urinate with no result,
I felt my bladder was going to explode. I called Michelle and she made the 30
minute drive to my house for a trip to the Emergency Room. By the time we got
to the ER and back in a room, approximately two and half hours had passed. This
was the worst pain I have felt in my life! The ER nurse catheterized me quickly.
She had some trouble and there was a sharp pain. However, once I started urinating,
my bladder immediately was relieved. I was to say the least, disappointed that
the cath was back.
I called my doctor the next morning and he told me
to come back in a week and we would take the second catheter out. The next Monday,
out it comes. Monday, Tuesday, and early Wednesday, I was urinating without too
much of a problem. Late in the morning, I felt my body telling me I was going
to be unable to urinate. Sure enough, there was no voiding. I call my doctor but
he is in surgery so off to the ER again. A third catheter. After surgery, the
doctor calls and wants to see me immediately. Once there, he removes this catheter
and performs a cystoscope to see what was going on. This was not a lot of fun.
He says apparently the first ER nurse had torn part of my urethra from where it
was sewn to my bladder during surgery while trying to re-cath. This was the sharp
pain I had felt. He put another catheter in and told me I would have to keep it
about another month to allow my urethra to heal. Cystograms were performed the
next three weeks to monitor my progress. This was the low point of the entire
process for me. The catheter IS as bad as advertised.
Seven weeks after
my surgery, October 27th, I took the fourth catheter out myself for good. Because
I had a catheter so long, I had absolutely no control of my bladder for two weeks.
But amazingly, over the next two weeks, I regained almost complete control.
I
received my first PSA results on December 22nd and it was .00! Today, I have been
back in the gym for over a month and am almost back to where I was prior to surgery.
For leaking, I wear only a woman's panty liner, more as a security blanket.
What
about sex? I am able to have dry orgasms and yes, we have had some intercourse,
once on Christmas (Merry Christmas) without a pill. No, I am not back to where
I was and may never be. However, I am able to function and expect continued improvement.
But, most importantly, I am cancer free. I have no regrets about my treatment
choice even with the bump in the road during recovery.
Ted's e-mail address
is: Tedmills13@aol.com
