Wayne Wayne lives in North Carolina, USA. He was 48 when he was diagnosed on February
15, 2008. His initial PSA was 3.0 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and although
he does not state his staging, it is clear from his narrative that he was staged
T1c. His choice of treatment was Da Vinci surgery. Here is his story.
I
first began to notice some issues with having to get up very often at night to
urinate. After about three weeks of this I began to get concerned. Prostate cancer
runs in my family ( father and two uncles).
I saw my general medical doctor
and had PSA and DRE (Digital Rectal Examination). Rectal exam was ok but PSA was
elevated (3.1), this was in November 2007. Had PSA done again 1st week of January
and it was still elevated (3.2). Doctor suggested I see a urologist just to be
sure.
My third PSA was done late in January and was still above 3.0 ( original
baseline at 40 was 1.7). Another rectal exam etc. My urologist suggested a biopsy
( he claimed his positive rate was close to 50% on suggested biopsies) so off
I go for the biopsy. I have to say that it hurt like hell for just a bit.
Results
came back on February 15. To say I was shocked would be lying because of my family
history, but none the less I was still frightened. Biopsy was 12 needle sticks.
Only one showed any cancer cells and only 5% of that sample showed positive
I
have to say that my urologist (Dr Aubrey Evans of Winston-Salem) was very thorough
in explaining my options. He insisted that I see a radiation oncologist so I would
have another viewpoint on treatment. I about busted a gut when he gave me the
name of the radiation oncologist (it was my ex-sister-in-law ). When he asked
if I wanted to see someone else I told him I was now in a place where pride did
not exist anymore and if he thought she was the best then set up the appointment.
Met
with my ex-sister-in-law and she flat out told me I did not want to do radiation.
She explained that radiation was a one shot , no do overs , procedure and that
if the cancer recurred that the only option would be surgery with little to no
hope of sparing nerves.
Surgery scheduled for April 14, so I had some time
to get prepared and to read up on what comes after. Everything I read was right
and wrong. Timelines were mainly the misses. Everything that I read would happen
pretty much happened. Instead of letting the seven days with the catheter slow
me down I was back at my weekly poker game on Friday with bag in tow after having
surgery on Monday. My buddies thought it was hysterical when I told them I could
play all night and not have to get up to pee.
Back to work at a reasonable
pace at the end of 3 weeks (don't push it if you don't have to ). My 30 day PSA
came back at .01 ( good news ). My 90 PSA came back at .00 ( more good news ).
Started
doing the vacuum pump routine everyday. I was less than impressed with the immediate
results . Somewhere around the 1st week of August it finally had enough to it
to take a road test. It was interesting to say the least.
Moving on to
the Fall things continued to progress. Tried all the meds and found that Levitra
worked the best for me. 6 month PSA came back .00 (even better news ).
I
have to say that Christmas morning this year may have been one of the best since
I was a small child. After having planned to have a Christmas Eve rendezvous with
the wife things didn't work out. So here I am pumped full of "L" and no way to
take advantage. To my total surprise I awoke on Christmas morning with a full
blown "woodie". Of course as soon as I went to the bathroom it was gone faster
that Santa and his reindeer, but I had woken up with something I figured never
to have again.
Of all the things I have had to deal with I have to say
the minor incontinence has been the biggest pain. Basically dry at night and during
the day except when trying to lift something from a squat. You have to make sure
to remember to do a Kegel before you start your lift. Back to playing golf on
a regular basis with little or no incontinence. If you are an active person and
want to remain so there is a product out there that makes you feel a little more
comfortable. It is called Acti-Cuff. Order some and follow directions and you
won't regret it.
Ladies , if you are reading this pay attention !!!!!!!!!
Once your husband / significant other has had the surgery and is on the road to
recovery YOU ARE THE BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST IN TOWN. Take time everyday to be
the PHYSICAL THERAPIST (even 5 minutes) and you will have the man wrapped around
your finger forever. Unfortunately mine did not take this approach and told me
yesterday she wants to move on.
Hope the door doesn't hit her on the way
out. I guess its time to think about taking the show on the road. I know I will
have to find the right person but that may be just the thing.
Remember
prostate cancer can kill you but only you can kill your soul. Don't hesitate to
talk to other prostate cancer survivors, they can and will help with a smile and
a laugh at times. Forget you ever had any pride and concentrate on getting better.
I
want to especially thank my urologist Dr Aubrey Evans of Winston-Salem for taking
the time to talk to ME. He did not do the DR TWO STEP a single time even when
he knew he had patients waiting. And remember when you are sitting in the waiting
room waiting for a follow up visit that if the doctor is running late that he
could be delivering the same message that we got to another unfortunate soul
Wayne's
e-mail address is: schedulermpm@aol.com
