THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2019 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

I am currently 40 years old. I have a yearly medical exam done which includes bloodwork and my PSA getting examined. Two years ago my PSA was a 2. My Dr said that was a bit high for my age. This past July my PSA was a 4 and I was now 39 years of age. He asked me if I had certain symptoms. I told him the only symptom I had was that I do get out of bed several times to pee. Because of this he recommended I get an Ultrasound done. He suggested Dr. Duke Bahn in Ventura. Dr Bahn conducted my Ultrasound and said it did not appear normal. He suggested I have biopsy. I had a biopsy done. About a week later he called me and said that I had cancer but it was very small. The size was maybe 1mm. He suggested I do active surveillance. Nobody in my family has ever been diagnosed with cancer. I am the first one. I do have a significant other. She has been very helpful with this process. I was a bit nervous and unsure to be on active surveillance. I was then referred to an Oncologist.

I had PSA exam in October and my PSA went down to a 2. I felt good. In December I had another PSA exam and it came back as a 7. Because of this, the Oncologist recommended I be treated for this. I went to go see a Radiologist and a Surgeon at City of Hope in Duarte California.

Based on all the readings my wife and I have done, the medical personal we have talked to I have decided to have Robotic assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy at City of Hope in Duarte California. My surgery is scheduled for Feb 3rd.

I chose to have Surgery. My surgery was done on Feb 3rd, 2016 at City of Hope in Duarte CA. The name of the Doctor that conducted my surgery is Clayton Lau. My surgery procedure was exactly on time at 7:30am sharp. I woke up around 10:35am. I stayed there overnight and went home at 1pm the next day. The entire staff was very nice. The overnight nurse "Matt" was super nice and helpful. I went home and had a catheter for my urine.

At home I was in minor pain and a little drowsy due to the medications. It was a little uncomfortable carrying that catheter around. I didn't have a hard time sleeping. I used the big bag the entire time. Their was another bag they gave me that was smaller and I can wrap around my leg but it was smaller. I was able to have a bowel movement and pass gas 4 days after with a little help from Milk of Magnesia.

I felt better and better everyday. I did have a sharp pain on my lower right abdomen area near one of the incisions. I only felt this pain when I moved around. It was extremely painful when I was sitting down and I moved, but the worst pain was when I got up.

I went back today (2-9-16) to have my catheter removed. This was one of the procedures I was fearing the most. The nurse entered the room and removed the catheter. I felt almost no pain as they removed it.

Dr Lau entered the room and checked up on me. He said the cancer was confined to my prostate and it did not spread. I told him about the sharp pain on my abdominal area. The Doctor said the pain was due to a muscle they had to cut through while entering my body.

I returned home and urinated for the 1st time without the catheter. I was able to control it. I felt a few drops come out right before I pulled down my shorts.

So far I am very happy with my procedure at City of Hope (COH). Like I mentioned earlier, the entire staff was super nice. COH is very organized. The facility is nice. I am very glad I chose this over any other treatment. Mentally, I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I cant wait to be back at least 90% and return to my normal life/routine.

I had Da Vinci Robotic Surgery in February of 2014 at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte CA. I have had my PSA checked since then and it is undetectable. My complications are that I still have E.D. and occasionally I have minor incontinence. To be on the safe side I wear a small pad every day. I noticed I leak more than usual when I drink alcohol. I still get up in the middle of the night to pee about 2 or 3 times a night. Besides that everything else is ok.

I had surgery 2.5 years ago. So far my PSA is undetectable. I have minor E.D.

Junior's e-mail address is: dimjr28 AT gmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")

NOTE: Junior has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.