That walnut sized organ: the Prostate

Two days after the TRUS I got septicaemia: followed the consultant's instructions so was admitted to hospital pronto.

7 days in hospital and 4 days IV at home... scary.

A week after I got home and finished the medication I got it again.

Back in hospital again. I followed the instructions again and was admitted pronto again.

7 days in hospital and 10 days IV at home


Scary redux.
However no permanent organ damage.

Biopsy result show cancer so I will know next week what the medical plan is: either surgery or radiotherapy.
Too far gone for the inserts.
Decision is mine, no recommendation

Will be back when I know what the plan is.

Moral of story, get it tested.

Tks, MT: in some respects its easier to deal with than if biopsy came back with the result saying we didn't find it in the biopsy so it would have been more PSA tests and more biopsies... [ The analogy I use is a dart board for the 15 shots they take: they might have missed it at treble 19
Am told its still contained in the prostate as all the other tests, including bone scan, are clear so its just to decide on what to do after I talk to the radiotherapy RT and surgery teams. The main side effects from both are somewhat similar, what I don't have is the differential stats that say for example, X out of 10 patients who opt for surgery get side effect A, as opposed to Y if they opt for RT

The RT is also a much longer process, maybe 9 weeks at 5 sessions a week and then waiting 3 or more months before they can see it it has worked.

As an engineer, my instinct is to go surgery as it gets it done, am otherwise healthy so no medical reasons why I can't go under knife, I have neighbour who is obese with same issue and surgery not offered.
The other, perhaps illogical, reason for my thinking is that heavy RT precludes subsequent surgery, same as for women with breast cancer, heavy RT precludes reconstructive surgery.

Thanks again.

Surgery is the agreed plan, and the examination of the prostate, post-extraction, will determine if any RT is required.

Will be back with an update post-surgery and in the meantime, thanks for all the kind words both public and private.

And, notwithstanding the uncertainty with the PSA test results, don't wait to get your's tested if you are male and of an age......

As I wrote before, I had zero symptoms, it was picked up in a medical MOT and would have been a serious issue in a few years if not picked up.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36105272

Nice diagram!

The only comment I have is that I had zero symptoms.......

Gizmo, thanks for the links. Appreciated.
Open rant:
I am 100% skeptical of a lot of this stuff as in a few years time they will stand it on its head.
Most of this stuff, IMHO, is churned out by academics chasing publications and slave-driving their research students, all with the aim of getting more funding.
You then have examples of stuff being falsified, just like the car emissions so prefer article like the above that deal in facts.
close rant.

Been a tough few weeks in my head since I last posted.
Main events were getting the post-consultation letter from the consultant, which read like a reverse spare parts list:D

The other event was the PCA in the hospital: Pre Clinical Assessment.
This took a good 4 or 5 hours but it was very informative.
I now know why the catheter wont fall out while it is in for the week or ten days post op:)

Got details of the different urinary nappies and why bigger is not necessarily better: it seems more frequent changing is better than less frequent because the pads contain a chemical, when not wet, can cause a skin rash down there:eek:

Of course that poses the question in my head: how do you dispose of these?
A half full black bin of them in the current heat would not be an odour free situation I would think.
Then of course the practical aspects of this if out in restaurants/ friends houses etc....

The one positive event was enrolling in the DCU MedEX pre-op fitness improvement programme.
I have attached a single page on this as well as a chart on exercise in general.

The MedEX programme I am enrolled in is essentially an exercise bootcamp for cancer patients.
Normally folk get 2 or 3 month notice of their surgery but I did not start this till the 5th, when I did the baseline assessment, followed by 3 supervised gym sessions a week plus a home based exercise session.
I have my post bootcamp assessment on Tuesday 17th at which point the benefits of the 2 weeks will be measured.
Apart from the benefits of exercise in general, it seems when under anaesthetic, the heart and lungs are working really hard, so the MedEx is cardio focussed.
My legs gave out during the baseline test on the bike so that can be improved.
If the heart or lungs had given out, then its a more difficult fix.

Heading up to DCU now for a gym session: one more on Monday, baseline test on Tuesday and mack the knife on Wednesday, hopefully home Friday.

I will know 4 or 5 business days after the op whether they achieved the necessary clear margins so right now I am not looking past May 25rd or so.

Just got an update from surgeon on the lab results, all clear so no further action, other than regular monitoring required.
Thanks for all the kind words both public and PM.

In signing off, if you are male and of the age, or have family history of prostate cancer, get it looked at.

The one thing I would recommend is that you see a consultant early in the process as they know how to do a proper DRE, a lot of GPs, IMHO, based on the different ones I have had, don't have the skill level or enthusiasm for a full-on DRE.
In addition, don't take no for an answer if your GP refuses to have the PSA test done.

My consultant knew from the DRE that I had an issue which needed dealing with, I will , almost, miss them:).

Hasta la vista, baby:D

PMBC wrote: »

Very difficult time.
Is night-time peeing related to day time consumption, particularly late evening afternoon. I find if I limit the amount of tea I drink, usually about four-five cups before lunch-time, and a few in the afternoon/evening I am unlikely to have to pee during the night. Also water has less effect in that regard than tea or coffee.

Yes it has and lifestyle choices food and drink-wise need to be made to reduce output.
Alcohol, coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, are all culprits.
To be honest, since Friday I have drunk all of the above as I have what the IT guys call straight through processing:D.
That will change tomorrow.
So while the halcyon, student days of 16 pints of black at a sitting in Hartigans are well and truly gone, I just need to figure out how to manage when, not if, I do skull a few pints, even if I have to wear a kilt!

Just back from having it removed, utterly painless.
Good instruction on how tackle the urinary issues, I will just take it one day at a time, I expect my next update here will be mid July after I meet my consultant again, where I hope to get the clinical all clear to start cycling again.

Just to wrap up on the DRE and the need to use a consultant.

In my case there were zero symptoms, and it was normal size, however the consultant could tell by the texture of the prostate that there was something awry and proceeded to the biopsy without delay..

I dont believe the GP's have that level of skill as its not a regular procedure for them.
If when your GP does the DRE and meets it at the back door, then he can tell its enlarged, however it takes more skill if nothing seems abnormal.

Keep well and hope this helps someone somewhere

First up, thanks for all replies/kind words, am not following this thread, next look/update will be after 21st July when I hope to get sign off from surgeon on returning to DCU.

I need to bring a PSA blood test to that appointment, it better be frigging zero:D

Scars are healing slowly but surely.

Pain:
Dealt before with the three pain points, still the same, hospital happy that its the inners restructuring.

Energy Levels.
If I do any physical stuff in the morning, am talking light stuff, I need to rest in the afternoon, and take some pain killers both then and at night.

Nights still the same, up every four hours but its not a problem: am seeing some slight increase in bladder storage before the pain hits so maybe progress is being made.

I sometimes increase the liquid intake at night to replenish the hydration levels so it might be three hours but it is not a problem.

Days, especially walking, are generally wet.

I try walk first thing in morning as retained liquids at a minimum, it is still an issue but not as much as if I walk after a big coffee:)..

Standing up after sitting down is becoming slightly less of an issue as I seem to have regained some control, but the consequence of that is that it strains the pelvic floor muscles so when I wear the longer, rectangular pads, they hurt to sit it.
The triangular, jockstrapesque, pads are more comfortable but don't have the same retention capacity.

This progress has helped with the driving but you need to know there is a toilet close by your destination.
Drove to our local shopping centre recently and one lot was out of action and the other closed for cleaning: result was the first "industrial scale accident". Luckily I had the black plastic in the car seat so getting home was not a problem but its tough to explain to the grandkids why Grandad has wet himself......;)
You just can't wait....

I have been out socially twice and the go-to pad for such events is the full adult nappy; it stores about 1.5 litres, becomes heavy but it works as long as one doesn't drink hugh volumes of alcohol or the non-alcoholic fizzy drinks: they just go straight through.
Downside is that you need to strip off to replace it.

However, the overlay on all of this is that arising from the nerve removal part of the surgery is that there is little enough to hold onto for directional purposes so am currently using a jug as anything else is a problem standing up, as discussed previously. Flow rate not a problem, just the stitching related pain.
How this will pan out once I get back to work remains to be seen.

I asked the NRA for details of the motorway stops, its attached: pathetic and reflects the immense pressure from the bypassed town: current thinking is that I will just have to bring a bottle. Alright when on your own but I would often bring clients to meet suppliers or lunch: What's that in the drinks bottle/coffee cup holder bro...:D....

Of course when at home, one can always sit down, however that has its own problems which are outside scope... suffice to say that the anaesthetic shuts down the back office system, they, prior to surgery, said it was for a few days, it took several weeks to get back to normal, and that was with loadsa fibre fruit etc.

Getting rid of the 30 or so nappies a week has, for the moment, not been a problem as I have very good neighbours and between the 4 or 5 of us, a black bin goes out every week so so problem so far: the weight is getting a bit less, it was 7.5 kg the first week but this week was 5 kg, which reflects the progress while sitting.

Lifesaving surgery: Yes.
Lifechanging surgery: Yes,
where every activity has to be planned, even something as simple as the sequence when having a shower and a shave, I have to "re-nap" before shaving.....
when at home alone sitting, and the door bell rings, you have to pee before answering the door, so don't answer anymore......

Keep well.