Tony Craig and Dana live in Alabama,
USA. He was 48 when he was diagnosed on August 24, 2006. His initial PSA
was 3.32 ng/ml and his Gleason Score was 6. he was staged T1c and has decided
to have Laparoscopic Surgery. Here is his story:
No symptoms. PSA rose 0.62 ng/ml from previous year and family Doctor referred
to Urologist.
Biopsy
revealed 2 of 10 cores were cancer.
Researched
various treatments and decided robotic procedure suited me the best. Found the
name of a surgeon in my state on the da
Vinci® website and scheduled an appointment.
Travelled
to meet with the surgeon(the robotic procedure is not available where I live)and
scheduled operation for late October 2006.
Robotic
laproscopic radical prostatectomy performed Octpber 20, 2006 @1:00pm. Arrived
in room early evening after spending about an in recovery. Not much pain at all,
but very dry mouth. Ice chips were wonderful! Nurse had me up for lap around the
floor about 9:00pm. Spent the night greeting various nurses and support people
about every hour. I had always heard the hospital is not a place to sleep. It's
true. Did another lap about 5:30am. Had a good breakfast the next morning. Feeling
kind of weak due to lack of food and just laying around. Doctor came to check
on me about 11:30am, then released me. We packed up and were on the road home
(100 mile drive) by 12:30. Trip is uneventful and I spend the rest of the afternoon
watching football in an easy chair.
So
far, so good. Will update again soon.
Back
to work yesterday. Have a desk job and it's not too bad with the aid of a doughnut
cushion.
Continence
is fine as long as seated or laying down. Standing or walking around typically
results in minor leaks. I can deal with the leakage much better than the Foley
catheter - I hated that thing and fortunately had to have it only a week. I'm
still sore from it.
All
of the surgical incisions are healing nicely, except the drain hole. It seems
to be taking an extra long time and the surgeon, at the one week appointment,
said he had not seen one do that before. Thank goodness he didn't gasp! We jokingly
call it my bullet-hole.
All
is well on the recovery front. Trying to walk as much as possible. I ran a couple
of miles at the 6 week point and some small traces of blood appeared in urine
later that day. Must be OK, as it didn't show up that evening. I'm going to hold
off running for a little while longer.
Leaking
is limited to stresses such as squating down, lifting and laughing. Using about
1 pad per day, but not ready to give them up yet. Still get those little leaks
that would be embarrassing.
Note
regarding the catheter: I mentioned mine hurt almost the entire time I had it.
It turns out that the thing caused scar tissue to build up in my urethra. Began
getting backed up with strong flow and crooked stream at times. Doctor had to
perform a "roto-rooter" type procedure, which was painfull. I still have to insert
a catheter daily to make sure path stays clear.
All
incisions look good, even the drain hole. The drain hole is the slowest to clear
up, but is coming along nicely now. At the advice of an aunt, who is a RN, I dabbed
unrefined honey on the drain hole wound. She said doctors have used it for years
to aid healing. It sounded like a wives tale to me, but I tried it a couple of
times and it seemed to help.
Incontinence
- Currently using 1 pad per day for minimal leakage. More as insurance against
embarassment from accidents. Do not refrain from any activities and maintain regular
diet and exercise.
ED
- Never was a great problem; however, leakage is occasionally present during intercourse.
Will continue to monitor in the future.
Still
using a light pad per day. Have occasional, minor leakage which would show through
if not contained. Typically under strain. I play golf weekly and have not noticed
leakage then. It's usually in awkward positions such as climbing into a tall vehicle
or lifting weights such as moving furniture.
ED,
although never really an issue, continues to improve as erections may be better
as compared to a year ago. Still must empty bladder prior to intercourse as leakage
may also occur. Orgasms have never been the same. Still pleasureable, but definitely
different without ejaculation. Sometimes slightly longer lasting; however, not
as intense as pre-surgery.
Tony's
e-mail address is: tinycargo@yahoo.com
