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I caught the cancer

Burt

By Burt
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Dbeasy

Dbeasy 15,007

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On 10/11/2023 at 2:44 AM, Frieda’s Boss said:

Add another to the prostate cancer list….  Confirmed with urologist today. 48yo and my PSA spiked to 5. Ultrasound guided biopsy (not fun) and 7 of the 12 cores came back positive. Most with a Gleason score of 6, two with a Gleason score of 7 (4+3). So, much like others here, need to figure out surgery vs. RT. Strong preference right now is no RT and we did order Decipher test to gain more info. I have a friend at work who used to work for Decipher so I’m going to pick his brain for best docs around (SoCal).  I have an appt scheduled in a couple of weeks with the surgeon my urologist recommended from his group, but I know there are going to be a lot of good options in the area. 
 

I was pretty much resigned to the fact that this would be the diagnosis, but my wife was in denial so she had a pretty tough reaction this evening.  
 

As I’m reading you all share your stories here, please know that I’m putting you and your families in my prayers. 
 


 

UCLA has one of the best prostate cancer treatment centers in the country. At your age, I would think surgery would be the better option, but cure rates of radiation and combo radiation are actually better than surgery these days. And I think the old issue of not being able to do surgery after radiation has been resolved. It’s something to ask the surgeons and radiation oncologists when you meet with them. Given the Gleason score you will need to get treatment but take time to evaluate the options. 

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Sbbruin
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Well, other than my wife, and my doctor, you fuckers are the only ones to know.  I had an endoscopy last Thursday as I have had increasing difficulty swallowing food.  The scope showed a stricture (na

Sbbruin
Sbbruin

So some positive news, relatively.  Had both an endoscopic ultrasound and PET CT this past week.  Ultrasound showed a sizable tumor.  But PET CT showed very little spread.  And that’s the key.  Now th

Stringer
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Well, put me on the list.  I had COVID a month ago. I had some residual symptoms like a cough and some fatigue, so I chalked it up to Long COVID.  Mid last week, I had some other random symptoms, came

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Do kegel exercises like crazy. Who is your surgeon?

It’s done. John Davis was the surgeon. He didn’t have to take any lymph nodes. I’m watching baseball and football the rest of the day and going home tomorrow.
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Thanks all for the well wishes. I’m home and cleaned up now. I’ve got lots of sports to watch over the next couple of weeks while I recover which is nice.

And yes, I’ll probably listen to some Grateful Dead too.

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I’m doing ok. The incisions are uncomfortable and my whole body is sore. I’ve been able to rest off and on, but my body hurts from sitting. I get up and walk around pretty often, but it doesn’t help the soreness that much. I’m hoping tomorrow is when I start to turn the corner.

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6,140

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3 hours ago, Hate said:

I’m doing ok. The incisions are uncomfortable and my whole body is sore. I’ve been able to rest off and on, but my body hurts from sitting. I get up and walk around pretty often, but it doesn’t help the soreness that much. I’m hoping tomorrow is when I start to turn the corner.

Moment by moment man. Take it slowly and let your body heal. You’ve got a lot of years in front of you still to live. 

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Opioids?? I didn’t take any opioids at all. I haven’t taken any pain meds since the day after my surgery. I’ve taken several shits as well. I was eating pretty bland for the first few days, but I’m having some sliders this evening. The worst part of this is the catheter. I’m so goddamn tired of it. On the other hand, I haven’t missed a snap of football today due to taking a piss.

Edit: where did you have yours done?

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What a glorious morning!!! I took out my catheter !! It wasn’t painful but did feel…strange.  The tip of my dick feels like I’ve been wearing a swimsuit 24/7 at a water park, but it’s such a relief to be disconnected from that thing.

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Frieda’s Boss

Frieda’s Boss 181

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On 10/23/2023 at 4:41 AM, Hate said:

What a glorious morning!!! I took out my catheter !! It wasn’t painful but did feel…strange.  The tip of my dick feels like I’ve been wearing a swimsuit 24/7 at a water park, but it’s such a relief to be disconnected from that thing.

Glad to hear that. How are you feeling otherwise?

On 10/21/2023 at 3:20 PM, woohorn said:

UTSW. They ended up taking my lymph nodes and said they had to do some major nerve reconstruction, so it sounds like I really got the business compared to you.

Woohorn - let us know how you’re doing. 

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I’m feeling pretty damn good all things considered. I’m sleeping pretty well now and I’m able to move around pretty freely. There are a few hurdles still left to overcome, but I can’t really complain. I started back to work this week which helps keep my mind active. I’m working from home while I deal with some of the side effects from the surgery.

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19,449

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On 10/23/2023 at 6:41 AM, Hate said:

What a glorious morning!!! I took out my catheter !! It wasn’t painful but did feel…strange.  The tip of my dick feels like I’ve been wearing a swimsuit 24/7 at a water park, but it’s such a relief to be disconnected from that thing.

You must be feeling back to normal if you managed to work in a mention of the tip of your dick and a children's water park in the same sentence.  ;) 

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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,346

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On 10/23/2023 at 8:17 AM, Basil said:

Well you got fucking lucky with that.  I didn't even know I as getting a catheter when I had surgery and wasn't told it could hurt when they took it out.  It felt like torture.

Somewhere in Thailand somebody is paying a midget good money to do that.

Me I am enjoying my last cancer-not-getting worse day until I see the Doc tomorrow and she tells me what the CT scan yesterday said. They did call me this morning and send me in for an ultrasound because I've maybe got a blood clot in my neck. So it looked on the CT scan.

Ultrasound tech seemed real surprised that I was in no pain. I wouldn't be surprised if some rogue kidney cells set up a colony in my neck. Couple years ago we found out I was stage 4 when a kidney cell Seal Team 6 blew up a salivary gland in my jaw. Actually did me a favor, it served as the "check engine light" that got me hooked up with treatment.

Main thing bugging me is that my Science Girl Wife will google everything and scare herself to death. I feel pretty detached. I still think I'll die when I interrupt somebody in a big-ass car's enjoyment of a Tik-Tok video.

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woohorn

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Woohorn - let us know how you’re doing. 


Thx. I am 2 days behind Hate in the process so 48 hrs without catheter. Learning how to hold my piss again.

Random nasty bruises showed up yesterday around my laparoscopy scars and my abs are still burn pretty bad from the surgery but I am otherwise feeling pretty normal. I lift brah, but can't imagine being able to get back into the gym for months.

Haven't talked to surgeon but pathology report posted and is great-clean surgical margins, no extension outside the prostate, no change in tumor grade, and lots of nodes removed and all negative. Focusing on bladder control and gauging E.D. consequences.

Almost reluctant to post any complaints when so many here are bravely battling, but that is the nature of prostate cancer/early detection these days. It really pays to keep up with annual physicals and PSA test follow-ups. If you get a chance to catch it early-take it and just work through the steps.
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Woohorn, you said it very well. I was diagnosed with “stage 2” prostate cancer on May 1. Absolutely nothing changed for me until I had my surgery Oct. 16. When I was checking in that morning, there was a line of people coming in for various surgeries. The lady in front of me had no hair and had very clearly been a long time cancer patient on a chemo regiment. She was about to undergo a 8-10 hour surgery. I almost felt guilty knowing that my surgery was only 4 hours and would not require any chemo or radiation as a follow up. And with the surgery behind me now, my life is slowly returning to my new normal. It’s kind of surreal.

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Not that Bob

Not that Bob 735

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Word to the wise:

If you bend over to tie your shoes, do a Kegel.

If you otherwise bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, do a Kegel.

If you sneeze do a Kegel.

If you cough hard, do a Kegel.

If you puke it's probably too late, cover up your wet pants. 

If you pick up a heavy bag of groceries, do a Kegel.

I didn't find that photo of Bo Pelini particularly funny. If you wear light colored pants, wear a panty liner. Yes, I said it.

Never pass up a toilet.

If you think you need to piss, it's probably too late...never pass up a toilet. 

If you're getting on a plane, "dry out", no liquids before the flight. Airplane bathrooms are nasty.

Get to know the rest stops on the highway...never pass up a toilet. 

This is all a huge pain in the ass, but my psa has been zero for the 10 years after surgery.

There's more, but I need to go take a piss.

Edited by Not that Bob
I had to piss
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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26,346

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41 minutes ago, woohorn said:

Two weeks after prostatectomy, Dr. prescribed tadalafil 5 mg (Cialis) daily until I want a boner-then to munch like 5 or 6.

No E.D. or prostate symptoms before surgery.

Y'all know if that is pretty routine recovery protocol?

No idea. I do know if you're on the table and they're running that scope up your dick, and you say "This is the weirdest dentist's office I've ever been to," they don't get the joke.

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Not that Bob

Not that Bob 735

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1 hour ago, woohorn said:

Two weeks after prostatectomy, Dr. prescribed tadalafil 5 mg (Cialis) daily until I want a boner-then to munch like 5 or 6.

No E.D. or prostate symptoms before surgery.

Y'all know if that is pretty routine recovery protocol?

Doc prescribed various ED medications for me post surgery. I think it's mostly to make sure the pecker gets adequate blood supply to heal, not so much for intercourse. It's been over 10 years and I don't remember all the minutiae. I'm an old, I wasn't getting that much poon anyway. I know that sounds like the worst thing in the world, and I would prefer it to be otherwise, but in a way it's a relief to not be obsessed. 

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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30,163

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1 hour ago, RDCanecutter said:

No idea. I do know if you're on the table and they're running that scope up your dick, and you say "This is the weirdest dentist's office I've ever been to," they don't get the joke.

I was at my first visit to the surgeon who was going to hack out the cancer tumor and about 40% of my colon. I was annoyed because they sent in some baby resident who went on to nervously tell me I had cancer in my lungs and my liver and my colon and my lymph nodes, and they would remove a hunk of colon from “where the small intestine met the large intestine, including the appendix, up to somewhere in the transverse colon…but we might have to do chemo to shrink the tumors before we operate. “

The surgeon then came in and asked if I had spoken to the resident.  I effusively told him, “Yes I did doctor - and I can’t thank you both enough. I am so relieved…. I feel so much better with the positive news!”

The surgeon stared at the resident with dart-y angry eyes that could kill, and the poor kid was like shaking his head slightly negatively, like “I don’t know what the fuck this guy is talking about.”

And then walked to his anatomy chart and said, “Did I hear correctly doctor, that I will never ever again have to worry about getting appendicitis?”

Like you, I found out doctors are a tough crowd, comedy wise.

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Not that Bob

Not that Bob 735

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On 11/2/2023 at 1:45 PM, Gatorubet said:

I was at my first visit to the surgeon who was going to hack out the cancer tumor and about 40% of my colon. I was annoyed because they sent in some baby resident who went on to nervously tell me I had cancer in my lungs and my liver and my colon and my lymph nodes, and they would remove a hunk of colon from “where the small intestine met the large intestine, including the appendix, up to somewhere in the transverse colon…but we might have to do chemo to shrink the tumors before we operate. “

The surgeon then came in and asked if I had spoken to the resident.  I effusively told him, “Yes I did doctor - and I can’t thank you both enough. I am so relieved…. I feel so much better with the positive news!”

The surgeon stared at the resident with dart-y angry eyes that could kill, and the poor kid was like shaking his head slightly negatively, like “I don’t know what the fuck this guy is talking about.”

And then walked to his anatomy chart and said, “Did I hear correctly doctor, that I will never ever again have to worry about getting appendicitis?”

Like you, I found out doctors are a tough crowd, comedy wise.

In fairness, it's tough to write a good cancer joke. I got this far:

A priest a rabbi and a pathologist walk into a bar...

I'm drawing a blank after that. 

Edited by Not that Bob
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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30,163

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33 minutes ago, Not that Bob said:

In fairness, it's tough to write a good cancer joke. I got this far:

A priest a rabbi and a pathologist walk into a bar...

The bartender gives them all a beer about the same time, and after a long draught, the pathologist says, “God do I hate looking at slides every hour every day every week. All kinds of colon cancer. It is truly criminal for anyone not to have an annual rectal examination.“

The priest said,  “I’m sure every single altar boy at St. Catherine’s recently received a close rectal examination. “  

Just then, one of the regulars entered the bar and warmly greeted the pathologist, Hamas Schwartz….

all i got

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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30,163

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2 minutes ago, statsman said:

A friend battling through prostate stage 4 told me this- you need to know your PSA number, not just that it’s “good”. If it jumps from .8 to 2.7 in one year, you need to snap to. 

I encourage everyone here to give blood on the reg.  Not only is it a good thing to do for you,  it helps other people out.  My blood bank routinely does a free PSA screen and cholesterol screen as part of the deal.  Rather than wait for an annual physical, just give Blood several times a year. (and do an annual physical as well) 

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Frieda’s Boss

Frieda’s Boss 181

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On 11/2/2023 at 9:34 AM, woohorn said:

Two weeks after prostatectomy, Dr. prescribed tadalafil 5 mg (Cialis) daily until I want a boner-then to munch like 5 or 6.

No E.D. or prostate symptoms before surgery.

Y'all know if that is pretty routine recovery protocol?

This is consistent with what first surgeon I met with told me. Low dose of viagra for a year to help get things to normal. 
 

Anyone have Da Vinci single port (SP) robotic surgery?  First surgeon said that’s all he does now. Second surgeon said it was complicated and stayed with multi-port XI system. First MDs recovery times, and complication rates were impressive (if accurate). 

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