Private Prostate resection operation

[Tim+]

True enough, but he never had any urinary symptoms at any time or reason to suspect cancer. Screening asymptomatic people for cancer opens a whole new can of worms.

Tim

[Maurice]

During my 'PVP' laser TURP in at Haywards Heath in 2004 he first checked the bladder and found a pre-cancerous polyp, which he first zapped before proceeding further.

Quite a bonus - though unwelcome; there were no prior symptoms.

[GB]

Indeed. The issue with the PSA test is that it is so non-specific. I still think it's worth getting done.

In my case, I had a raised (and rising) PSA. A digital examination showed an anomaly. An MRI likewise. Fortunately, a biopsy found nothing cancerous. As it turns out, I would have been better off without the PSA screen, as I wouldn't have gone through all that. However, I still think it was useful, and I'll be keeping an eye on my PSA in future.

[tim...]

he was 87

it was 10 years ago

he had got to be a cantankerous old sod

tim

[tim...]

As was previously described, there are two forms

the normal form, with a prognosis of 15-20 years, and the rapid form, perhaps as little as 6 months.

99% of cases are the normal form

tim

[Cynic]

I've been through the system. The story started a couple of years ago when I decided getting out of bed three or four times a night to pass a spoonful of urine merited going to the doctors. My gp performed the lubricated fing er test and pronounced my prostate was enlarged. I had a psa test and was s ent for a cat scan and consultant referral to the hospital. The gp prescrib ed Tamsulosin (relazes muscles around the bladder) and the hospital referra l began a watch and wait process. About six months went by and the relief g iven by the Tamsulosin became less. The gp added Finasteride (shrinks the p rostate) to my medication and again referred me to the hospital. The Finast eride improved things for a while then my psa started to rise again. I was sent for an mri which revealed something amiss in the prostate. As a result I was sent for a biopsy and a bone scan. Results showed I had an aggressiv e cancer within the prostate but fortunately it was still confined within i t. Once cancer was detected the system moved into higher gear. I saw the surge on two weeks later and offered treatment options. Having considered these I chose radical prostatectomy with traditional front incision as I wanted th e surgeon to have full access rather than poking about via keyhole methods. The operation was carried out 30 days later at the beginning of February t his year, the gland removed and sent for further testing to ensure it had c ome out with clear margins. The removal went well and the tests actually sh owed the tumout had a very aggressive centre so it was absolutely the right decision. Pain relief and nursing care was excellent. Following the operation I was c atheterised for a couple of weeks then it was removed which left me inconti nent and wearing pads for a few months as the sphincter and shut off capabi lity of the prostate were gone. It takes time for other muscles to learn to take over their function. The recovery of control varies but is normally a few months to a couple of years) Happily I am now (October) able to go 24 hours with one pad to give me confidence that a sudden movement or laughter doesn't cause problems and wet trousers. I would suggest you revisit your gp and request an update on progress. If y ou are dissatisfied then contact PALS (Patient advice and liason service) w ho seem to have a big whip they crack to get things moving. John 69 years.

[Mick IOW]

John and everyone else, thank you so very much for your helpful thoughts and experiences.

My testing route has been much the same as Johns but spaced out longer due to waiting longer for appointments.

I am lucky that no cancer has showed up yet.

I understand from them that after the operation I may be worse off for a while but should then hopefully improve.

Going private is beyond my means so I am at the mercy of the waiting list.

Mick. IOW.

[Nick Odell]

...in which case, I think GB's five-point checklist up ^^^ thataway could be the way to go.

Nick

[tim...]

Oh how different hospitals work:

I got picked up on the "well man's" clinic at the doc when I had a PSA of 6 (it should be under 2, but ramps up to over 50).

(for those that don't know/haven't been offered one, everyone over the age of 50 should be offered one, that's offered as in "we really really think that you should come in for this")

Off to the hospital clinic ASAP (they rang me out of the blue to say the doc had referred me, except that he had forgotten to tell me, and as they didn't introduce themselves properly I hadn't a clue what they were talking about), but I digress

At the hospital, "compulsory" pee-flow test. Absolutely appalling results on this - I had noticed this symptom, but didn't really think it worthy of a trip to the doc, and why would you?

Off to see the consultant, finger test and then an ultra sound scan to confirm a 20% (ish) enlarged prostate.

booked in for biopsy a few weeks later.

Fortunately came back negative.

Put me on the drugs that Colin mentioned, but I couldn't take them. Made me dizzy every time that I stood up, so I stopped taking them. The dizzy spells lasted at least three weeks after I stopped, so they really did affect me badly.

Hospital couldn't do enough for me, suggested that I go on the list for an op, but given the possible side effects and the very minor inconvenience that I suffer (who the flip cares if I spend 2 minutes at the urinal instead of 30 seconds?) I declined. I can re-open that possibility when I do get kept awake at night.

There is a concern that the benign enlarged prostate will mask the possibility of cancer later, as, as I posted previously, the PSA test results look the same (there is no causal effect here, it is just chance if you get both).

So I have to watch my PSA on a regular basis, fluctuates between 7 and 9 at the moment.

As an aside, I am also on blood pressure drugs - some of these, with hindsight, game me the same "needing to pee at night" symptoms as the prostate might do. We (me and doc) obviously thought this was the prostate. But I didn't take to the range of blood pressure drugs that is in the doc normal repertoire so I went to see a BP specialist (you'll be surprised how hard is it to find one of these, or perhaps you wont) and he suggested some alternatives.

One of which fixes the blood pressure with no adverse symptoms at all, so my prostate hadn't got worse at all!

tim

[Maurice]

What convinced me to get the resection done was the advice that otherwise - as it becomes more and more difficult to pass urine - it can start backing up into the kidneys, and then you have a nastier situation...

Even now - 12 years after the PVP - I'm seldom up more than twice overnight (sometimes only once) and have no problem travelling.

I am taking the alpha-blocker Alfuzosin (Tamsulosin at first but changed to lessen chance of problems with cataract op's), and at first experienced a stuffy nose, but that stopped eventually. It is a slow-release drug, but a couple of years ago I started on a batch from a different manufacturer and immediately suffered an early-morning blackout (probably due to its erroneously not doing slow release), not repeated after switching brand...

[Steve]

on 17/10/2016, tim... supposed :

I'm now 58 but worry that I won't know if I get prostate cancer because, for all of my adult life, I've suffered the symptoms. It's not unusual for me to pee up to 15 times during the day and 6 or 7 times during the night. I can feel like I'm bursting to go but then only get rid of an egg-cup full; it takes a while to get the flow started and when it does, it's a weak flow.

It's been properly investigated with various tests and cystoscopies* but they reckon I've just got an ultra-sensitive bladder and can't do anything about it so I've had to learn to live with it for over 40 years.

*A cystoscopy I had in January 2015 revealed a bladder cancer. However, it was only a very tiny growth and it was cut out there and then. Back on the ward they injected Mytomycin into my bladder, which I had to keep in for about an hour, and that was it. Cystoscopies every four months since then have shown no recurrence of the cancer, thankfully.

[Chris Holford]

In article , GB writes snip A chap I know has just had a 'urolift'; this is a system where clips are fitted which pull the prostate away from the urethra. Not suitable for all cases, but minimally invasive. Available on the NHS in some areas.

[Maurice]

Been there, done that, but for me it's an annual cystoscopy for 10 years, and the 9/10 one is coming up soon...

[Steve]

Mine will (hopefully) move to being the same - every 4 months for the first two years then if no sign of recurrence, every year for the next

8 years.