Five months after Cryo Ablasion

[Wrgatewood]

Five months ago I had focal cryo surgery to remove two lesions from my prostate. The surgery ended up removing about 35% of the gland. Going in I was 4 + 3 and PSA 7.9. 90 days after PSA dropped to 2.5. Five months after my PSA is 2.4. In terms of side effects, I have no urinary issues at all. Strong flow and no incontinence. Sexually, I am still on Cealis. I'm not back to pre surgery functionality, but not bad. I'd say about 70% of where I was before. Exam on Tuesday, doctor reported that my gland felt smooth and soft. Very normal feeling. If all goes well, I will have another MRI and biopsy at 12 months. I am happy with this treatment option. If you are considering radiation or total removal, I'd be happy to tell you my story.

[Wireguy]

Hi Wrgatewood,

I would love to here your story!

need to gather all the info i can.

[Wrgatewood in reply to Wireguy]

I'd be happy to tell my story. I hope it helps. The main thing I learned was that you have to be your own advocate. There is a business reality to medicine. I hated to learn that.

Like you, I am 53 years old. I'm otherwise healthy. I had an elevated PSA, 7.5, discovered during a routine physical. I had a biopsy that revealed cancer. I had a 4+3 Gleason. I had a CT scan that gave my doctors a 99% certainty that cancer had not spread from the prostate glad. That is important to my story.

I met with a surgeon who told me surgery was my best option. I met with a radiation oncologist who told me radiation was my best option. They only know what they know and only treat PC the way they have always treated it.

At my age, I was concerned about all the side effects of either treatment. I didn't want to deal with incontinence at my age. ED was also a big concern. With radiation, I was likely to live long enough to develop residual cancer from that treatment.

I went to a third doctor, a younger guy. He empathized with my plight and said he would not want to be in my shoes and make this choice. So I said, "Then give me another choice!". He told me that he had a longtime friend from med school who was doing some new treatment, cryo Ablasion surgery. In this treatment, they identify the exact location of the tumors and destroy they by freezing them, leaving the rest of the glad alive and well. I told him I would like to learn more. This option was not available in Michigan where I live. So, I spoke to his friend, who practices in Florida.

He reviewed my lab work and told me that because my cancer was still contained, he thought id be a good candidate. I flew to Miami and had a HD MRI, which is necessary to see the tumors. After seeing the tumors firsthand, he said he thought his procedure would work nicely. He took the MRI images and downloaded them into a program that was connected to his ultrasound machine that allowed him to over lay the images so he could freeze the exact location of the tumors.

The procedure took about 2 hours. Relatively painless and he ended up removing about one third of my gland. I had a catheter for about 36 hours and flew home two days after the procedure. I had a little leakages right after. It was slight and lasted for about two weeks. I had a bit of blood in my urine for a couple weeks and some in my semon. He put me on Cealis to help open up the blood vessels. No pain mess at all.

Two months after, my PSA dropped to 2.5. No more leakage and erections were coming back with the help of the Cealis. Five months post procedure, my PSA is 2.1. No urinary issues and while the erections are getting better, I'd say it's about 75% where is was pre op. My wife says she doesn't notice a difference. (She great that way). I am very happy with my choice here's why:

It is repeatable it's the only one that is repeatable I can still do surgery or radiation, if needed. Nothing is off the table I have little to no side effects from the procedure. I mentioned the erections and how it's coming back little by little however, I do not ejaculate any more. The orgasms are dry it feels the same, but nothing comes out that may or may not come back

The one down side to this procedure is that there is still most certainly some microscopic cancer left. It may grow, it may not it might take a few months or several years that was the one thing the othe doctors harped on. I am leaving cancer in my body however, for me it was worth the risk to avoid long term complications. If I was older, I may have made a different choice, but this was the best one for me, right now

I hope this helps. If you want to talk, just send me your phone number and I'd be happy to talk further if you want my doctor's name, I will pass that along too.

Good luck man. I hope you make the best choice for you and beat this disease. All the best