Newly Diagnosed

[westsideguy]

My journey started the first week of October of 2018 with an elevated PSA of 7.9. Because I carry extra weight, the urologist said that the number, in reality was probably high by a factor of 20%. 1 month later there was no change in the PSA so an MRI and biopsy were ordered. The MRI reported 4 tumors; 3 were pirads 4, the other was a pirads 5. The biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of PC with the larger concerning tumor showing a Gleason score of 7 (3 +4). After consultation and research, at age 61 it looks like surgery will be the best option for me. Robotic surgery will take place in 3 weeks but I have already been told that the location of the tumor will probably require the removal of both nerves. How has it been for you guys who had both nerves removed?

[Tall_Allen]

The odds of potency preservation without nerve sparing is 13%. Why do you say, "...at age 61 it looks like surgery will be the best option for me."?

[TimCo in reply to Tall_Allen]

Having been thru this, I agree with TallAllen that potency preservation will be very low.

[Vitruviusman]

With both nerves removed in addition to the nerves that surround the prostate, normal erections I'm more than likely history. The options would probably be injections and hopefully that will work or the implant.

[dmt1121]

I had a robotically assisted prostatectomy in 2016 and one set of nerves spared. Prior to this, I was already having problems ahcieving an erection due to blood flow but never took drug for it. I always had a strong sex drive but stress of life shot that down over time. By the time the surgery came around, followed by chemo with Lupron, my sex drive was non-existent. Now, any feeling/drive are in the form of uncomfortable nervous energy (like plugged into an electrical receptacle...without the good part). Not pleasant.

For me, leaving all that in the rear view mirror is fine. My wife is also okay with it, but that's us. If you want to keep your sex life going, more power to you! Check your options with your urologist and see if anything works for you and what it's worth to you.

Good luck.

[sisintl11 in reply to dmt1121]

Dear DMT1121,

My name is Simon, I work at SIS International, a research company.

We are conducting a study to better understand prostate cancer patients’ journey and we are interested in gaining patient perspectives on interactions with their care teams over the course of their journey.

The compensation will be £118 compensation for a 30-45 minutes phone interview

All information will be treated confidentially

You would help us immensely if you could forward this link to your members:

surveymonkey.com/r/cancer-p...

If you know somebody who might be interested we would highly appreciate referrals.

For further questions, I remain available at your earliest convenience.

Kindly,

Simon J. Margot

Senior Project Manager

[sisintl11]

Dear WestideGuy,

My name is Simon, I work at SIS International, a research company.

We are conducting a study to better understand prostate cancer patients’ journey and we are interested in gaining patient perspectives on interactions with their care teams over the course of their journey.

The compensation will be £118 compensation for a 30-45 minutes phone interview

All information will be treated confidentially

You would help us immensely if you could forward this link to your members:

surveymonkey.com/r/cancer-p...

If you know somebody who might be interested we would highly appreciate referrals.

For further questions, I remain available at your earliest convenience.

Kindly,

Simon J. Margot

Senior Project Manager

[AlanMeyer Moderator]

I want to add two things to this discussion.

The first is that sex is possible without erections. You need a partner who is interested and willing to learn new things, but then sex with erections is better with such a partner too. Orgasms for both men and women are possible and, in fact, most women are much more easily brought to a climax with oral sex than with penetrative sex. If you read books about sex written by women, most of them (all of the one's I've read) say that.

Another point has to do with treatment modality. I always recommend that patients consult both a surgeon and a radiation oncologist. Each approach has some advantages. If, at this point, you've committed to surgery and don't want to re-open a big decision, I think you're still okay because surgery really is a very good option. However, it is critical that your surgery be performed by someone who is very good at it. The best surgeons have higher cure rates and lower rates of complications and side effects than the average surgeons, and much better results than the lower than average surgeons. The best surgeons are usually doctors that specialize in prostate surgery, as opposed to other urological specialties (urinary incontinence, impotence, kidney stones, bladder problems, female disorders, etc.) It is common for such doctors to perform an average of one prostatectomy each week and there are real specialists who do four or more = 200+ per year. You only get one shot at a surgical cure. Make sure it's the best shot you can get. If you have doubts, do some investigations.

Best of luck.

Alan

[westsideguy in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thanks for the response. My surgeon specializes in robotic prostatectomy.