I have just updated my blog. The latest situation is as follows:-
I have now met with both the Oncology and Surgical teams to review what treatment options are available. I met the Oncologist at my local hospital. She is a lovely, empathetic lady, very informative and thorough. The radiotherapy would take place daily at Addenbrookes in Cambridge and last for seven weeks. Addenbrookes is 90 minutes from home but they have some kit there which enables the radiotherapy to be directed very accurately and avoids damaging other tissues. The treatment would be proceeded by 3 months of hormone reduction medication, to shrink the size of the prostate.
I met the Surgeon at Addenbrookes, which is also where the surgery would happen. This would be done using a robotic technique known as a "Da Vinci" machine. It is essentially keyhole surgery, less invasive, should avoid damaging other tissues and should make recovery quicker. I had read about these machines being used in the USA but was unaware that it was available here. It seems that the NHS now has 16 of them at various regional centres. The surgeons who use them need special training and I found out that they have all spent time in the USA receiving this and that surgeons from the USA have also been to Addenbrookes to assist in the familiarisation process. This is still major surgery but I count myself very lucky to have it available. The immediate side effects are unpleasant, involving a cathetor for a week or two but nothing I cannot cope with. The long term side effects are more important and most men will suffer some or all of them. They include incontinence, erectile disfunction (which may not be helped by blue pills!) and certain infertility.
The follow care on both options are similar. 6 weekly checks to start with, moving on to 3 monthly and ultimately to 6 monthly. These checks will monitor my PSA levels. It should drop to almost nothing after treatment. If it starts to rise again then it means that some cancerous cells have escaped and are growing elsewhere. That would be the worst news so these monitoring visits are going to be far from routine.
As it seems that 1 in 3 guys are not "cured" by either treatment and face the prospect of their cancer returning I am not out of the wood just yet, and may well be on the edge of a forest for the rest of my life.
Having reviewed both options very thoroughly I have decided to receive the surgery and will enter hospital on May 12th. Both seem to offer as good a result as the other but with the surgery there is always a backup option to receive radiotherapy to the area around the prostate capsule should any cancer be found there later. If I select radiotherapy as the initial treatment I cannot then have any more and surgical removal of such cells is not possible.
So now I know what my immediate future holds. I have other pressing decisions to do with my business and my retirement yet to make but at least this one is out of the way.
Thanks for reading. If you want to avoid all of this, then please do keep a good check on your own health.
If you want to read the whole story go to:- http://david-atthecrossroads.blogspot.com/
Originally Posted by David House
