Prostate Cancer

It came as quite a surprise, seeing as though I have my Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test done every November, and having done so since I was about 45. My scores were always between two and three - safe, so I thought.

Prostate cancer can be the start of other cancers developing in the body, and so all men from their mid-forties onwards are encouraged to have their PSA measured annually. There are four signals that might require further investigation for the presence of a cancer in the prostate. They are a PSA score of 4 or above, a rapid change in the score from one test to the next, some swelling, detectable by a digital examination up the anus, and trouble urinating.

Here is my recent experience that I have chosen to share. You don’t want to have your relatives saying at your funeral words like; “If only he had checked it earlier!”

Last September my doctor had my blood tested for a condition that has now slipped my mind. On the pathology form he also ticked the box for a PSA test. My score from the previous November was 2.66. When I saw him in early October he noticed that it had risen to 4, an increase of 50%. He discovered some swelling, so with caution, referred me to a Urologist, just to be on the safe side.

Thankfully my wife, Liz maintained our membership with a health fund that made it possible for me to have prompt treatment in the private sector. A long wait for treatment in the public sector could have resulted in an unpleasant outcome.

Naturally  concerned, I managed to get an appointment one week later. The Urologist then ordered an MRI, which again was conducted a week or so later. This revealed a dark shadow in the prostate, and so he booked me in for a needle biopsy to be conducted under an anesthetic at a day surgery. The pathology tests confirmed that I had a large cancer and some smaller ones all contained within the prostate. The next test was a PET scan to see whether there were any cancers in my lymph nodes.

The first piece of good news in this saga was that the cancer had not spread.

The next meeting with the surgeon was only four weeks since my GP had sensed that something was wrong. I was presented with three options, do nothing but monitor the situation in three months, have radiation therapy, or have the prostate surgically removed, and in my case with the use of a da Vinci robot.

Because of the risk of damage to my bowel from radio-therapy, and nervous to continue with a cancerous “bomb” within my body, and with my wife's support I opted for the surgical procedure. The surgeon advised of the risks of incontinence because of the location of the prostate adjacent to the bladder and the bowel, but assured me that he was highly experienced with the robotic procedure, having conducted over 1,000 prostatectomies with this machine since he was trained ten years ago.

We had already checked out his credentials, and so with confidence decided on the surgery. I was put on his list, scheduled for ten days’ time.

The forth on the list that day, the procedure lasted for three hours. After a somewhat uncomfortable night, and with a catheter installed, I was granted my request for a second night in the hospital. The six or so wounds on my abdomen were sore. I could imagine how a gangster might have felt when showered with a hail of bullets.

A week later was the post-operation consultation when the catheter was removed, my ability to urinate was tested and the surgeon met with me. He advised that the procedure went smoothly, that no nerves were damaged and most importantly, the pathology showed that the cancer was retained within the prostate and had not spread into any neighboring tissues. If action had not been taken at this time, the prognosis might have been much different.

With this good news my convalescence began with instructions for regular pelvic floor exercises in order to restore over time normal functions in the region, to not do any strenuous activities, nor to drive or to use my ride-on mower.

The message from this story to all male readers, and for those with a concern for male partners and friends is clear. Monitor the PSA annually, and if there is any reason for concern, to seek a consultation with a Urologist. Don’t leave it till it is too late to discover other cancers in the body. I consider myself lucky to have identified the problem early, and to have taken action before the prognosis got worse.

Postscript:

Eureka! At the eight week review my Urologist advised that my PSA was 0.00000