Back again ...

Dude, hang in there, we are all going to have good and not so good times on our journey. We hope for the best and deal as best we can with the rest. I hope for the best for you.. Best to all

I'm so sorry for your news, @scottbeammeup . I could say "trust me, you don't want a metastasis", but that would be disingenuous, because my priorities aren't necessarily the same as your priorities.

Yes, you can live a long time (indefinitely?) with advanced stages of prostate cancer, but the treatments are even harsher than what you have now, so maybe a 3-year window before they started would have been worth it to you, or maybe not. I agree that it's wrong you didn't have all the information at the start so that you had the agency to decide instead of just having it happen to you.

Going into a big, old church was a great idea. They're built to be quiet, peaceful places, whether or not you believe in the the doctrine behind them. Also reflect on the fact that we all enjoy your posts here, and we're glad you're going to be around a while. You bring joy to others here (as I'm sure you do with your standup routines).

Having a future (even if you don't know what it will be) is a wonderful thing, because the possibilities are infinite. I thought I wasn't going to have one for my first few months, and that was a very rough place for me. Even stupid little things like "I probably won't be alive when this subway line is completed" or "This might be my last election" would make me cry (the ADT didn't help, of course).

Who knows, maybe in a couple of years you'll fall in love so hard that the sex part doesn't seem like a big deal any more, and all you want in life is to see his head on the pillow beside you every morning when you wake up. Or maybe something else equally wonderful. It's all out there waiting for you.

Thanks that's a very good outlook and I hope I can adapt to something similar. In retrospect I should have just gotten the $&#*&*@ surgery. Seems like the recovery period is actually LESS than what I'm experiencing from "only" 5 sessions of SBRT. If I'm reincarnated I will leave a note to myself hidden somewhere 🙂

What a wonderful post. You are an inspiration.

Peace and love,

Bob

Thanks for sharing. You did the right thing by sharing. I have never been on ADT but I hear it plays with your mind a bit . You will be off it soon enough and the healing portion begins . Like your Dr said there is synthetic T as well you could consider . Your not stuck a cord with me . After my operation, I had to get EBRT( external beam radiation) as my PSA did not go to zero . So at 0.14 and very slowly rising , I drove down to Victoria Cancer Hospital for my first of 22 EBRT . That was two years ago now and my PSA is sliding down now from 0.14 , to 0.072. now at 0.056 , and another one in two weeks . When I was taking radiation in Victoria , I walked around the city a lot after my sessions . Sometimes I would walk 8-12 kms or more . I had a favourite spot . A old original church in Victoria . So quiet , reflective .... it seemed to help. I went there often and am so grateful of my time there . The 'church ladies' were wonderful too . Very positive with me . Lifted me up . You did the right this Brother ! You are going to be fine ! Keep positive ! James on Vancouver Island .

It sounds like you had a Gleason 7, that’s why only 6 months of hormone therapy. The reason for the two years before testosterone is you wanna make sure your PSA stays undetectable for two years before you do testosterone or it can bring your cancer right back.

There is no reason you should have metastasis in 2 to 3 years. it’s possible, but many people are cured by SBRT and hormonal therapy

Surgery would probably leave you where you couldn’t get an erection without injecting something like Trimix.

Never heard of Orgovyx shrinking the testicles, much less so quickly. Maybe you should wait until off orgovyx to see what really happens. Usually the testosterone rises quickly after stopping Orgovyx. You don’t have a long wait.

Thanks. The doctor said there's a "good chance" my T won't recover, but I'm trying to look at it, for now, as not necessarily meaning that there's NO chance. I have noticed that my testicles have gotten A LOT smaller since starting Orgovyx, and this has also been fairly painful while it's been happening, so it is a bit discouraging to me that several people have said that didn't happen to them (not that I would wish it on anyone--I hope most people on Orgovyx have a good experience).

I don't have the mental stamina to make it 2 1/2 years without any sexual satisfaction. I'll wait until the end of the year and if my T doesn't return I'm going to go to one of the online prescribers and answer "no" to the prostate cancer question and take my chances. I might try something like Clomid first, though.

My main gripe is that I wasn't informed of any of these possibilities before selecting my treatment so my informed consent was based on incomplete info. This is partly my fault for panicking and rushing into treatment. I also assumed that because I chose a Top 5 cancer center that they would totally know 100% what they're doing so there was no real need to question any of it. Oh well, water under the bridge at this point.

Scotty , Take it from someone who has been mentally beating himself up for the last 5 yrs for selecting Surgery instead of SBRT.
I have a number of side effects - all that you have and then some! You cannot predict how your body is going to react to any given treatment - especially with THIS disease!
It is equally frustrating to be able to achieve orgasm, but with a limp, shortened and shriveled penis - thank you, surgery! - that’s good for nothing. I’m not sure your anorgasmia has anything at all to do with reduced testicle size - and neither does your doctor. They ALWAYS build in lower expectations to their treatments.
I am sure you were exposed either by word or in writing about ‘possible’ side effects with ADT/SBRT, but they PALE compared to surgery so no one ever thinks they’re gonna be in that poor outcome percentage.
You made the right choice at the time and NEVER LOOK BACK AT IT because it’s a wasted exercise.
My late cousin had a saying: If everyone sat around a table and put their troubles on it for all to see, in the end you would happily take your OWN back!
Just hang in and see what time brings you. And BTW, don’t bd afraid to go online and look into some of these male sex toys that are used for masturbation. Some of them vibrate and actually get warmer than the real thing. I am not embarrassed to say that even in my debilitated sexual condition, I found one that gave me orgasms that almost f****ing killed me!!
Never experienced a total body orgasm until that little toy came (sorry) my way…hang in there buddy, better times coming (oh man again?)😁

I am an Episcopal Priest. It is quite acceptable to pray to have an orgasm in church. He wants to be with us in ALL things, not just good things.

You must be a spring chicken needing sexual satisfaction so badly… lol…. May as well give NUGENIX a try too.