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Post Prostatectomy Two Week Progress
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Feb 27 3:30pm | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
@phayes and @quaddick - would you be willing to share your ages? I am 66 and scheduled for RALP on 3/31/26. 3+4 (1 core with 4 at10%), PSA 2.99. Found lump during rectal exam. Been on AS since 12/24. Decipher 0.54, CHEK2 gene mutation. 6’5” and 250 lbs, but in pretty good shape. Dad had PCa. Nervous as hell about incontinence and ED. Doing kegels and core work daily. I hear from a couple friends that radiation was great for them, so now I am having second thoughts about surgery. How did each of you choose surgery over radiation? Thanks.
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@swen77
I'm 67 and I also preferred radiation but after learning about the Prostox test from a PCRI video, and getting the test, I found out that radiation of both SBRT and CFRT were high risk for me so I decided on RALP. Now three and a half weeks out, my incontinence has continued to improve. I only leak a little each day. My surgeon was able to spare all the nerves on one side and most on the other. Since I had no ED prior to surgery, I'm hoping to get fully functioning again. The doctor said to wait for the six week mark to begin penile rehab. Every guy is different, so if radiation worked for your friends, it may not for you. I encourage you to check out the Prostox test.
@swen77 A buddy chose radiation due to so many he knows having to have salvage radiation later. I went BCR in two years post surgery. 25 sessions of salvage radiation has me either home bound or taking Imodium if I want to go out for any length. Hopefully cauterization will help. My thought is cancer removal over "nerve sparing" with wide margins. Wood is nice, cancer free is better. I think never sparing is part of the surgeons sales pitch.
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@swen77 @quaddick I am 60, also 250 and relatively fit. Doing the kegels now and after will definitely help. My nerve-sparing RALP was in August and I still wear reinforced underwear or regular underwear with a light pad during the day with mostly no leaks and a heavy pad at night. Both more for insurance than need.
When talking with my urologist about options, I prodded him to tell me what he would do. He said he couldn’t do that, but did say, in his experience, most guys my age and my situation opt for removal. Less stress about “what if”. I also read somewhere that radiation first could make removal later more difficult as it fuses the prostate to surrounding tissues, but that is not a confirmed medical opinion. Might be a question for your medical team. The thought of continual MRIs and biopsies was also a deciding factor.
I have my 6 month check in with the urologist this week, but my GP recently did a PSA test that came back undetectable.
I manage the ED with Cialis daily and Viagra as needed. I also have a very supportive wife. We remain sexually active and have found that our relationship has improved due to there not being any pressure on performance.