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Radical Prostatectomy vs. Radiation therapy?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Apr 21 7:39pm | Replies (52)Comment receiving replies
@wwsmith
"An RP surgery typically leaves you with only 5-10% of the sphincter muscle needed for continence."
Apparently that's enough, since 90% of men regain continence after surgery (source: Google). We're relegated to using the same muscles that women have, but which we have not had a lifetime to train.
Why am I beating this drum so loudly? Because I came on this forum to describe my experience per Mayo's Guidelines) with surgery & hormone therapy. I have little knowledge & zero experience with radiation (I do have some knowledge of the physics of radiation from my time at Caltech). I don't describe what it's like to have radiation & its issues (despite having friends that have had radiation treatment), because that's not my experience & don't know all the details.
But when someone comes on the forum & starts laying down what surgery is like without experiencing it, I wonder what their agenda is.
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@readandlearn It sounds like your agenda is to promote that an RP is a piece of cake with no recovery period and that the harsh side effects of an RP are overblown. My agenda is to help new prostate cancer patients recognize that urologists are most often surgeons and that they often try to influence patients to go with an RP while understating the chances of recurrence and the harsh side effects of an RP. Both radiation and RP procedures have their place in prostate cancer treatment and every patient should work hard to fully understand the pros and cons of each treatment so as to make the best decision possible for their own unique situation.