Hi - adding that I’m another RP “satisfied customer,” so to speak.

I had surgery at the beginning of January 2026, after choosing that over hormone-radiation. Surgery itself was pretty easy to get over. I followed my care team’s instructions and had very little pain. Catheter (after an initial mishap in strapping) was a breeze - I got used to it very quickly and removal was simple. If I’d been napping, it wouldn’t even had woken me up.

Side effects…yes, I was 100% completely and thoroughly, well and truly incontinent for two months after my catheter came out. I didn’t really think about what “incontinent” meant at the time, beyond the basics, but for me, it wasn’t pleasant.

I’d assumed I’d get the urge to pee, and I’d go in my pants. Yes, but wait, there’s more.

What I discovered was…my penis never “shut off” - it was a constant 24/7 drip drip dribble squirt drip, interrupted by moments of completely emptying, usually when getting up from sitting or lying down for more than 10 minutes - and with the force of a waterfall or firehose.

Overnights…up like clockwork every two hours, bladder dump upon standing, change out my guard (worn inside a Depends for extra protection), and repeat 4-5 times a night.

Always damp. Always itchy-burny. Always sticky. Ick.

But…guess what? Completely manageable. I got through it. Didn’t even make me angry. As my mom used to say, “If that’s the worst thing that happens to you, count yourself lucky!” and as my dad used to say, “It’ll get better…it can’t get no worse!” - they were a couple of comedians, yeah? 😆

Anyway, three months out, incontinence is improved, but still not back where I’d like it. I still wear guards, wear Depends pull-ups only when I go out. I’m up twice a night now instead of 4-5 times, and I no longer gush upon standing (most of the time).

I’m getting there, and a big thanks to my pelvic floor PT person for helping me tremendously. I can’t recommend one highly enough. I’m sure if I’d simply stuck with the basic kegels my care team outlined, I wouldn’t be this far along. She has me doing kegels from a variety of positions, and strengthening my core, and she evaluates whether I’m doing the movements correctly or not. That’s important, as an incorrectly executed exercise is an ineffective one, IMO.

ED…yeah, I’ve got that as well, but that’s definitely lower priority until the bladder control is back. In the meantime, I’m on a nightly half-dose of Viagra and a vacuum erection pump, just to keep the blood flowing and the tissue healthy.

I’m very early into my post-surgery life, I’ve had just the one PSA (undetectable), and even with the side effects, I don’t regret having surgery one bit. Not at all. Matter of fact, now that I’m down to getting up to pee twice a night, I’m actually getting more quality sleep now than before I had surgery. That’s a good thing.

Different folks have different cancer characteristics, and what’s good for one isn’t an option for another. There’s a tendency, especially among the less-informed and cancerless folks, to try and be helpful by saying things like, “My brother-in-law’s dad’s best friend had prostate cancer, and he got the freeze thing done. You oughta do that, worked great for him.” - there are a dozen different treatments because of all the different situations we can find ourselves in.

Bottom line - surgery was my choice and I’d make the same decision again tomorrow if I had to. It’s what’s working for me.

Good luck!