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Prostate cancer surgery: What can I expect & prepare for?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Feb 27, 2023 | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for sharing this detailed information, and especially for giving me your surgeon’s name. I’m 55 years old by the way. Because I’m at a level of Gleason 6 and a low percentage based on the biopsy, my urologist is suggesting active surveillance. He scheduled an MRI for March of next year, but I asked why we would wait 6 months to get a better understanding of what we’re dealing with. So we rescheduled for next week to get the MRI. I think I’m going to send the results to the Mayo Clinic to get their opinion. I live in Atlanta, so Jacksonville would not be bad from a geographical standpoint, but I’d be willing to travel anywhere to ensure I have the best surgeon assuming I choose to go with RP at some point.
Thanks again!
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Being the same age (just turned 56), I would be very concerned with a doctor that recommends active surveillance for Gleason 6 prostate cancer. From the research I have done, at your "young age" for prostate cancer, more aggressive treatment would be recommended. I read a paper from Johns Hopkins that showed Gleason 6 patients that have a radical prostatectomy are for the most part "cured". When I found that I had prostate cancer, I was praying for Gleason 6 (3/3). Unfortunately, my biopsy found that I had Gleason 7 (4/3). Either way, I knew that a radical prostatectomy was the way to go for me (lower age, good physical condition, etc.). I have not done any research on Mayo-Jacksonville, but I did quite a bit on Mayo-Rochester and was extremely happy with RP outcome. If you chose Mayo-Rochester, there are a lot of house/condo rentals - We were able to find a very nice condo (only a few years old), 4 blocks from the Methodist campus, for a very reasonable cost. We ended up staying two week, just in case there were any complications (no complications but highly recommend this).
BTW, just got my final pathology back - Awesome news, all negative margins, cancer contained within the prostate and lymph nodes & seminal vesicles clear. The only bad news was that they did find Tertiary Pattern 5. This is an indicator of biochemical relapse in patients with Gleason score 7. Based on my situation, I would highly recommend getting a second opinion. For you, they found Gleason score 6 with the biopsy. Biopsies are a good indicator, but when they do the final pathology of the prostate/seminal vesicles/lymph nodes, they could find more advanced cancer. For me, mid-50's was far too young to let active cancer continue to grow in my body. The robotic radical prostatectomy was not a significant surgery for myself - First week was quite bad (catheter, referred gas pain, bowel movements), but after the catheter is out, it is all about regaining your bladder control. This is a little bit inconvenient, but I just wear a low flow diaper expect this to go on for up to a year. Obviously, complications can occur, so you need to go into the surgery understanding all potential issues.
Good luck with your decision and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Mayo-Rochester or what to expect with the Radical Prostatectomy.