Back sfter a bit of a break

Some of you may have noticed that, until very recently, I haven't been active on the message boards in the last few months. In fact, I last posted back near the end of June before I left Australia to attend the open day in Hannover in early July.

Earlier this year, I had my normal, routine annual checkup with my GP, much the same as I've done for quite a few years now. The only item of concern was a further slight rise in the PSA value, which had been slightly rising for a couple of years, but within the 'normal' range. This time the value was just above the upper limit of the normal range. I've had an enlarged prostate for a while and digital examinations have always assessed the enlargement as benign. The GP suggested that I really should consult a Urologist.

So in May, after an initial consultation and digital examination which seemed quite OK, I found myself in day surgery for a prostate ultrasound, "just to be sure". The ultrasound probe can image the prostate and, as well, it allows for the collection of a number of tissue samples for pathology examination. In my case, 16 samples were taken and just one came back positive. The cancer was described as 'low grade" and I was told that it would be reasonable to monitor it for a year or so but eventually, the prostate would need to be removed. I decided that there wasn't much point delaying the inevitable so I booked the operation for immediately after my return from the overseas trip to attend the open day.

I've now had the procedure as planned and have pretty much fully recovered. There are lots of potential risks of various things going wrong but I'm happy to say that I seem to have dodged all of the ones that would have been quite irksome to deal with.

I know of a number of people who have had prostate cancer which was diagnosed too late to be fixed. A few years ago, my next door neighbour (who has since passed away) told me over the fence that he had just found out (too late) that he had it. His urgent message to me was to be sure to have regular checkups. Happily I was able to assure him that I was doing just that. After all, both my father and grandfather had developed it late in life so I was very conscious of it.

It's less than 4 weeks since my operation and I needed bladder reconstruction to fix the damage caused by the enlarged prostate. Pathology identified two separate cancer sites but there were clear margins so that nothing seems to have moved beyond the prostate. I had a catheter and leg bag for 16 days and that was removed 10 days ago. I was warned to expect at least some degree of incontinence possibly for months or more. Happily, I seem to have dodged all that. I put it down to the fact that I had built up my fitness level by walking around 5 to 7 Ks daily since the start of this year. I am now again walking about 3 ks per day and feeling very good about it. Apparently, walking is very good for strengthening pelvic floor muscles and helping with incontinence.

The main reasons for recounting my experiences are twofold. Firstly, I wanted to comment on why I had been missing from the message boards for a while and to thank those who had welcomed me back when I started posting again. An even more important reason is the fact that many who contribute to projects like E@H seem to be older males who are at or near retirement and who now have the time and inclination to contribute to worthwhile scientific projects just like this one. With prostate cancer on the increase, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to grab the attention of this particular demographic and urge them to have regular PSA checks and to take things further if anything is suspicious.