Surviving prostate cancer

IT IS GOOD that the scourge of prostate cancer is slowly moving on to the stage that has been dominated by breast cancer for so long.

Spike Farrell’s article (“Check that prostate”, February 24) unfortunately painted a poor picture of recovery after diagnosis. He opted for brachytherapy over a radical prostatectomy and relates how he “couldn’t go to the bathroom without a great deal of pain”. He was “feverish”, he gets “severe headaches” and he still has “bladder and bowel problems”, and sex is “unusual” and quite “painful”.

After reading that, I think all men will run before subjecting themselves to a digital rectal examination or a PSA blood test.

I realised something was wrong when I spent almost the entire half time at rugby matches staring at the blank wall above a urinal while the other men came and went in minutes – I really wasn’t drinking that much beer.

The urologist did a biopsy and I went back to see him a few days later. It is crushing to sit there and hear: “You have cancer.” (I almost turned around in the hope that there was someone else in the room that he was talking to.)

He did not recommend brachytherapy for me, but said he would do a radical prostatectomy to remove my prostate gland that had swollen to the size of a navel orange. He promised that he would remove the prostate gland “without spilling” any of the cancerous cells contained within the membrane. This was his priority number one. He said he would also try to dissect out the left erectile nerve (the right side had the worst cancer.)

Today I am continent, pain- and discomfort-free, and yes, with a little help from Cialis or Ciavor, making love with my wife is good.

I am a cancer survivor. My prostate specific antigen count has stayed below 0.00 for three years. I live an active and healthy life. Only a long scar on my tummy reminds me of what I went through.

The one thing Spike and I do agree on is – check that prostate.