Every prostate cancer patient has a story, and every story is different. This is a disease that affects one out of every seven Canadian men. Here is my story, with the hope it may help others who are travelling a similar road.
Wayne Harrigan, Moncton, New Brunswick (wbharrig@nb.sympatico.ca).
Wayne and Barb Harrigan are the co-ordinators of the PCCN Greater Moncton Prostate Cancer Support Group.
Visit the Prostate Cancer Canada Network website at
www.prostatecancer.ca.
The regular meeting of the Greater Moncton Prostate Cancer Support Group will be held on Wednesday, April 4, at at the YMCA, 30 War Veterans Avenue, Moncton.
Special Guest Speaker- Dr. Guy Breault, local urologist/laparascopic surgeon.
This meeting is open to prostate cancer survivors, their spouses/partners, and anyone interested in learning more about this disease.
When there’s been no update on this blog for a while, it’s a good indication that things are going well and I’ve been getting back to our usual activities.That has been the case.
I’ve just passed 75 days since my surgery.
I was told there would be a four to six week recovery period and that for some patients, it is longer than that.For almost all men, there is a period of incontinence of varying degrees.For almost all men, there is a period of impotence of varying degrees.Every story is different and this becomes more apparent as we live through this experience.
From February 28 till March 12, we took our recovery phase to Florida for a vacation.This was planned last fall and my urologist/surgeon encouraged us to keep the plan- he said it would be great to have the trip to look forward to.And he was right.We flew to Orlando on the 28th and joined our family at a rented house in Kissimmee.Our son, his wife, and three children (ages 10, 8 and 5) and our daughter, her husband, and her boys (ages 3 and 4 months) shared a five-bedroom house in a quiet gated community.We’ve done this before and it’s an economical way for families to vacation together.Because we were in recovery mode, our plan was to do very little during the two weeks.The youngsters would head out to the various parks and Barb and I (with our daughter and baby Spencer) would enjoy the day by the heated pool with our books and food and drink.It was a wonderful holiday and we thoroughly enjoyed having time with our grandchildren.Our two older ones were home in Canada, but we kept in touch by Facetime (the iPad version of Skype) while we were away.I felt well the whole time- able to walk (sometimes pushing the stroller) every day and spend time in the pool and hot tub.The more active I became, the more dribbly I was, so I was prepared to wear a Depends Male Guard (heaven forbid they would be called sanitary napkins!) to catch the drip.Usually one or two a day would suffice and I’m dry overnight.I guess now my goal is to be totally trained before grandson Spencer is!I still do Kegel exercises daily and I think they do help.At any rate, I have no problem with any of this.It’s not a surprise and it will be encouraging when this phase is over.A friend who had the same surgery by the same doctor wore a pad for eighteen months, but has not worn one since New Year’s Eve.Now I am home and this past week I added some activities.On Monday and Friday I was at the local YMCA and was able to walk 4 miles each day on the treadmill and do four weight machines (with reduced weights).On Tuesday and Thursday morning at , I joined our outdoor walking group and we walk an hour on a local trail; that would be at least two miles.Wednesday we drove to Fredericton (almost two-hour drive each way) to visit an elderly relative and have lunch with friends.This was our first long drive since my surgery and we had a lovely day to make the trip.No problem.Wednesday evening we were out to a movie, “The Iron Lady”, at our local film club, on Friday I ushered at our local Capitol Theatre, and Saturday, we went out to dinner with friends and then to an amateur theatre comedy production.
No talk of erections yet, and no sign of one either.This is not a surprise.However, it is an adjustment.From puberty onward, men have daily erections (while sleeping or while awake, depends on the situation).When the prostate is removed, even with nerve sparing surgery, for almost everyone, there will be a period of impotence.Radiation patients echo this, so without taking a survey, it’s an issue for most prostate cancer survivors.And an important issue, especially for the many younger men who are being diagnosed.Most feel that it is a priority to deal with the cancer, but at what cost to their lifestyle?Our doctor says it depends on how important erections were to your life before treatment.The patient will decide whether assistance should be provided to improve the situation- medication (like Cialis, Viagra, etc), injections, pumps, penile implants) on the advice of his doctor.It is obvious that the patient’s partner (if there is one) should be included in the decision.It’s important to note a few observations from reading and talking to others- if there were erection issues before treatment, don’t expect them to be in any way improved afterwards.It is possible to have an orgasm (and the jury is out on whether it is better or not) without an erection.There is a big difference between libido (the urge to merge) and erectile function.It is possible to have a sex life with or without erections- that depends on the comfort level of the patient.All that being said, it is a major concern and should be part of the discussion, before and after prostate cancer treatment.
There is a closed Facebook group called Prostate Cancer Men’s Support which I have found interesting.Go to Facebook, search the group’s name, and you will meet Bill Moore, the founder of the group.Membership is restricted to men, almost all of whom are prostate cancer patients at every stage of the disease.Because this is a closed group, no subject related to treatment etc is taboo and the discussions are interesting and informative.You might find it valuable.
