Ralph's Prostate Surgery

6/13

The report from the Kaiser oncology lab is that the cancer involved about 10% of my prostate and there are no signs that it has spread.  This is great news.  The next steps will be to get a PSA test in a month to confirm that there is no indications that cancer cells might still be present.  Periodic testing will continue for five years.  With my recovery from the surgery proceeding apace, there is no need for me to make further updates here.  Thank you for all your prayers - God has answered them as we had hoped.

6/12

I'm mobile and have picked up many of the tasks I did before (including vacuuming our swimming pool).  Now it's time for a long discipline of waiting until it's OK for me to lift heavier weights and exercising to regain urinary continence.  Tomorrow I get word from my doctor on whether they have any indications that further treatment is required.

6/10

The fluid stopped leaking last night, so I have been free to move around, which has been very nice.  Disciplines which I had to lay down because of my limited mobility I'm now able to pick up again, though perhaps with a little less energy.   While it would be rash to assume that new issues won't emerge, I'm hopeful that we've turned a corner and that life will look a little more normal going forward.

6/9

Sorry for missing updates.  According to the ER doctor, the leakage I was concerned about is a feature, not a bug. The liquid is part of the healing process, and needs to drain to avoid infection.  So I cover the drainage points with a towel to keep from soaking my clothes and spend most of my time lying down to reduce the amount liquid that comes out.  One location that was draining has stopped, but another opened up.  My hope is that all of the drainage stops soon, but I am finding good things to do while lying on the couch. 

6/7

My catheter was removed, as were most of the staples (we overlooked two of them). I was able to drive home,  which was nice, but once I got home a tiny incision started leaking a lot of fluid. This has happened previously,  and we were able to control it, but this time we couldn't stop it unless I was lying down, so we're back in the ER to get it closed and the two missed staples removed. 

6/5

Another call to Kaiser for a minor problem that resolved itself on its own.  Healing continues, and my energy level in increasing.

I was asked if this surgery is the end of my cancer treatment, or whether chemo or some other treatment may still be necessary.  The answer is "We don't know yet."  The surgeon accomplished what he wanted in removing the prostate and taking biopsies of a couple of surrounding lymph nodes and he observed no other damage resulting from the cancer.  He has sent the biopsies to the oncology lab and I have an appointment with him later next week to learn what the lab has found.  If they find additional cancer then a treatment plan will be decided on.  If not, we watch to see if any PSA appears in my bloodstream.  If it does, then the cancer is there, if not, we take no other action.

6/4

The worries that sent me to the ER last night proved to be unnecessary.  The doctors are happy with my progress. 

6/3

Update: I spoke too soon.  Unexpected swelling and bruising have me in the ER. Waiting to see what the doctor says. 

Overall things are on an upward path.  There's evidence of healing, Ralph's intestines appear to be returning to normal function, sleeping and sitting are pretty normal, and the remaining issues seem fairly small.  He was able to do some small chores around the house and took a ten minute walk in the neighborhood.  The schedule is to have the catheter removed on Friday, which should be fine unless something else surfaces between now and then.

6/2

Intestinal cramping became worse.  In the late afternoon another call to Kaiser got a resolution to the problem - it made a huge difference.

6/1

Ralph is getting good sleep now, but it's hard to be comfortable once awake.  Sitting and lying down are all hard; standing and walking are the best.  Intestinal cramping became a problem in the afternoon.  A call to a Kaiser nurse on-call provided some help.

5/31

Today has been a lot tougher. We went to the ER early this morning (around 5AM) because Ralph's catheter was blocked. It was definitely leaking around the insertion point. It got unblocked on our way to the ER, but they checked him our, rehydrated him, and did some blood tests. The doctor was pretty certain he doesn't have an infection, so he could stop taking the risky antibiotic. But it has been hard for him to get comfortable all day, and there continues to be leakage, which is a big nuisance if nothing else. We are both pretty tired, and are praying that Ralph can sleep better tonight and not have too much leakage. He still hasn't really had any pain around the incisions - we expected that more than catheter issues!

5/30

Queasiness is subsiding and Ralph was able to walk downstairs unassisted.

This morning Ralph was showing slight signs of infection around the catheter insertion point, so we went into urgent care. (Amazing blessing that we found a parking space, got checked in, and called into a room all within 20 minutes! Unlike a lot of urgent care stories we have heard.) The doctor prescribed a strong antibiotic - Ciprofloxasin - which can have some pretty severe side effects. Please pray that Ralph doesn't experience any of those. This evening he has been having some painful muscle spasms (not one of the listed side effects of the antibiotic). They may be a result of an imbalance in salts, etc. so he's having some Gatorade. Thanks for your continued prayers.

5/29

Made it to the hospital on time.  Pre-op went smoothly except that the nurse jabbed two needles in very badly and nearly put Ralph into shock from the pain.  They handled it well though.  The nurse was impressed that Ralph was not taking any medications; at age 68 this is apparently rare.  He has no recollection of the operating room.  The procedure went well and he was back home by about 4 pm.  He required no pain medications and was able to walk upstairs and around the bedroom while pushing an office chair for stability.  Sleep was somewhat disturbed by the presence of the catheter, but in general it was an uneventful night.