Where Can I Find Prostate Cancer Support Groups
Even though once you complete the surgery you most likely will find yourself cancer-free, the anxiety and stress may never totally go away. The support of your friends and family is essential in these moments, but the most relief you will find is among people that have gone through the same experience.
We advise you to search locally for prostate cancer or cancer survivors support groups and discuss your journey in beating this. You will find there plenty of people that lived through the same emotions and painful experiences and you will gather your strength to overcome this and not let it define the rest of your life.
If physical presence is not an option for you, there are plenty of forums and online communities that gather around this subject. You can find people that share their experiences and advice below:
- https://www.cancerforums.net/forums/14-Prostate-Cancer-Forum
- http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/
- http://www.topix.com/forum/health/prostate-cancer
Prostate cancer surgery is not as severe of a surgery as other ones. The recovery, especially after robotic surgery, usually lasts up to 2 to 3 weeks and patients can return to work and to living their normal lives.
What Types Of Prostate Cancer Surgery Are There
When it comes to prostate cancer surgery, prospects for success depend on a mans age, overall health, and the degree of his cancers development. Because prostate cancers tend to grow slowly, older individuals may not be seen as good candidates for surgery. Those who are good candidates will likely undergo one of the following procedures:
No Risk Of Abdominal Complications
In a robotic prostatectomy, the prostate area is accessed through the abdominal cavity. During an open prostatectomy, the surgical path is entirely outside the abdomen, eliminating the potential for injury to the abdominal contents. Any surgical complications would be confined entirely to the pelvis.
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How Fast Will I Become Totally Continent After Prostate Surgery
During surgery for prostate cancer, the urethra is also affected and, depending on the experience of the surgeon, more or less of the continence function will be preserved. Due to the high precision of robotic surgery, the patient will have a catheter for roughly one week and the trauma to the urinary function will be minimum.
The discomfort that patients feel during this time is minimum, but you should expect the removal to make you feel uneasy. The catheter will be removed during a visit to your doctor, so do not try to do this at home, as it could cause infections. The degree of which the urinary function will be affected depends on how normal the function was before surgery, age and weight.
It is worth noting that most men will experience some degree of incontinence after prostate surgery, but control can be regained within several weeks or months to a year.
Improve Bladder Control Regain Your Continence Sooner After A Robotic Prostatectomy
Kegel exercise strengthens the group of muscles called the pelvic floor muscles These muscles contract and relax around the bladder and the bladder opening at your command. When these muscles are weak, urine leakage may result. You can exercise these muscles just like any other muscle in your body, and building them up may help reduce your symptoms. It is important that you perform these exercises correctly and consistently to gain maximum benefit after prostate cancer surgery.
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Will Medicare Cover Robotic Surgery
When your doctor decides that surgery is medically necessary for you, Medicare may cover the procedure. Medicare Part A may cover surgery while youre a hospital inpatient, and Medicare Part B may cover outpatient surgery. Coinsurance or deductibles may apply.
What about robotic surgery? If the procedure is medically necessary, Medicare may cover robotic surgery. You may want to discuss the procedure with your doctor so youll understand what type of surgery it is, whether its robotic surgery or not, exactly why you need the surgery, and other concerns. You can also call Medicare at the number below this article to ask about Medicare coverage of your surgery.
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Why Is There Increasing Concern At This Time Regarding Erectile Dysfunction Issues Following Radical Prostatectomy
The reality of the recovery process after radical prostatectomy today is that erectile function recovery lags behind functional recovery in other areas. Patients are understandably concerned about this issue and, following months of erectile dysfunction, become skeptical of reassurances that their potency will return.
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What Are The Risks Or Complications Of Radical Prostatectomy
- Urinary incontinence: Some people experience urinary incontinence, although most people recover continence. Your provider can help you manage loss of bladder control and urine leakage.
- Erectile dysfunction: Many people have problems maintaining erections after this surgery. The likelihood of recovery of erectile function depends on your erections before surgery and your surgeons ability to spare the nerves that control erection at the time of surgery. You may need to use erectile dysfunction medications or other treatments. The older you are, the more likely problems may occur.
There is also a small risk that you may experience:
What About Problems With Urinary Continence
Urinary continence depends on the internal, involuntary sphincter and the voluntary striated external sphincter. The internal sphincter is removed during all forms of prostatectomy, as it is anatomically at the junction of the prostate and bladder. Performing specialized Kegel exercises after surgery to strengthen muscles enables patients to control their external sphincter and gain continence . This takes several weeks to several months. Overall, significant urinary leakage occurs in only 0.5 percent of UC Davis patients. About 15 percent of patients report mild stress incontinence.
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How Safe Is Holep Prostate Surgery
Holep prostate inoculation is now the trend in most of the centers. Once the technique is mastered, definitely, this is a safe surgery. The only precaution to be taken while performing this surgery as such many times is the morcellating the prostate lobes which are placed into the bladder, it may injure the bladder wall if not properly or if not partially distended.
Day Before Your Surgery
Follow a light diet
Follow a light diet, such as a small sandwich, eggs, toast, crackers, or soup. Limit the amount of dairy products you eat and drink, and avoid fried foods and foods with a lot of seasoning.
Note the Time of Your Surgery
A staff member from the Admitting Office will call you after 2 p.m. the day before your surgery. If your surgery is scheduled for a Monday, theyll call you the Friday before. If you do not get a call by 7 p.m., call .
The staff member will tell you what time to arrive at the hospital for your surgery. Theyll also remind you where to go.
Do your bowel preparation
The night before your surgery, use a saline enema as instructed on the box.
Shower With a 4% CHG Solution Antiseptic Skin Cleanser
The night before your surgery, shower with a 4% CHG solution antiseptic skin cleanser.
Do not use any lotion, cream, deodorant, makeup, powder, perfume, or cologne after your shower.
Sleep
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Urinary Incontinence After Prostate Surgery: Everything You Need To Know
Undergoing a prostatectomy can be difficult. And for many men, finding that they are incontinent post surgery may come as a shock.
But rest assured that there are many treatments available to manage incontinence treatment after surgery. Read below for some of the most common questions we receive about incontinence after prostate surgery.
Recent Findings About Regaining Potency After Radical Prostatectomy
It is important to remember that regaining erectile function takes time after radical robotic prostatectomy. Most studies in the literature use endpoints of 18-36 months after prostate cancer surgery. Nerve tissue can be easily damaged during robotic prostatectomy, regardless of the skill of the surgeon, and takes a long time to regenerate. It is believed that early postoperative medical therapy can aid an earlier return to potency.
Dr. Ahlering, a physician with UC Irvine Medical in Orange County, CA. has pioneered the use of electrocautery-free preservation of the neurovascular bundles which are essential for the return of potency after prostate surgery. A recent study by Dr. Patrick Walsh and associates at John Hopkins has shown that mono and bipolar cautery near the potency nerves severely impact the erectile function of dogs. Mono and bipolar cautery are routinely used by many institutions to limit the bleeding during surgery by heat-sealing or ‘cauterizing’ the bleeding vessels.
The nerves for potency are intertwined with a bundle of blood vessels, which must be controlled during prostate cancer surgery to prevent large blood losses. Thus to preserve the nerves of potency, a surgeon also must prevent the bleeding of these vessels also. Cautery is considered a standard method of sealing the blood vessels, allowing the nerve bundles to now be properly visualized.
For comparison we show the standard data on open prostatectomy potency :
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How A Radical Prostatectomy Is Performed
In cases of cancer, radical prostatectomy is the removal of the prostate along with the nearby seminal vesicles, vas deferens and lymph nodes if they are cancerous as well. This is a surgery of last resort when other treatments will not achieve success. It is considered radical because it involves the removal of entire components of the reproductive and lymphatic systems. After the prostate has been extracted in a radical prostatectomy, the surgeon then reattaches the urethra to the bladder to allow urination.
The following methods may be used to perform a radical prostatectomy.
Prostate Cancer Treatment Begins With Your Primary Physician
In most cases once youve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, your primary care physician and/or urologist will assist you with the necessary tests required before prostate surgery. This should be done approximately four weeks before surgery. If you have any questions regarding pre-operative tests please email us or call at .
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What Is The Difference Between Robotic And Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy
Both are minimally-invasive techniques of performing radical prostatectomy for cancer. In laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, the surgeon stands by the operating table and himself manipulates the instruments. In robotic prostatectomy the surgeon is seated at a robotic console near the patient from where he drive the robotic instruments to perform the operation. The robot faithfully and accurately reproduces the surgeons sophisticated maneuvers.
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How Long Does It Take To Shrink Your Prostate
After 6 to 12 months of therapy, they can reduce the size of the prostate by about a fifth. If used over a longer period of time, they may cause the prostate to shrink even more. 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors often take at least six months to completely act, although they are successful in improving symptoms over time. Larger studies are needed to determine how long it takes for these drugs to cause cancer, but early findings are encouraging.
In conclusion, men with benign prostatic hyperplasia should be informed that treatment may lead to reduced risk of developing prostate cancer later in life. However, the degree of reduction is small and unlikely to matter for most people. More research is needed on the long-term effects of BPH medications on the development of cancer elsewhere in the body. As with any other medication, those who have existing medical conditions should not start treatment without consulting their doctor first.
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What Is The Cost Of Bipolar Turp And Traditional Turp For Enlarged Prostate
The cost of treatment for enlarged prostate with bipolar TURP and traditional TURP are similar. Using bipolar technology increases the cost of the procedure marginally by a few hundred dollars. A potential benefit of bipolar technology is that there is minimal to no risk of hyponatremia and less tissue damage with bipolar technology less risk of erectile dysfunction.
The cost of treatment with bipolar TURP and traditional TURP typically includes 3 components.
- The cost of anesthesia.
- The cost of the operating room, hospital, or surgical center.
- Surgeons fee for performing surgery and treat patients after surgery.
The total cost of the TURP procedure is also affected whether it is performed as a bipolar or unipolar procedure. A major determinant of the cost of bipolar TURP is whether it is performed in a hospital or in a surgical center. The overall cost of the TURP procedure may vary from $5,000-$15,000 or more.
Please contact us to schedule the evaluation. Based on your needs and preferences we will help you find the most cost-efficient way to have a bipolar TURP procedure.
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Potential Risks And Side Effects
Its important to be aware of potential side effects and risks associated with a radical prostatectomy.
Immediately after the surgery, risks may include:
- Reaction to the anesthesia
- Infections at the surgery site
- Damage to other organs near the prostate
Patients should also ask their doctors about side effects. Some of the most commonly experienced side effects from the surgery include:
- Impotence or temporary erectile dysfunction
- Incontinence or urine leakage
- Inguinal hernia
Not all patients experience side effects, and side effects arent always permanent. However, if long-term side effects occur, treatments are available for some of the main issues, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
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How Bad Is The Pain After Prostate Surgery
The level of pain is lower than that of open prostatectomy, due to smaller incisions. However, you will be administered pain medication both orally and intravenously, through an IV. Make sure you have someone to pick you up from the hospital, as you wont be able to drive right away. Ask your doctor to recommend some pain medication and dosages that you can take from home most common ones are Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Even though the recovery is fast, you should get plenty of rest and not force yourself with lifting weights or exercises in the first few weeks.
What Do We Know About Potency After A Robitic Prostatectomy
The return of potency is dependent on several factors:
- Previous sexual function before surgery. Unfortunately, robotic prostatectomy will at best return you to your level of sexual function pre-surgery. It will not improve upon what you already had before surgery.
- Age. Theyounger you are, the better your chances. Men under 65 have abetter chance of regaining potency, or erectile function than those over 65.
- How many nerves are spared. As discussed previously, ideally both nerves can be spared and thiswill give you the highest chance of regain erections. However,even men with no nerve sparing can regain erectile function.
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Keeping Up With Appointments And Screenings
Attending your doctors appointments after youve entered remission is very important. If you need to skip an appointment, you should make another appointment as soon as possible.
Use these appointments as a time to discuss any concerns you may have with your doctor. Your doctor can also conduct tests to check for the cancers return during these appointments.
Two tests to detect recurrent prostate cancer include a digital rectal exam and a PSA blood test. During a DRE, your doctor will insert a finger into your rectum. If your doctor detects something unusual, theyll likely ask for additional follow-up tests. These tests may include bone scans and imaging studies, such as an ultrasound or MRI.
Men often experience side effects from their prostate cancer treatments. Some of these side effects may be immediate and temporary. Others may take several weeks or months to show up and never fully disappear.
Common side effects from prostate cancer treatment include:
What To Expect After Radical Prostatectomy
Most men stay in the hospital for one to three days after radical prostatectomy. A urinary catheter is inserted during the surgery, and some men may need to wear the catheter home for a few days to a few weeks. Another catheter inserted through the skin also may need to stay in place for a few days after returning home.
Pain after radical prostatectomy can generally be controlled with prescription pain medicines. It can take weeks or months for urinary and sexual function to return to their maximum levels.
After radical prostatectomy, regular follow-up is essential to make sure prostate cancer does not return.
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Caring For The Catheter
You will be discharged with a Foley catheter, a tube that continuously drains urine from your bladder into a bag and that you will use for seven to 10 days. Before you leave the hospital, your nurse will teach you how to empty and care for your catheter and drainage bag. The catheter works with gravity and should be draining urine at all times, so you have to keep the drainage bag below your bladder at all times, even when you shower. If your urine is not draining, lower the bag and check the connection for kinks or loops. Loops can cause an air lock that prevents drainage. You can also try emptying the bag. Then try briefly disconnecting the catheter from the clear plastic tubing to allow a little air into the system. Your nurse will show you how to do this before your discharge.
To prevent infection, you must keep your catheter clean. This section explains how to clean the catheter, the area around the catheter and the drainage bag. It also explains how to apply your leg bag and secure the catheter to your leg.
We will provide most of the supplies you need to care for your catheter. They include:
- StatLock Foley catheter securement device
- Shaving supplies
You should empty the catheter bag when itâs half full. This helps prevent air locks from developing in the tubing.
To apply the leg bag: