Christopher's Story

Ethnicity
White British
Age
50-59
Work
Other (please specify)
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Geography
North West
Relationship status
Married/In a Civil Partnership

Radical Prostatectomy (Surgery)

Tips and advice for any bladder or bowel side effects of treatment

I would advise everyone having a prostatectomy removal to do pelvic floor exercises

Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment

The advice I would give is to use the vacuum pump as soon has you can, I had bilateral nerve removal so erections would not happen again naturally, I was given ciallis then injections but nothing worked, I have since had a penile implant and this changed my life for the better

Tips and advice for any mental and emotional side effects of treatment

Talk to someone

How this treatment impacted my life the most

I couldn’t be the husband I wanted to be with my wife

If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?

Not sure

Why did I give this answer?

I’m not sure if surgery was the right choice, I was offered surgery or radiotherapy and my understanding was if radiotherapy failed then I wouldn’t be able to have surgery

Penile Implant

Tips and advice for any physical side effects of treatment

If anyone is having a implant I would advise that they be patient and follow the consultants advice.

How this treatment impacted my life the most

I was severely depressed before the implant surgery, but my life is back to pre cancer days and life is good and so are my erections and sex life 

If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?

Yes

Why did I give this answer?

Because it changed my life for the better, it was painful at first but life is great again

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