Ethnicity
White British
Age
70-79
Work
Retired
Radical Prostatectomy (Surgery)
Tips and advice for any bladder or bowel side effects of treatment
In addition to m muscle invasive tumours in my bladder I was also diagnosed with a Gleason 9 Prostate cancer.
As the symptoms of bladder and prostate themselves in a similar way, ALL male bladder cancer patients should also be subject to a PSA blood test. I was not.
Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment
At age 76 I have also, after my surgery, been diagnosed with hypogonadism. A small price to pay for life!
How this treatment impacted my life the most
I was an inpatient for just 2 nights when my bladder and prostate were removed. I have had NO other follow up treatments or therapies. I guess that overall, it took me about 6 months to fully recover.
If I had to do it all over again, would I choose the same treatment?
Yes
Why did I give this answer?
If I had NOT opted for surgical removal of my bladder, my Gleason 9 prostate would nor have been found. Thus, the odds are pretty good that I would not be here to write this now!
On Christmas Eve, 2019 I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I opted for bladder removal rather than chemo. March 2020 in surgery for a radical cystectomy my Surgeon was amazed to find that I had a very enlarged prostate, (later diagnosed as Gleason 9). The prostate was removed at the same time as my bladder together with 42 lymph glands in my pelvic region. In the lab afterwards some of these were found to be showing signs of cancer. My prostate cancer was NOT spotted my ANY member of the medical profession that treated me, I was treated ONLY for bladder cancer. The symptoms of both cancers can present in a similar fashion, I was NOT offered a PSA test. Had I opted for the chemo route I would have ONLY been treated for bladder cancer as NONE dealing with my case were even aware that I also had a prostate populated with tumours. Because of that my Gleason 9 prostate cancer would have been missed and the odds are pretty good that I would NOT be here to write this today!
