Roger's Story

Ethnicity
White British
Age
70-79
Work
Retired
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Geography
Yorkshire
Relationship status
Married/In a Civil Partnership

Radical Prostatectomy (Surgery)

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

Get as much help as you can with managing incontinence, including researching alternatives to pads - i.e. urinary sheath condom catheters to give you a break from the pads. 18 months after the operation to remove the Prostate, and because I was still leaking pee, I was offered and was fitted with an internal artificial sphincter which has transformed my situation back into total continence, with no side effects whatsoever.

How this treatment impacted my life the most

Radical Prostatectomy for me sorted my cancer completely because the disease hadn't escaped, I have been cancer-free since, now monitored annually via a PSA test. In the 18 months between surgery and having an artificial sphincter fitted, my life was impacted quite a lot because of the incontinence. Changing pads up to 15 times a day doesn't make for a dream existence, but I was able to carry on some normal activity meantime. The Artificial Sphincter was a game-changer.

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

Yes

Why did I give this answer?

Because the surgery sorted my problem which was prostate cancer that hadn't got into the rest of my body.

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