Lone Ranger
New member
I am new here.. My birthday is Sept. first... I was called in to get the results of the MRI and biopsies (18 samples) and found that the "spots" were now being called "tumors" .... two of them... and both 7 on the Gleason scale.... happy birthday.... . Options were discussed... five years if doing surveilance... ten years if radiation which was recommended.... because I was 73 and life expetancy is 79.... I asked about targeted surgery to remove the two tumors and was advised that most of the time they wind up doing a radical.... but the urologist refused to do surgery unless I had a history of longevity... my grandfatehr died at 92... and my father died at 96... So I was scheduled for a nuclear bone scan and if that came back OK he would consider surgery... It did... and I had surgery on Sept. 24 and the catheter was to be removed ten days later... a Saturday... want to try to find a doctor to do this on a Saturday??? So I had it removed on Monday Oct. 6.... and started the wonderful world of incontinence... Found out too that a referral to a PT does not move you to the head of the list... but lucked out, and jumped at a chance to seet a PT because of a cancellation... and she is excellent!!! I learned more from her than all the other medical people in the previous weeks.... but ALL of the people I have seen have been super.... I also have had two internet discussions with urologists and both have said the same thing..... "You are in the early stages of recovery." At first that is not good news... but then you start thinking that what is happening is "normal".... Now, reading a whole bunch of entries in this section I have hope... I have learned different methods to stay somewhat dry... I use a red SOLO cup (beer pong) when standing to catch the initial spurt.. then tighten up and try to get to the commode. I wear assurance underwear with a separate shield installed... saves a lot on the underwear... I am retired... so I don't have to worry about work but, I am still avoiding family gatherings and public activities as much as possible. And of course, I have the same question as everybody else... when will there be improvement? Now I know.... and most websites I have found have said the same thing too.... seven weeks to seven months.... Thanks for all the information about your experiences... it is greatly appreciated......