Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. You sound very pragmatic, and wanting to push on, so I will be as specific as I can.

As a Gleason 6, its highly likely the Cancer is confined to the Prostate. A Bone Scan and MRI Scan will check that this is the case, and that it has not spread. Once all these results are in, you will be given an overall STAGING and then what your options  are.

DA VINCI is the name of the keyhole, Robotic surgery to remove the Prostate Gland. It does tend to be less invasive than an Open LRP, and recovery times are quicker. Men have reported less ED [Erectile Dysfunction] with this procedure, and Incontinence is reduced to just a matter of weeks. There are not many Hospitals in the UK which perform this surgery, but you are free to choose which Hospital you attend for treatment nowadays. Depending on where you live, you may want to consider another Hospital for this operation.

I will paste in a link for another thread on this forum by BEEGEE, who is in much the same position as yourself. He also enquired about the Da Vinci. It contains links that I pasted which you may find of interest.

Best of luck with your eventual decision. Do take your time to research all your options before making your mind up. This is a very slowly growing Cancer, so you will have plenty of time to decide.

Always around if you want to chat.

With regards and best of wishes

jadziadax

http://cancerchat.cancerresearchuk.org/thread/4199?tstart=0

jd

Message was edited by: jadziadax

Hi Jadziadax,

Thankyou for your comments, as any information is greatly appreciated

Yes i have now received my MRI Pelvic Prostate scan date, Tuesday 30th November, oncology clinic date 10th Dec, then Urology Clinic 24th December

so i guess im just waiting now to see what results the Scan brings back, then i suppose depending on that ( they will offer select treatment based on these results?

Do you know will i get the results back at the Oncology appt date, or will it be Urology date 24th December?

Thanks Jim

Hi Jim

Glad to hear that things are moving for you. If I were you, I would be inclined to phone the department, and ask if a cancellation/earlier date is available. The reason being that in that instance it would be more likely you would receive your scan results at your Oncology appointment. Good to see that you are seeing both, however, make sure and find out who has the overall responsibility for You - Oncology or Urology - ? Generally, with a confirmed PCa diagnosis, Oncology leads the treatment plan - Urology only usually step in then if you decide on surgery, which would be carried out by Urology Surgeon.

Scan is done to determine whether the Cancer has escaped from the Prostate, or remains contained within the capsule. If it is contained, then Surgery & radiotherapy is usually the first option. There is a good chance of it all being removed, and you go into remission. If the Cancer has escaped the Prostate, or infiltrated Seminal Vesicles/lymph nodes/bone etc then Surgery won't be an option. It all depends on what the scan results come back as. I know that sounds bleak in the extreme, but please don't panic. I know of one man who was given 6-9 months at diagnosis, and he is hale and hearty and still defying the Onco's 7 YEARS LATER !!!!! The standard answer is 2-3 years,,,,take this with a grain of salt if they say this to you. All PCa is different in every single man, and nobody can say for certain what the outcome will be.

Have you been started on any tablets yet? Usually Hormone Replacement Therapy [HT] is what everyone is on to start with. PSA usually drops like a stone with this for the first 14-28 days, then Oncologist will decide which HT long term therapy to start you on. There are various different ones around, but all do the same thing. The one of choice at the moment  is called Zoladex and is a sub cutaneous implant, given usually every 28 or 84 days. Worth discussing with Onco at next appointment if he hasn't mentioned it yet.

Try and learn as much as you can about this, it will be easier once you get a final STAGING and GLEASON SCORE then you will know what options are suitable for you. Until then, I am afraid you are a bit in limbo waiting for it all to come about. There is no easy answer to that. We all hate the waiting, and it gets no easier with time.

I will paste in some links for you. One is for treatment options on this site CRUK which you should start to familiarize yourself with. The other is for THE PROSTATE CANCER CHARITY UK, a sister site to this, and also offers good advice regarding treatment options.

Always around if you have any questions about ANYTHING at all. Will be thinking of you, and hoping that results are good for you. Take care of yourself, and do keep in contact.

Best of luck.

With regards and best of wishes as always

jadziadax

www.cancerhelp.org.uk/type/prostate-cancer/treatment/

www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/information/treatment/treatment-choices

Message was edited by: jadziadax

Message was edited by: jadziadax

Hi ,

you have a good one if any can be described as good. I had a Laparascopic removal 18 months ago with PSA 6 Gleeson 7  so if you need any information email me.

Also please read www.yananow.net and you will find you will be OK. I did not need radiotherapy or any of these drugs so do your research before committing t oany treatment.

everyone is different with this illness.

good luck David82150

Hi JD

     I had a prostate removed by keyhole surgey in Guy's Hospitial 2 years ago, they did by robot. The guy to get hold of is xxx.

Any help or advice you might want, let me know I am here for you.

George

Hi JDundee

I guess I'm a couple of months ahead of you in this game.  I had my prostate removed by Da Vinci robot on 21st December 2010, so I am now approaching four weeks since surgery.  My operation was carried out at Southmead Hospital, Bristol.  My Gleason score was 3+4, my PSA 5.6 and I was 56 then (now 57).  A week after diagnosis I had an MRI which showed nothing of any significance.

I can tell you all about the surgery, what to take to hospital, what to have at home for later. If you have any questions then just ask

Bob (Telemando)

Hi Bob,

I hope you are well. I am aged 57 and have just been diagnosed with prostrate cancer. My concern all started when I thought I was going to the toilet too often. I went to my GP I had a PSA test in June 2011 which came back with a score of 4.7 I had a second PSA in Dec 2011 and my score rose to 6.2. It was then my GP referred me to a specialist. I had a biopsy in Jan 2012 and was informed that I had prostrate cancer Gleeson Score 3+3. I am now reviewing my options between keyhole surgery and surveillance. Tell me about your experience and your views.

Regards

Richard(dickiemint)      

Hi Richard

Welcome to Cancer Chat. Hopefully there will be others here who are in a similar position to you and will be able to offer advice on treatment options. While you are waiting for a response, here is a link to some information on prostate cancer from our information website.

Hi Richard

Welcome to the forum.

You are lucky that your PCa was caught so early, at G6 you will have all options open to you.

At the end of the day, you have to weigh up all the options yourself, and decide what is best for you. I know a lot of men who just want the Prostate removed, at any cost. Others are reluctant because of side effects such as incontinence and ED which can happen. It really is up to the individual, and how they feel about it all.

I do know that recovery times following keyhole surgery fair better than open procedures. Also, the Robotic [Da Vinci] technique is very good, and far less invasive overall.

You really do need to sit down and look at everything, side effects, recovery times etc and decide which path you want to follow.

If you want any further information, or if I can help in any way, then do let me know. If you request Moderator Sarah to activate your private message service, we can chat privately if you wish.

Best of luck. Do take your time to do your research, it does pay off in the end.

Kindest regards

jadziadax

Hi Richard

Yes - I continue to be well, thank you for asking.

My PSA was 5.6 when I had the biopsy and I was 56 (58 now). My biopsy originally indicated a Gleeson of 3+4 (downgraded to 3+3 after surgery) which meant that I wasn't really a candidate for active surveillance.  I also had a history of irritable bowel syndrome which the oncologist thought should rule out radiotherapy.  This left surgery as my best option - and I agreed completely with this treatment choice.

My surgery was delayed for several months due to blood pressure problems; however, my BP was eventually tamed and I had the surgery just before Xmas, 20th December 2010. I live near Bristol and the surgery was carried out using a Da Vinci robot.  By May I was free from all pads, etc, but I still continue to have ED. Strangely enough, the ED isn't really a problem and one can still enjoy sex provided one uses one's imagination.

Following surgery, my PSA dropped to < 0.1. I had a PSA test 6 weeks ago, and it was still < 0.1. I'm due another test on Monday and fingers crossed it will still be < 0.1

In summary, I think I've been well treated by the system, and I've come out of it with a few scars, but pretty much unscathed.

Bob