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Dave's Story

Ethnicity
White British
Age
60-69
Work
Retired
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Geography
South West
Relationship status
Married/In a Civil Partnership
Listen

Radical Prostatectomy (Surgery)

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

I’m convinced that regular kegel exercises are a big help to overcome incontinence

Tips and advice for any sexual side effects of treatment

I am using a combination of vacuum pump and viagra tablets and have recently started noticing an improvement

How this treatment impacted my life the most

The worst part for me was having to have the catheter in for 3 weeks And the subsequent incontinance, I found regular exercise helped enormously, I’ve been walking daily, playing badminton a couple of times a week (both of these as soon as the catheter was removed) and I started cycling 12 weeks after the operation (after advice from my surgeon)

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

Yes

Why did I give this answer?

Even though when the prostate was examined it showed a “positive margin” I have had 2 subsequent psa tests with readings of <0.01. But I understand that radiotherapy could still be an option for me if it were to be needed, whereas if I had radiotherapy treatment to start with, a prostatectomy would be difficult if the cancer returned.

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