My
Cancer Trek
aka
The Tokyo Roast

On 11/10/06, at age 59,  I found that I had       prostate cancer. 
As the most common cancer in men, it kills 15% of those who get it.
My case, a most uncommon one, led me to Tokyo.
I hope my story can help others.

It Sucks

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This entry was posted on 8/8/2007 4:51 PM and is filed under Complications.

It Sucks.  For the last two weeks my urine stream has been slowing.  By yesterday it was a dribble.  I headed for the urologist’s office.  The doctor immediately told the nurse to prep me for the cystoscope.  That’s the camera up the urethra thing.

You know you’re in trouble when your doctor brings in his partner for the procedure.  The camera went in and as I watched on screen I saw this nice clear reddish tunnel but first looks can be deceiving.  A little further in and there it was – a wall of scar tissue.

There appeared to be no more than 5-10% of the channel open and that was only when they pushed the probe against the blockage.  The look on their faces said it all.  I had a big problem.  They used the probe to push aside just enough blockage to get a catheter through.  Yes. I’m back on a catheter.

Surgery is scheduled for a week from Thursday.  They will be doing a modified TURP procedure which some refer to as a roto-rooter.  I’ll be in the hospital for one or two nights.

This is not without risk.  The doctor says I could become incontinent as a result of the procedure, particularly with the other damage I have had in the area.  He also said that the scar tissue blocking my urethra may very well grow back in a matter of months, forcing us to go back into surgery.  Finally, he said I may eventually need to have a radical prostatectomy to take out my already dead prostate material.  That is the operation we went to Japan to avoid.  It requires general anesthesia, which carries a risk for me due to my heart disease and sleep apnea.

All in all, not a good day.  I guess I should appreciate the fact that I live in a place and time where they were able to unblock my urethra.  The alternative would be pretty awful.

 

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