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Prostate cancer


Evianers
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Just a quick update folks [I could not log in for several days due to changes in the system].

We managed to have OH recategorised as ALD which is a major step forwards and thank heavens for that!

Last week went for preliminary chest X-ray, electro-cardiogram and lengthy talk with the anaesthetist who explained the whole procedure in detail, followed by yet another blood test [NB Tony Hancock, for those who remember him, with his "empty arm" comes frequently to mind]!

Only additional step - yet another wee[!] test next week and then we're in. Everyone at Thonon Hospital has been nothing short of magnificent - long may this continue.

Our continuing thanks to those with never-ending support on this forum and I will of course let you know how everything goes in due course. Happy Easter Day

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As the OP here, I have been incredibly grateful for

the support given to us by people, completely unknown to us previously

and especially NormanH, who have been in a similar position yet who have

taken the time and trouble to unstintingly and spontaneously give the

benefit of their advice and experiences. So if the hospital terminology

list is not quite complete, who cares? It has been sent through with the

same consideration and will probably prove to be beneficial. So once

again, our sincere and heartfelt thanks to those who are willing and

able to assist with sound advice on this forum. [Were it not for

NormalH, we would not have known about ALD which has now been granted to

us]. Un GRAND MERCI!!


Sheila

NB copied from the other posting on the same topic, just to let those know how grateful we are still.

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[quote user="Evianers"][Were it not for NormalH, we would not have known about ALD which has now been granted to us]. Un GRAND MERCI!!


[/quote]

Not sure that he's always completely normal.[6]

I have it on good authority that he's up for a knighthood this Summer ............... he'll turn it down though.

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To all those extremely kindly members of the forum who have followed the sequence of events in our lives recently and who have given such unstinting support and guidance.

The Grand Opening took place today: it took slightly longer than expected at 5 hours with a [necessary] lengthy recovery period. The patient is of course sore and in some discomfort, as well as being very thirsty [you know for those who have been there] but was able to speak lucidly and freely with a postive outlook. The staff are simply marvellous - we have nothing but praise for them and especially the consultant urologist. He can hopefully come home within 4/5 days [in time for my birthday next Monday]! Thanks again to one and all.

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Hooray!!!! My husband has just called and said he can come home this afternoon. I almost wept with relief and joy. If you had seen him only three days ago, no-one would have believed that he would be well enough to return by today. But it just goes to emphasize the power of positive thinking so once again, to those super supportive people on the forum. Many grateful thanks.

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Great stuff.  So glad it went well.  I reckon the surgery was one of the least stressful bits for me as it's a positive, rather than a negative, step.  Hope he's able to have a bit of fizz (or whatever your tipple is!) on Monday.  At least he'll be home to share the birthday with you.[:)]
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  • 9 years later...

Hello! We are a group of UC Berkeley students collecting stories and insights about people who experienced prostate cancer through our Capstone project. Due to past familial experiences, many of us on the team were inspired to enter into healthcare to potentially change the prostate treatment landscape in the future by bringing about greater accessibility and effectiveness of various treatments.

Below is the link to a short survey (8~10 minutes) that is designed for us to understand your treatment experiences! Please fill out only the sections that you feel comfortable sharing with us. We would like to emphasize that this survey is COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS (unless you choose to share your email with us for a raffle!). None of your personal information will be shared with anyone! We greatly appreciate the time.

https://berkeley.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_41Gn1gZL3LBZ99c

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My experience of prostate cancer (PCa) runs from 2008. More of that later, but first a strong recommendation:

Research both the institution(s) where you might get the RP (radical prostatectomy) done and the surgeon who will do it (how many of these operations has he/she done? You want him/her to be experienced).

There are various newspapers and magazines that do a "Palmarès des hôpitaux et cliniques" (or similarly named). Here is what L'Express came up with for 2014 for Chirurgie endoscopique prostate  https://www.lexpress.fr/palmares/hopitaux/chirurgie-endoscopique-prostate

Le Point is my favourite for such things. For PCa 2021 it's here: https://www.lepoint.fr/hopitaux/classements/cancer-de-la-prostate-public.php but it is behind a paywall, although apparently only €1.

Endoscopic surgery (generally using the DaVinci robot & camera) will no doubt be recommended by your doctors since, well handled, it is less problematic than the old 'open' surgery. Make sure the operator is experienced! It may mean a 'challenging' conversation, but well worth it. My 2009 surgery nearly cost my life (enormous blood loss) and the (in)competence of the surgeon meant that two important nerve bundles were cut, among other problems (with blood everywhere, the camera was pretty much blocked, so he was operating pretty much blind). Sorry if this sounds worrisome, but I would have avoided this had I done ALL the necessary research - I did not check in advance the experience of the surgeon. 

Moral from my experience, be sure to do all the research and don't be afraid to travel a considerable distance to get the best treatment - much more important than the convenience of a local hospital/clinic. I was a bit late in doing that but four years after the surgery (& subsequent radiotherapy) I completed the missing research and found the Clinique Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi) to which I switched my follow-up care.

One final point, given your mention of the kidney problem. I believe that coelioscopique or endoscopique surgery may only be done once, at least that is what a doctor who operated on me for a hernia said a few years ago. Check with your doctors because it may mean that if you need two surgeries, one of the two may need to be 'open' (or urethral). Conceivably that could be avoided by having the PCa RP done by a surgeon (expert!) in using the endoscopic technique that operates via the urethra, leaving coelioscopie available for the kidney BUT IANAD (I Am Not A Doctor). Good luck!

 

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Oops. First thing always check the date of posts, not just the most recent one. The thread overview showed the latest post (Survey) today & I assumed (always a bad idea) that the thread was recent! Anyway, maybe the points in my post may be useful to others.

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