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Life after prostate cancer surgery

25Nov

So, your surgery has been scheduled and you are all set to go. But what should you be ready for after your surgery?

Post-operation recovery

Depending on the type of surgery you undertake, recovery may require up to a few days of hospital stay, and a number of weeks of home-recovery—i.e. radical prostatectomy is major surgery. During this time most patients will experience a period of incontinence (due to damage to the urinary sphincter) and will have to wear a catheter. You should be able to return to a normal diet after a day or two.

The other typical experience is a period of impotence. While drugs may assist with achieving erection, prostate cancer surgery eliminates the possibility of ejaculation (by removing the seminal vesicles)—though orgasm will still occur.

Diet

After your surgery, it is likely that you will be on an all-liquid diet. This should quickly progress back to regular foods. However, you may want to consider some long-term adjustments:

  • more fruits and vegetables—foods high in lycopene (such as tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, asparagus, salsa and grapefruit) have been found to improve prostate health.
  • more nuts and seafood—foods high in selenium have also been found to be beneficial. Look to tuna, nuts, oysters and shrimp.
  • more fiber, less fat—increase your intake of whole grain foods, and limit fatty foods such as fried chicken, french fries, etc.

Pain

As with any surgery, there may be pain or bleeding following your operation. These side effects should go away after a few weeks—if pain persists, contact your healthcare professional.

Infertility

With the seminal vesicles removed, it is no longer possible for semen to travel down the urethra, prohibiting the fertilization of an egg.

Urinary incontinence and dysfunction

After prostate surgery it is common to experience urinary incontinence—everything from urinary leaking to complete loss of bladder control. Urinary dysfunction (pain during urination) is also common, and is caused by the close proximity of the prostate gland and the bladder. Bowel dysfunction may also occur due to damage done during surgery.

Tagged ed incontinence infertility prostate cancer prostate surgery radical prostatectomy
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Life after prostate cancer treatment (Part 2)

11Nov

In my last post I examined, from a high-level, what life is like after prostate cancer. In this post, I want to focus on the specifics of what to expect depending on your treatment option:

  • radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate);
  • external-beam radiation which targets the prostate as much as possible (trying to avoid the rectum and the bladder);
  • brachytherapy which sees tiny radioactive seeds implanted in the prostate.

While each is relatively effective at treating early-stage prostate cancer, each offers different outcomes for bowel, urinary and sexual function. Perhaps more important, however, is that there are differences in how much of an impact men perceive to their lifestyle from each option. For example, in one study done by Mark Litwin, MD, MPH, and reported in the June 1, 2007 issue of the journal Cancer, the following conclusions were reached, based on men's self-perceptions:

  • external-beam radiation therapy led to the best outcomes for urinary control and sexual function (however, the differences experienced by potent men undergoing radical prostatectomy was reduced by bilateral nerve-sparing surgery);
  • brachytherapy caused more obstructive and irritative symptoms;
  • radical prostatectomy led to the least bowel dysfunction.

However, the study's author noted that national outcomes vary widely from practitioner to practitioner: "One indication of really good quality care in prostate cancer is that a surgeon or radiologist tracks his or her own outcomes and can say, 'Here is my track record.'" (Life After Prostate Cancer by Daniel J. DeNoon. WebMD Health News.) 

You need to have a very frank conversation with your doctor about which side effects will bother you the most, and what their personal experience with outcomes and dysfunctions has been based on the treatment they have provided to other patients.

Tagged brachytherapy chemotherapy erectile dysfunction external-beam radiation outcomes prostate cancer prostate surgery radical prostatectomy treatment
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