The doctor I had been seeing for many years was nearing retirement and referred me to a new young doctor who asked me for copies of my previous PSA test results. He explained that this would enable him to create a history of my PSA levels and watch for any changes. We saw that the levels had been gradually increasing over the years and when it went above the 4.0 mark, he recommended a digital examination that revealed some irregularity in my prostate.

Next was the biopsy, which was not nearly as invasive or uncomfortable as I had expected. Of the eight samples examined by the lab’s pathologists, three were determined to contain some cancer cells. My doctor explained to me how cancer cells are graded, how rapidly various grades of cancer can be expected to change and the various types of treatment available.

After consideration of all the information given to us, my wife and I decided that surgery would be the best choice of treatments. We picked a date about 3 weeks away. This would give us time to take care of a few personal details around the house.

The surgical procedure is called “Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy”. “Radical” means the complete or entire organ will be affected. “Retropubic” means the incision will be in the pubic area, just below the navel, which was a great relief to me, and “Prostatectomy” means to remove the prostate gland. So what it all means is that they will remove the entire prostate gland through an incision below your navel.

You will be asked to give a list of medications you are currently taking as prescribed by various doctors and may be told to postpone some of them before and during your hospital stay.

I was told that they surgery would take a little over an hour, would be done early on Monday morning and I should be released on the following Wednesday afternoon, “if there are no complications”.

About a week before the day of surgery, I went to the hospital for a medical history interview by a member of the hospital staff, some blood tests and an EKG to determine if my heart was healthy. The technician was able to tell me that the print-out of the test looked normal but would be examined by a cardiologist and I would be notified if there were any problems.

The afternoon before your surgery, you are asked to take a couple of laxative capsules, have a clear liquid supper and not eat or drink anything after 10 pm that evening and the next morning only drink enough water to swallow your medications. You will not need to take your medications with you for your hospital stay. They will be provided by the hospital. You will not need to take any money, credit cards, or insurance cards with you.

Shortly after you get to the hospital on “Surgery Day”, you will be weighed, blood pressure taken and an IV installed. Then you will be asked to put on one of the famous hospital gowns and long white stockings and socks and be given a bag for your personal belongings. The nurse will put some little “footies” on your feet that will massage your feet and aide your circulation while you are sedated during surgery and you will wear them for a day or so after surgery. They felt great to me and I enjoyed having my feet massaged.

A nurse will come in and shave you with an electric razor from just below your nipples to your pubic area. Short stubble is left so you are not as itchy while the hair is growing back. The next visitor will be the anesthesiologists who will be attending you. After a few questions he will determine what medicine you will receive from him and what the effects will be.

Your family will join you at this time while you wait to be taken to the operating room. All of this procedure goes very quickly. Your doctor will come in to visit with you and tell you that the next time you see him will be in the recovery room.

Next the anesthesiologist returns, administers the sedative through the IV in your arm, which now is also feeding you antibiotics, and will soon be the source for pain relief and any other medication you may need.

In a couple of minutes you wake up in the recovery room with a nurse at your bedside smiling down at you. About the only difference you will notice is that you have been catheterized and you have a large square bandage on your belly. A few minutes after you awake, your doctor will join you for a short report on the events of the previous hour that you thought was a “couple of minutes”.

The recovery room nurses watch you, check blood pressure, pulse, etc. for a short while. During this time you will be allowed to chew on some crushed ice to soothe your throat that might be a little scratchy as a result of a tube that was in there while you were sleeping. Soon the nice nurse will deliver you to your room where you can have visitors, watch tv, make phone calls and start your recovery.

The anesthesia that sedated you also sedated your intestines and they do not wake up for a while, so when the nurses come in to check your “vitals”, they will also listen to your bowels to tell if they are “awake” yet. When they wake up, you will be taken off a clear liquid diet and given soft foods.

The first day following surgery you will be able to get out of bed. You will enjoy stretching your legs as you walk down the hall with the nurse at your side. At the same time, you will notice that you are also stretching the incision in your belly and that the surrounding muscles are a little sore. You will learn to be careful about sneezing, coughing and blowing your nose!

Later that afternoon, your insides will start to wake up and you will be rewarded with real food, sort of. They will also begin giving you your medication orally instead of through the IV connection.

With each visit from the nurse, you will be asked if you need anything. They will also ask about your pain level. If you have pain, tell them so they can give you appropriate medication. If you are pain free, you will be more active and the more active you are the quicker you will recover.

The second day following surgery you will start off slow and then become very active. Your doctor will visit again and order your discharge. Staff nurses will come and remove your IV and the small drain tube that has been poke through a hole in your abdomen. This is very exciting!

A hospital coordinator will explain the use of your “walking around” catheter equipment for home use and schedule follow-up appointments with your doctor. You will be given extra equipment to take with you. The coordinator will also call your pharmacy to order any prescriptions you may need for the next few weeks.

Then you can pack up all the goodies you may want to take home with you and finally put on your own clothes. You will definitely want pants that fit very loosely around the waist. Track or jogging type pants that snap together the entire length of the legs would be ideal, but pajama type “loungers” will work fine.

After what seems like forever, you will meet your new best friend and he will help you into a wheelchair and deliver you to the front door of the hospital and in a second you are homeward bound!

You will be sore for a while, but will be amazed at how the soreness diminishes each day. Then as you look back on it all you will say, “That wasn’t so bad!”