So July 4th marks 30 months since my radical prostatectomy (and 30 months of independence from cancer!).
Where am I at in this journey? Well…
Status
PSA remains undetectable.
Incontinence
The stress incontinence is still present. A good cough, sneeze, or lifting something heavy may cause me to leak a few drops. But, on the whole, I’m otherwise fully functional and dry. Sleeping through the night is no longer a problem for me, except an occasional odd night where I’ll be running to the bathroom for no good reason. Perhaps part of that is simply being 55 years old. 🙂
In my 24 month update, I commented about being a bit tactical in scoping out where the bathrooms are. But now I don’t do that as much. It seems I can go longer between bathroom breaks.
Sexual Function
Remember that they took one of my nerve bundles, but I have to admit that I’m pleased with my progress without the use of a pill. I can consistently achieve a 70% – 80% erection, and on a couple of occasions, have achieved an erection sufficient for penetrative sex. I’d like that to happen more, and my urologist and I have talked about starting the Cialis, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Orgasms are perhaps a little less intense after surgery than they were before. I have to admit that, psychologically, I still get a little bummed by the fact that there’s no ejaculate during an orgasm. It just doesn’t seem right.
Summary
Life is good, and I’ve accepted my new normal pretty well.
One thing that I started doing in June was to get more physically active. I know I need to lose some weight, and perhaps if I do, that will help with some of the stress incontinence issues as well. Who knows. If it doesn’t, at least I’ll be a little bit lighter and a little more fit.
Dan's Journey through Prostate Cancer 