Great News from Dr. Porter

I have not posted for a few days because I don't have Internet at the house due to the storm and weather conditions. Once I have Internet at home, I will fill-in some of the days that are missing.

I met with Dr. Porter this afternoon for my first post-operation appointment. Dr. Porter asked how I was doing. I said, "Except for the catheter and the pain at the tip of the catheter, I am doing well." He checked my abdomen area to make sure all of the incisions were healing appropriately. He noticed I was healing better than most. He took off the bandage that covered the hole where the JP bottle was placed.

About 50% of prostate cancer surgeries require the JP bottle, which is used to help with draining of blood in the abdomen area. Dr. Porter said I had more blood than normal which is why he inserted the JP bottle. Imagine a tube from within your abdomen draining to a bottle. The blood is drained from the bottle when it fills up.

Before discussing what to do about the catheter, Dr. Porter had the pathology report from my prostate and lymph nodes. Great news! The results suggest he got ALL of the cancer, however, we still have to wait for the PSA test - 6 weeks after surgery. Dr. Porter removed both tumors by removing the left and right side of the prostate, was able to save both nerves, and removed 8 lymph nodes in the pelvic area. My chances for being cancer free are excellent!

After recovery, I will need to look into lymph node therapy so I decrease my chances of getting sick and infections. Lymph nodes are used to fight infections found in the body.

I was hoping to get the catheter removed today because it is a pain in the ass to walk around (private or public) with a bag of urine. With the bag, I get more looks than a supermodel. (LOL)

Dr. Porter said he could remove it today. But, there are risks. If the urethral was not completely healed, there is a chance my bladder would not drain (naturally) and I would need to go back into emergency room to have another catheter inserted. This time, it would be inserted while awake. No thanks! I had already felt what it was like to have your bladder fill and not be able to drain it, and then the thought of another catheter being inserted while awake was not fun. The downside is I would have to keep the catheter in until next Monday because of the holidays. The doctor's office is closed through the Christmas weekend. So, the catheter is still in - it sucks!

Soon, I will post some pictures. They aren't pretty, but they are reality! (LOL)

If I don't get a chance to post before Christmas, Happy Holidays to family and friends!