Scheduled for surgery Thursday

I want you older drivers to take some advice here and you wives whose husbands won't listen to smack them in the side of the head . Men don't like going to doctors . Driving makes keeping appointments tough . Drivers figure I feel fine , pass my D.O.T. physicals , no problem . Not necessarily . I have a prescription for high blood pressure so I see my doctor every few months . I have regular blood work , had x-rays , EKG , etc. and my doctor gave me a clean bill of health . Several months back I wanted to increase my life insurance . I'd get a lower rate if I took a physical . Sure , why not ? So tests come back - coverage denied for high PSA levels ? What's a PSA ? Web says PSA over 4 indicates possibility of prostate cancer . My level was 6 . My doctor had just retired . The new doctor checked my files . PSA testing should be done with the blood work along with cholesterol . It wasn't . So I was scheduled for a biopsy which confirmed there was cancer but it was small and easily all removed if treated soon enough . Prostate cancer usually isn't aggressive . The surgeon told me if I did nothing I may not see any effects for 8 to 10 years . So I asked why not wait 5 or 6 years to operate ? Because by the time symptoms appear it is beyond the curable stage . That is why it is very important for men over 50 to have regular testing and catch it early . There are various treatments and I'm not going into them . I'm having the prostate removed by robotic surgery for a cuple of reasons . One is if the prostate is removed cancer can't reoccur . Another reason that isn't discussed much is insurance . I'm covered under my wife's health insurance . Her job is secure right now . It may not be in a year or two . Change jobs , change insurance and you have a preexisting condition they may not cover . One other thing that needs to be brought up is that in just about every other civilized country in the world there is a much better treatment available using ultrasound . That is done on an outpatient basis with a couple of days recovery time . I'll be out of work a month . The FDA has not approved this HIFU here but clinic trials are being done and worth investigating . Some U.S. doctors take teams and perform the procedure in Mexico . Insurance companies claim they won't cover it but some patients that had in Mexico have been reimbursed by the insurance companies . I'm scheduled for surgery Thursday the 12th in Nashville . I'll be home Friday and have a whole month to harass y'all . My wife is taking 2 weeks after surgery for vacation .

 

Thank you all . The thoughts are appreciated . It's no big deal . Technology was really advanced and side effects are far less common than they used to be . Surgery isn't bad . They put 4 small holes in me then put this machine over me and the surgeon sits across the room and goes at it with joysticks like video game . I just hope he doesn't get the hiccups .

 

Yeah , people shouldn't avoid prostate surgery because of problems someone had as a result of surgery a few years ago . Impotence and incontinence used to be a common side effect but the prostate itself has nothing to do with these functions . The problems were caused by damaging nerves next to the porostate . With robotic surgery there is far less blood loss and cameras give the surgeon a better view . The instruments are very precise allowing nerve sparing surgery .