Almost Seven Weeks

Entry 35
January 24, 2011


My apologies for the lapse in time between this entry and the previous one. Quite frankly I didn't realize it's been over 3 weeks without a blog update and almost 7 weeks since the prostatectomy. It has been gently brought to my attention that the original purpose of the blog was to allow friends and family to keep up with events more or less as they happened. My thanks for that reminder.

I suspect it's to some degree human nature to drop your guard after the main event. You tend to focus on recovery from the surgery and consequently on shorter term and more achievable goals. This is something I felt was in the range of my ability to manage on a daily basis (as opposed to longer timeline issues that are a part of every cancer patients life once diagnosed).

I know in my case it was helpful to have approximate watershed dates that had a shorter timeline, for example getting the catheter out, or my first walk outside (keep in mind this is winter in Winnipeg), or perhaps going out to a restaurant without fear that incontinence would create a problem. These allowed me to mark my progress going forward from the actual surgery.  Many of them seem like small problems and not newsworthy enough to put in the blog and yet they are very important milestones that would mark anyone's recovery.

So here is the status and timeline to the best of my knowledge:

Insofar as recovery from the surgery is concerned I appear to be doing very well. For the past 2 1/2 weeks I have been at the gym  4-5 times a week and walking on average 3 miles a visit. I have been working out on the various machines doing very light weights but lots of reps. This appears to be working  well for me but I strongly caution anyone going through this to not overdo it and to listen to your body. Start slowly, work up cautiously and stay away from heavier weights. Nothing new here - common sense. I feel good and can feel my strength returning with each visit.

Much to my surprise and delight the incontinence issue appears to be resolving itself much quicker than I thought it would. I had been told this might happen but was reluctant to believe it just in case I was different. I won't go into the details because that is way more information than most of you would be comfortable with; suffice it to say I am doing well.


The next watershed date for me is February 1st. That will be my first visit with the urologist/surgeon since the operation. 

Email contact: hdstimson @ shaw.ca

Talking Openly

Entry 34
January 02, 2011


It seems that if you speak candidly about your prostate cancer, others will too. Three men in particular, Wayne, Eric and Kelly, all of whom have had prostatectomies were kind enough to take time to enlighten me before the surgery and to commiserate afterward.  Twice at a birthday celebration on December 28th, I got into conversations with other party guests who had experienced all or some of what I had recently ... PSA tests, DREs, biopsy, bone scan, CT scan, surgery, hospital stay, catheters, incontinence, etc.   Since the surgery, I've had numerous phone calls and e-mails in which friends and family mention someone close to them who has suffered from prostate cancer. What these occasions made me aware of is how many men of my age or younger have gone through it.  In a way, it's comforting to know that others have traveled this path with good success rates. 

Email contact info: hdstimson @ shaw.ca