From Dennis B.
I have put together a timeline of everything concerning my weak urine flow problems in the beginning through my recovery. I tried to make it as accurate as I could with the dates.

08/10/05 I noticed that I was not urinating with as much force as usual. There seems to be a weaker stream flow than usual. I will take notice to see if this continues.

10/10/05 I noticed that the stream flow is still weaker than usual. I was concerned so I called Dr. Arvery my primary physician. I told him my problem and he suggested that I make an appointment at his office for a PSA test.

12/16/05 A Blood sample was drawn for a PSA test at Dr. Arvery's office and he gave me a prescription for Flomax.

12/30/05 Dr. Arvery referred me to a urologist named Dr. Mattison who informed me that my PSA test was a 4 which is a little higher than the new standard of 2.5. He said that we will keep an eye on it and to come back in 6 months for another test. The Flomax is helping.

05/16/06 I received a call from Dr. Mattison's office saying that I should get a PSA test to see how everything is going. A blood sample was drawn at Lab Corp for a PSA test. The PSA turned out to be 4.7 which was higher than the previous reading 6 months ago. I am getting a little worried and concerned about this reading. I am on the young side to have a problem with my prostate. An appointment was set up for a bladder test at Dr. Mattison's office and a prostate biopsy was scheduled for 06/27/06

05/25/06 A uroflow bladder ultrasound was done at Dr. Mattison's office. It was really tough sitting in the waiting room having to urinate so bad. It turned out that my urine outflow was slower than normal which means that my prostate is swelled enough to be partially blocking the urethra flow.

06/27/06 A prostate biopsy was performed at the office of Dr. Mattison. I had to give myself an enema before the appointment, which was not fun. This was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever had done to me. It is a good thing I took a prescribed valium and percoset to relax me. I drove to the office alone. I didn't know that someone was supposed to drive me there but I was ok for the drive there and back. The 12 samples were sent to a lab. Now I have the torture of waiting for the phone call from the doctor to let me know of the situation.

07/12/06 Dr. Mattison called to inform me that no cancer was detected from the biopsy test. That was a big relief to know that I am ok. He said to come back in 6-9 months for another PSA test.

05/16/07 A blood sample was drawn for a PSA test at Lab Corp. and the results revealed that the PSA # was 5.7 a lot higher than the previous test. It has been increasing. Now I have to go through the worrying again along with another possible biopsy.

07/10/07 Another prostate biopsy was performed in Dr. Mattison's office. 12 samples were sent to a lab. This time a friend drove me there and back. It was another uncomfortable situation. Now I have to wait for the results again.

07/24/07 Dr. Mattison informed me that cancer cells were detected from the biopsy. He will consult with other doctors to be sure. The nightmare becomes reality…I have CANCER! At 52 years old. How long have I had it? What is going to happen to me? What am I going to do?

07/27/06 Dr. Mattison said that the other doctors looking at the samples agreed that it is cancer. There are 5% cancer cells in one of the 12 samples of the biopsy results. Not much cancer but cancer is cancer. Now what? Time to read all that I can on the subject of prostate cancer.

08/08/07 The Gleason test for the prostate revealed that it is 3+3 is 6. So the number was 6, which is a very low number. The cancer has barely developed but something has to be done to stop it.

08/13/07 Consulted with Dr. Mattison and he said that the cancer is in a very early stage and the best option because of my younger age would be to remove the prostate. I said that I would like to get another opinion just to make sure.

09/01/07 The slides and results were sent to Dr. Gregg Zimmerman of the Morris Urology Center in Denville. Dr. Zimmerman agreed that there are cancer cells in the prostate and I should have it removed. We set up a date to have it removed by him at St. Clares Hospital in Denville. I liked the idea of having it removed by the DiVinci Robot a fairly new procedure. It is less invasive; there is less blood loss and much more precision. I had read about the robot and found out that Dr. Zimmerman not only uses the robot and has used it many times to remove the prostate but he also teaches other doctors how to use it.

11/06/07 At Dr. Zimmerman's office I had a catheter-like rod with a miniature camera placed up my urethra to see if the prostate is right where it is supposed to be. It was. I cannot explain in civil words how it felt but it seemed like there was a red-hot poker up there. Not a pleasant feeling by any means. I didn't know that for 24 hours every time I urinated it would feel like fire! It turned out that the prostate is where it is supposed to be located.

11/07/07 A day of cleansing and fasting before the operation. Not a fun day.

11/08/07 I arrived at St. Clares Hospital at 5:30AM in preparation for the operation, which was scheduled for 7:30AM. I have confidence that Dr. Zimmerman will do fine with the robot but I can't help but be very nervous.

11/08/07 The operation was successful and the prostate was removed with no incidents. My stay in the hospital lasted until 1PM the next day, 11/09/07, which was amazing! It seemed like I was talking to the nurse in the operating room and then they gave me the anesthesia and all of a sudden I was awake and the operation was over. I believe the operation took less than 4 hours. It took 2-3 hours before I was fully awake and aware of everything. It seemed that I was never so relaxed in my life when I woke up from the operation. It didn't feel right wearing a catheter but that is part of the recovery. There was quite a lot of pain in my stomach area kind of like the worst stomachache you ever had. They had me on some kind of pain medicine, which helped a lot.

11/10-11/19/07 The pain gets less every day of recovery but it is tough getting used to the catheter with changing it and all. Sleeping is tough too because you can't really roll over with the catheter. The only percoset I have been taking has been right before I go to bed. I have been walking up and down the stairs several times and have been going outside to feed the birds several times. I can't wait to get this annoying catheter out.

11/19/97 The catheter was removed thank god.

11/20-28/07 I am getting better every day. I am now wearing depends because there will be some leakage.

11/29-12/02/07 I noticed on a couple of different nights while sleeping that I had an erection. It is not a really firm one but one nevertheless. It is a good sign. No other time have I had one.

12/03/07 Twenty-five days after the operation and I no longer have to use depends and probably could have done without them way sooner. I am now using pads. Getting better every day.

I do notice that sometimes all of a sudden I have a very strong urge to urinate but if I wait a little it goes away. I am not sure why that is. The urine stream has never been this strong that I can remember.

01/02/08 Today I tried to get an erection to see if everything worked but was not able to get one however I did have an ejaculation. I hope I can get back to normal.

01/10/08 I tried again but had the same results. I don't know if it is mental or physical.

01/19/08 I no longer have to use a pad. I am happy about that. I am getting better every day.