Part 9 - My personal experiences with Prostate Cancer

I wasn’t planning of posting to this blog while on a month long vacation, but since I’m laying low for a while recovering from an indirect problem related to prostate cancer, I will post some relevant information. 

One of the possible side effects of prostate surgery and/or radiation is a stricture.

A urethral stricture is a narrowing of a section of the urethra. It causes a blocked or reduced flow of urine which can lead to complications. There are various treatment options which aim to widen the narrowed section of the urethra.

I have had urinary issues since I received cancer treatments. In short, I pee a lot. This seemed to be getting worse in the month before we left on our vacation. My surgeon scheduled a cystoscopy about two weeks before our departure date (in hindsight, not a very good move on my part). 

A cystoscope is a thin tube with a camera and light on the end. During a cystoscopy, this tube is inserted through your urethra and into your bladder so the doctor can visualize the inside of your bladder. Your urethra is the tube that carries urine out of your bladder

The procedure is not extremely painful (they use an anesthetic) but still rather uncomfortable. It only takes about 5 minutes, but those are a long 5 minutes!

When the procedure was done, I looked at the cystoscope. It didn’t look very thin to me. It was also freaky because there was a good bit of blood.

I went home and realized that I couldn’t pee (the procedure had caused some swelling in my urethra). I gave it a couple of hours (probably not a good move). My wife took me to the emergency room, and the plan was to insert a catheter. Like any emergency room, there was a wait. After a while my bladder got very uncomfortable. .

Finally a nurse arrived and attempted to insert a normal catheter (not a pleasant experience), but it was blocked by the swelling. She tried a smaller catheter and that didn’t work as well. She had to page a doctor from the urology department and he was able to get it in (immediate relief).

I had to wear the catheter for 5 days; it was during that time that my back started to ache. I mentioned that to the nurse who removed the catheter, but he suggested some Tylenol.

I was nervous to fly to Myrtle Beach so soon after the procedure, but we made it just fine. We went on about the business of having fun. I had to pee a lot (nothing unusual about that given my history) and occasionally there was a little blood and a burning sensation (not unusual for a few days after a cystoscopy/catherization). But these symptoms persisted, along with the pain in my back.

Finally my wife took me to a walk in clinic, and a urine test showed that I had a urinary tract infection, which sometimes happens after a cystoscopy. I’m on a strong antibiotic and should be fine after another day or two.

I will think strongly about scheduling a procedure so close to a vacation in the future.