Post-operative visit to the oncologist

When you've had any operation to fix prostate cancer, there are always issues that emerge, whether they are to do with urination, sexual ability or bowel movements. It's all congregated in that one little area. In terms of design, it's not that optimal, really. The poor old urethra - bodily fluids motorway in men - passes right through the prostate so, if you tamper with the prostate, you're going to piss off the urethra.

Hence, one will have post-operative symptoms of soreness when passing water or during ejaculation. Or worse, it might completely block up as the prostate swells in protest, constricting the flow. So, discussing this with your doctor, about seven weeks after the operation, is normally fairly high on the embarrassment scale. Factor in that the doctor is about 23 and female and there's a nice female nurse in attendance, giggling in the corner and you have an idea of why Gloria and I just thought, "Sod it! We'll just tell it as it is."

Six weeks after brachytherapy - exciting!

Actual scan of my pelvis, showing the seed implants quite clearly

The six week mark after you've had brachytherapy is one of those points where you get to see what the surgeon has managed to achieve. In my case, that was a pelvic CT scan followed by a blood test.

Gloria decided that I needed to be driven to the hospital but, this time, she didn't bring her laptop! Apart from the shock of that revelation which, I'm sure you'll agree, either indicates she doesn't have enough to do or, perhaps, she's really taking this seriously. Since she has done from day one, I suspect the latter. It's certainly not the former because she continued to handle emails and chats on her phone - so same difference, really.

Five weeks on from brachytherapy operation - what's the score?

Things have definitely started to warm up in the radioactive response department. Last week, there were the first nigglings of reactions to the seeds embedded in my prostate. How did these manifest themselves? Firstly, most urination sessions begin and end with a little gasp as the urine passes through the inflamed urethra - and sometimes it gets a bit urgent, if you know what I mean! This is perfectly normal and indicates that the seeds are doing their job. This will possibly get a little worse in the next week or so but should then taper off.

Fatigue is probably the bigger thing for me - not because I have not been sleeping. People have told me that they are up two or three times in the night to wee. Not me - maybe once, possibly, but most nights, not at all. Yet, nonetheless I feel that my stamina is less and activity tires me more easily. Looking this up on Google, it seems that no one really knows why radiation causes fatigue. It could be that healthy cells are being destroyed as well as the cancerous ones and so the body is fighting to restore those.

A summary of what happens up to and after brachytherapy for prostate cancer

This blog is now getting quite lengthy so I think a quick overview - a helicopter snapshot - might be in order. Those of you avid followers (in your thousands, well quite a few anyway) will already know the background and how I was fortunate to be blood-tested and came up with an elevated PSA result.

In the Prostate Cancer Begins Like This article, I covered off that part of my story and how Gloria, ever supportive, came with me to many of my appointments. The key thing here is the #dontfearthefinger hashtag because, quite frankly, if that's all that stands between you and a debilitating cancer, it's an easy check.

Four weeks on from brachytherapy

I'm not one to make a fuss, as Gloria will tell you, but it was as though the gods said, after last week's post, "Oh, no side-effects huh? We'll soon sort him out!" So, sure enough, come Friday and Saturday, although not bad, there was some evidence of the effect of radiation on my prostate. How did it manifest itself?

First of all, urination became a bit more extended, let us say. To the extent that I have taken to bringing my iPad into the loo with me (that should ensure no one else uses it then!) in order to browse Twitter, write my life story or simply read the news. Moreover, bowel movements have become noticeably looser - not runny, mind you, but less firm, shall we say? And they've become more frequent so, for the time being, the excellent Holland and Barrett prunes are staying in their packet.

Three weeks after the brachytherapy operation

Gloria preparing to test me.

Gloria is threatening to buy a Geiger Counter or, more properly (she's a stickler for accuracy, this one), a Geiger–Müller Counter. Why this extravagant purchase? Simply because she doesn't believe that I am radioactive at all and that the operation was a huge hoax, probably conducted by the same people who faked the Moon landings.

The reason for this doubt is that after three weeks of waiting for symptoms to kick in ... I'm still waiting. Perhaps I'm weeing a bit slower? If that's the extent of it, then I'm doing well. I should be experiencing more restriction of urine flow as my prostate swells from the radioactivity. I should also potentially have negative side-effects relating to my sexual capacity and I could also have some disturbance of my bowel function.

Two weeks on from Brachytherapy - how am I doing?

It's been a bizarre couple of weeks. Gloria took the week after my operation working from home, with the expectation that I would be too feak and weeble to look after myself. As mentioned previously, I was a bit groggy from the anaesthetic and sore from the needles, but that was it.

The second week has found me hale and hearty, with a good appetite, keen to go on long walks, no fatigue. I had one night when I was up twice in the night - too much water the evening before, methinks! Waterworks are a little slower and I'm giving them time - seem to be spending a lot of time on Twitter, on the loo. That stratagem seems to work OK and I've not been caught short. Mind you, the beach side walks are peppered with public loos so there's unlikely to be a problem round here.