Category: Cancer

During the last (almost) 2 months I've had time to reflect while continuing to heal after

It's back. The loathsome urinary catheter has returned. Yes, after celebrating it's demise on October 14 it has come back to torture me for another two weeks. Here's why: The prostate is located directly below the bladder. The urinary tract runs from the base of the bladder, through the middle the middle of the prostate and down to the penis. (It's fun reading the word 'penis' in my posts, isn't it?) My prostate was removed and the urinary tract was reconnected directly to the base of the slightly lowered bladder. The suture point is where the urinary tract meets the bladder and therein lay my problem. The tract is slightly overtightened to ensure it doesn't lead to incontinence but it can also tighten a bit more during the healing process.…

It's been 4 weeks since my surgery and my body is healing merrily as I grit my teeth and endure daytime TV and cabin fever. I'm still unable to sit for an extended period of time and driving is out of the question so I spend most of my time lying on the couch or bed and doing whatever I can to keep myself entertained. It seems like years since I was originally diagnosed but the last 4 weeks have flown by at an incredible speed as I sit in my home and watch the world go by from the living room window. I've gone for a few short (very short) walks but I live in a very hilly neighbourhood and it can be a tad challenging to scale the…

After fourteen glorious days of fun and games, yesterday morning I was finally released from the evil clutches of my urinary catheter. There's not much to be said for carrying around your own man-bag of pee while recuperating from surgery, much less wrestling with the hoses, bags, fittings and leg-tape as you try to heal. It's uncomfortable, it hurts and it's not something you want to hold in your hand while answering the door. In fact I was visited by two Jehovah's Witnesses and answered the door in my bathrobe while clutching the catheter under my arm. Not cool on my part but it resulted in a suprisingly short visit from two of God's messengers. I won't get into the removal process but can tell you that it felt like…