CancerCompass message board discussion started by bowling07 on 10/25/2007 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,17383,0.htm Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ My friend is a single 70 yr old.  He lives alone.  I am wondering if he will need live-in care for a week or two after the robotic surgery?  What is the pain level during the first and second week following surgery?  He prefers to be home alone.  He lives in a one story home.  Also, any information as to how to prepare for the surgery would be helpful.  Surgery is mid November. Thanks! bowling07 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT BowlingI had open surgery and really no pain at all, just some discomfort getting out of bed.  He will be running on slow for a while but will be OK.  Just check in a few tiomes a day via phone, stop over.  Once the cath is out, he should be 80%.  Also he may qualify under his insurance to have a nurse visit a few times.  Everyone heals differently, so hopfully he will be fine! Bert60 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT What are the characteristics of the tumor?  70 is when the potential for longterm and immediate risks start to rise.   Please note that robotic surgery has been found NOT to be any better than traditional prostatectomy.  If there is any chance of spread outside the prostate then radiation is the way to go, no death risk, anesthesia ,bleeding, almost zero incontinence and only 1.6 percent chance of rectal bleeding (mostly mild and not treated).  The results are the same and the treatments are totally outpatient.  Will need no nursing care. Witchdoctor Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT If he's in good general health, it's very unlikely he will need live-in care. A few visits from a nurse during the first week should suffice to check on the catheter, the drain, and activities of daily living. Most guys have moderate to minimal pain, easily managed with ordinary prescription painkillers or less.Preparing for surgery? It would be good for him to focus on getting into good physical condition -- two or three bouts of moderate exercise every day, good nutrition, good sleep. Discontinue aspirin and other blood-thinners well ahead of the day (he should have received specific instructions already). He should already be practicing Kegel exercises, completely stopping and then restarting the flow of urine multiple times per whiz. Perhaps most importantly, he should be thinking ahead: First, he should imagine being temporarily tethered to a Foley (read up about it, and discuss with others), followed by a likely period of a few weeks or months with pads for incontinence, quite possibly accompanied by softer erections (or none) and orgasms that are unaccompanied by ejaculation. The more he visualizes these changes, and talks them out with sympathetic listeners, the fewer will be the unpleasant surprises as or if they become realities.He should, of course, take time to complete an Advance Medical Directive and, if appropriate, a Medical Power of Attorney. Ideally, these should be completed well before the surgery date, so that he doesn't have them hanging over him. Doing them far in advance also puts distance between the unpleasantness of thinking about low-probability awful scenarios and the actual prospect of the surgery itself. PaulC2 Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT