Be careful of the lies promises that you are told. Surgery is never required for this disease and is considered gross overtreatment for low risk Gleasons by progressive urologists. Sadly, those progressive urologists are few and far between. The primary focus as to why surgery is a bad idea is because:
- It does not have a better outcome than non-surgical treatment options.
- The daVinci robot is NOT cleared by the FDA for the use of cancer prevention or treatment.
- There is an extremely high probability that you will be left with life altering side effects such as ED, penis shortening and incontinence.
- It increases the risk of metastasis due to seeding.
- Most urologists are now suggesting radiation after surgery just to be sure "they got it all". Back to the seeding risk and confirmation that surgery is not a "cure" as often claimed.
Ask any surgeon if they can remove a cancerous body part without cancer cells escaping into the bloodstream. In addition, there is no surgeon on the planet who can guarantee nerve sparing surgery, fancy robot or otherwise. The only way to determine if the nerves will be spared is upon removal. At the time of removal, if the prostate is "sticky" when it comes out, say goodbye to the nerves and hello to a lifetime of side effects.
Reading
- FDA Cautions Using Robotically-Assisted Surgical Devices
- Surgery for early prostate cancer might not save your life
- Robotic Prostate Cancer Surgery Complications
- Is Robotic Prostate Cancer Surgery Bad Health Advice?
- Regret after surgery for prostate cancer is widely understated
- Mortality Similar for Prostatectomy and Observation for Early Prostate Cancer
- Possible Mechanism for Seeding of Tumor During Radical Prostatectomy
- 30-Day Mortality and Major Complications after Radical Prostatectomy
- For prostate cancer, surgery isn't necessarily best option, study says
- New Insights Into Side Effects Can Help Prostate Cancer Patients Choose Treatments
- Can Surgery Spread Cancer?
- Radical Prostatectomy versus Observation for Localized Prostate Cancer
- Radical prostatectomy did not significantly reduce all-cause or prostate-cancer mortality, as compared with observation
- In a study of high-risk patients who were excluded from the ProtecT trial, he noted, investigators found no difference in PCa-specific or overall survival between surgery and radiation therapy