i got a phone call from a person who my surgeon just dx'ed with pca.  he
explained that the surgeon said that he could talk to me because i had
gone through the operation.  

i didn't mind and i think it did a lot of good for that person.

~ curtis

fnulnu wrote:
I've been lurking on this board ever since being diagnosed in March
04. Had RP on 4/30 and everything has gone great (knock on wood) . . .
first PSA 0.1
Thanks to everybody on this board for sharing - information is
empowering and it's been a huge help to me. I wanted to mention
something my urologist does which also helped me a lot with dealing with
the emotional side.   In the weeks prior to surgery, he put me in
touch with one of his patients who was around the same age as me (53)
who had undergone RP 2 months prior to my scheduled surgery. Talking to
this patient was so helpful because he could walk me through every step
of the process so you knew exactly what to expect. It's such a different
perspective than talking to the medical professionals.
Anyway, I've since volunteered my services to my urologist and had the
opportunity to talk to another member of the club nobody wants to belong
to who just got the diagnosis and was understandably in a state of
shock. I don't know how many doctors do this, but it's something to
inquire about considering this form of cancer has such a good cure rate.
Bill
Some urologists might see that as letting a cannon loose on a rolling
deck.   I suspect that right before the surgery, most surgeons want to
make sure their patients don't get confused/disturbed by too much
information, particularly from lay people.   Your surgeon must be very
self assured or else he has a very high opinion of you, or both.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."