John Hintz and his wife talk about his robotic prostatectomy
My experience with prostate cancer started with a letter from First Colony Life Insurance Co. saying that my application for life insurance had been denied.
I was a perfectly healthy 50 year old man in good physical condition and had never been sick a day in my life. Their decision was based on results of a blood test they had done which showed my PSA at 13.0. At first, the doctors thought it was just an infection and treated me with antibiotics for two months with no results. My PSA actually was creeping up, so it was time for a biopsy.
The biopsy showed not only an extensive amount of cancer in my prostate, but a Gleason score of 9, which meant that the cancer was extremely aggressive as well. The urologist said this was highly unusual, especially in someone my age. He feared that it had spread to my bones and/or lymph nodes, so he ordered a bone scan and CT scan.
The next week was filled with tests and talking to more doctors to get other opinions. I was told everything from I need surgery ASAP to my cancer was inoperable. One radiologist said that radiation might not even be an option because of the extent and aggressiveness of the cancer, so hormone therapy would be my only hope to try to control it. If the hormone therapy was unable to control the cancer, I probably only had two to three years to live.
Fortunately, the bone scan and the CT scan were both negative. The urologist suggested a radical prostatectomy as soon as possible, followed by six to eight weeks of radiation and the hormone therapy after that. I couldn’t imagine dealing with all this and the possible side effects associated with the surgery and follow-up treatments. Before I made my decision to go ahead with the surgery, I wanted to be sure that there were no other alternatives to cure my cancer.
My wife was doing extensive research on the internet, but it wasn’t until we were out of ideas and were ready to schedule the traditional radical prostatectomy with our urologist that she ran across a news bulletin on the internet about Saint Joseph’s hospital in Atlanta appointing Dr. Nikhil Shah to be director of their urologic robotic surgery program. Dr. Shah came from the Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit with very impressive credentials and extensive experience with robotic-assisted radical prostate surgery.
Related articles explained the benefits of the robotic procedure available for prostate cancer patients. Benefits included minimal bleeding, shorter hospital stay, less pain during recovery and lower risk of side effects such as impotence and incontinence. I wasn’t sure that I would be a candidate for this surgery, but it was definitely something I wanted to pursue.
My wife e-mailed Dr. Shah and explained the extent and aggressiveness of my cancer. He responded with a phone call later that day. He assured us that I was a candidate for the robotic surgery and that I would have two or three more decades to live, not the prognosis of two or three more years that we had heard just two weeks before. He said he had handled cases with high PSA and Gleason scores before and he was definitely willing to do the surgery and was optimistic about the outcome. The surgery was scheduled for the following week.
Our respect and admiration for Dr. Shah started with that phone call and has only grown as we have worked with him over the past several months. He is an exceptional person as well as a skilled and experienced surgeon. He is kind and compassionate which made it easy for us to place all our confidence in him.
The surgery started at 2:00 pm and I was back in my room that night about 7:00 pm following a couple hours in recovery. The surgery went well and Dr. Shah was excited and confident that I would have a full recovery including full urinary continence. He had been able to spare my nerves and in time he feels confident that I will regain full male potency as well.
That night, I was “uncomfortable”, but not in any real pain. The next morning I was up walking around the hallway with my wife by my side. I never even had to take a pain pill, although they were available if I had needed them. I was released from the hospital less than 48 hours after I had checked in for the surgery and was back to work a few days later. Six small incisions across my abdomen are the only sign that I even had surgery. It was remarkable. The catheter came out a week after the surgery and I was truly on the road to a full recovery.
My follow-up visits have been just a continuation of the supportive care we have received since the first day we met Dr. Shah. One month after the catheter was removed, I had my first PSA test with a reading of 0.00 and Dr. Shah will continue to monitor my PSA every 3 months. My most recent PSA test is still 0.00.
I feel that hearing about Dr. Shah and the robotic prostatectomy available at Saint Joseph’s Hospital was truly a miracle and we are very blessed to have been able to take advantage of this amazing procedure to treat and cure my cancer. My wife and I will be eternally grateful to Dr. Shah and the staff at St. Joseph’s for all they did to help us get through this very scary and difficult time.
Read about John's experience from his wife's perspective.
For more information about robotic surgery, call 1-866-SJ-ROBOT (1-866-757-6268).
