Some of you who follow the Biking Bis blog know that I underwent prostate surgery for cancer at the end of September.
Being attached to a catheter for a week and plainly having soreness where I sat limited my exercise to daily walks to the store and beyond for several weeks.
Then a week ago Thursday, five weeks to the day after my surgery, I climbed back onto the saddle — gingerly — and set off on my first ride. Over the next few days I rediscovered the fun of cycling, my appetite, and how bicycling seems more friendly in the fall.
First ride
The first ride started with a pedal around the block, a seat adjustment, then a 4-mile trip to the video store, and another seat adjustment. While my saddle, which sports that perineal groove from bow to stern, seemed to fit fine before the surgery, I found it more comfortable to drop it about a half inch and slide it a little forward.
I skipped Friday, then did a 7-mile ride Saturday (interrupted by more saddle adjustments) and 11 miles on Sunday, with a nice couple of hills at the end. Then slightly longer rides most days this week.
3 things
First I noticed that I really missed bicycling. Walking is for the dogs. I felt my heart rate increase and breaths deepen on the hills and accelerations. Running errands to the grocery took minutes, instead of more than an hour.
Then, after a few days I noticed that my appetite had returned. Even just riding 40 minutes to an hour a day, I found myself fixing a “second breakfast” in the late morning and craving snacks in the afternoon and evening. Of course, those snacks consist of fruit and veggies now, instead of the crap I used to eat before cancer made me more aware of my diet.
The third thing I noticed is the camaraderie among bicyclists this time of year. When I stopped cycling in September, the weather was mostly warm and dry here in the Seattle area. Many cyclists were out and most of them were intent on going at it hard. There were just too many to pedallers out there to wave and acknowledge them all.
Now, at least on the Eastside, there are fewer people bicycling. I wave at them, they wave at me. You can ride up along someone and start a brief conversation to pass the time. It's a whole different atmosphere. I like it.
The operation
As for the operation, I'd term it a complete success. My urologist at the University of Washington told me in a follow-up visit that the cancer tumor was larger than indicated in the biopsy. In spite of that, it was still within the walls of the prostate.
Removing the prostate removed the cancer. That should be the end of the story. Statistics say I have better than a 90% chance of living another 10 years without cancer, at least from that source.
Preaching
If you are over 50, I'd strongly recommend you have your PSA tested every year. It isn't an end-all beat-all test to indicate for prostate cancer, but it's probably the best one out there. (Digital rectal exams, like in my case, don't always indicate when cancer is present.)
If you do have a positive test and your urologist recommends treatment, I'd recommend your research include joining a local prostate cancer support group. These guys aren't doctors, they talk like you and me. See Man to Man Support Groups at the American Cancer Society.
I wasn't able to start attending monthly meetings until after my surgery, but they're still useful. There are lots of post operative problems that doctors looking at the big cancer issue might gloss over. These guys can tell you about them, such as living at home with a catheter, soreness, incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Out of a dozen guys at the meeting, three had robotic surgery (like me), a couple had radiation pellets, a couple of others had external beam radiation, a few were undecided and one was scheduled for cryogenic treatment in Dallas.
Email me if you have any questions. One of these days I plan to put up a webpage about some prostate cancer resources.
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