A bit more on the cancer front

For the first couple of weeks back at home I was to have daily antibiotic injections in my belly; the District Nurse arrived to deliver the first 'jag' and after a bit of a chat with her and explaining what my job was she watched me draw up my dose of antibiotic and inject myself; satisfied that I could do the job it left her free of a patient for a while, she called in towards the end of the fortnight to see that all was going well, and then a week later to check up on my plumbing!  My catheter had to be examined to ensure there was no inflammation and that the bag contents were of a healthy colour and quantity.
The two weeks were soon over and I was back in hospital, thankfully just as a day patient, to be 'de-plumbed', bag gone, catheter out! Freedom!  Pee flow and colour was measured and recorded before I was allowed back into the outside world.  Hopefully that was it, quarterly visits to my GP for PSA tests and if all stable after a few readings it would be six monthly and than an annual event.  Oh were it that life was so simple!!

My first post op PSA test result seemed to bug my urologist, he said he was expecting the reading to be nearer zero and that I was to have the test repeated in a month.  A month later and the same result, but in the meantime another problem had occurred, my urine flow had become minimal and it was taking an age to void my bladder.  Two hours later I was on my way back into theatre!  The anastomosis scar tissue had virtually closed off my urethra seriously restricting urine flow.  One method of treatment is for the surgeon to insert a slightly tapered probe into the urethra and use it to 'stretch' the scar tissue back to a 'full flow' diameter; however my surgeon decided things were a bit too tight and chose to do a wee operation, this would entail using a knife to make a number of parallel cuts into the scar tissue within the urethra, inserting a catheter (again) and leaving it in place long enough for healing to take place around the tube, then, when the catheter is withdrawn, hopefully the urethra will not close up again (that's the theory anyway).
A day later and I was back on my way home with a brand new bag strapped to my leg and a prescription for some spare bags, antibiotics and pain killers.

A few weeks, another PSA test and again a slight increase in the score; not good!!