Regrets, I've had a few...

I just watched a presentation about men who regret their choice for prostate cancer treatments.  If you have had a brush with this PIA diagnosis, you know the options, so I will not explain and further.  I also do not want to provide your individual choice of treatment.


I was able to find information about the study conducted - Regret and Prostate Cancer Treatment Choices.  This presentation and the abstract above made a distinction that was news to me.  There is a disconnect between the expected outcome and the real outcomes of the chosen treatment.


I am sure I am like most guys... those stats/odds don't apply to me; I can beat those odds and be the lucky ones that fully recover.  Reality is there is no real telltale sign that you will or won't fully recover.  This entire process touches parts of the body that we have never really thought about before.  The nervous system just works until it doesn't.  That is when you learn that nerves don't heal like the rest of the body.  Bones and skin can heal relatively fast when compared with the nervous system.  

 

I pick on the nervous system because that is the root of the problem when things don't work like they used to and the root of all evil when it doesn't work properly.  I am sure that when you discussed with your medical team that they quoted stats for recovery.  In my case, the chances of recovery were 80% within a year.  Still waiting....

 

I should have known better and actually did vocalize that odds seemed to be stacked against me since the quoted odds of the original biopsy were the same 80% that it would be normal.  Well, I missed that bet!  We (my wife and I) did the research and our personal feelings and made a choice.  This was also based on the quoted stats.  What dawned on me during the presentation about regrets was that the doctor dodged the question about HIS stats of full recovery.  One would expect that he could quote his recovery odds, but instead, the answer was a redirect to the national stats.  Why can't the doctor give me what he sees in real life?  Was that a sign or am I just unlucky?  

 

I am hoping that I am just unlucky for now and will fully recover at some point.  After all, I have not yet won the lottery either.  But if I do recover, even to 80%, you bet I will play the lottery!!  The moral of the story is to put your ego aside and consider that you may not beat the odds, even if you have an 80% chance of full recovery.  You may fall into the other side and have to deal with that.  Make peace with that idea BEFORE the surgery.  If not, you may fall into the regret category as described in the research.


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