February 4, 2012 – More Surgery, Non-Cancer-Related

On Monday, I’ll be going into Ocean Medical Center for a long-postponed operation.  I could have had this done as long ago as last summer, but the surgery to remove my thyroid was more urgent, so this went onto the back burner.

For quite some time, I’ve been dealing with BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia – “benign enlargement of the prostate,” in everyday terms.  The word “benign” in that description needs to be emphasized: my PSA tests have all been normal, and there’s no reason to suspect any sort of malignancy.

The surgery I’ll be having is known as TURP, which stands for “transurethral resection of the prostate.”  According to my urologist, Dr. Daniel Burzon, it’s “the gold standard” in treating this condition: a long track record of success and a low likelihood of enduring side effects, even if the recovery from the surgery is a bit longer that some of the other alternatives.   I’ll spare you the somewhat grisly details of this procedure, Gentle Reader, but if you know how to access this blog, you’re probably very capable of doing a Wikipedia or Google search if you’re so inclined – and if you don’t mind some of the cringeworthy descriptions you’re likely to come across.

I’m supposed to show up at the hospital at 6:00 am on Monday for the surgery, and will stay there at least one night. I’m expected to be out of commission for the next week or so, and the doctor has told me I shouldn’t plan to lead worship on the following Sunday, because he doesn’t want me on my feet that long.

Since this is a cancer blog, I don’t expect to have much more to write about this experience in this space, beyond what I’m saying now.  Besides, given the nature of the surgery, I’m less inclined to comment about it publicly in any setting.  Because of my cancer history, though – and because of the fact that, to some minds, the words “prostate” and “cancer” seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly – I feel the need to get the information out there that I’m having this done, and that it’s in no way related to any malignancy.