Prostate cancer was a big surprise to me. Never felt ill, biopsy triggered by slightly high PSA, one doctor felt a bump, others could not detect. I chose open surgery, because the odds of nerve damage appeared to be lower than the robot; and I had a friend, just slightly older, whose cancer had spread to his hips. I knew I would pay a higher price at the beginning. The four weeks after surgery I was miserable. No real pain, but I was a sieve, could not retain a drop of urine and I was freaking out. Pads of all sorts. Typical catheter hassles, then I got a bad genital rash from always being wet. Leaky was freaky. But it slowly eased, retention started. Took a pre-operation planned three month trip to New Zealand at post 6 weeks. Wore pads up to 9 weeks, then just at day time, then not at all. ED bad at first, but also continued to improve with biggest gains between 9 and 15 months post op. At this stage I used an elastic type cock ring at the base of the penis to help retain erections; worked very well. At 18 months ED was basically gone. The ED pills help so I indulge (weak dose works best), but not really needed. Urinary continence is good, just get a leaky faucet if I drink more than three pints, but never bad enough to wear a pad. Basically I pretty much feel like I did before the operation. Be patient, keep active, exercise regularly, and work on the ED issue. The key was having a doc with good eyes and steady hands. Contact me if you'd like, and thanks to all the folks who were sharing when I was going through my rough times.

PSA remains non-detectable.