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I want to thank all that posted replies to my questions. Any and all information is great. I am one to do loads of research myself, but it is always nice to get others opinions that may have personal experience with the subject. Stranger, I greatly appreciate you praying for him. John, I value your positive outlook on things.
Tuesday will be the real test, when they take the catheter out, once again. Hopefully all will go well and all of this will have been just been time spent talking to kind strangers. If not, at least I am armed with some great information, choices, facts and opinions.
I will let you know how things went after the removal.
Well, things didn't turn out as we had hoped... My Dad went to the Urologist yesterday afternoon and was told he should remove it himself this morning. He did so at 9:30am. At 1:00pm my sister called to see how things were going and he said he had to go every 15 min, but wasn't in any pain. He said he felt he was releived after. At 3:30pm I got a call that they were heading to the hospital to have the catheter put back in. I'm still not completely sure why. He said he wasn't in any pain, but I guess when they contact the Urologist he said he should be urinating more than he was and that he should immediately go to the hospital and have it put back in. At the hospital they thought he may have an infection and the Doctor there said he may need it for the rest of his life - he also asked if the cancer had spread... not sure why he asked, but we would have no way of knowing.
My Dad had the brachytherapy almost one year ago to the day, but they have never done any further testing (ultrasound, laparoscopy) besides testing his PSA levels to see if there is any spread of cancer or any other cancer that may be in the area (ie: colon cancer or ??) Is this normal? He complains often that he doesn't have a proper bowel movement and the doctors just suggest fibre supplements or the last one was a herbal remedy the doctor suggested.
The worst part is that my Dad doesn't communicate anything to us and gets angry at us if we suggest something or make comments as to what should be done. He takes the Doctors word like it is the "spoken word". He would never question what they say, or ask why and he always downplays his symptoms when they ask him questions - never complains.
He is supposed to call his Urologist in the morning and his GP. I'm going to demand that I attend his appointments and get to the bottom of this. Something just doesn't sit right with me and I need to have some answers as to what is happening... wish me luck!!
Here's an update... No News! I insisted on going to the doctor appointment with my Mom & Dad, both insisted I didn't need to. The urologist said to wait, the oncologist said he'd consult the doctor that put the implants in and get her opinion and the 3 of them would have a "chat" to see what the problem may be, or if there is a solution. So in otherwords, nothing is happening. I told my parents it would take at least a couple of months to get any answer from 3 doctors. My Dad doesn't seem too concerned. They treated him for a UTI and he seems to have felt better, more energy and happier, but he still has difficulty sitting for any length of time - apparently this is due to the catheter.
At this point there is nothing I can do. You can only help someone if they want the help. Both of my parents tend to accept things as they come, and neither one of them have any fight in them. They accept their ailments and feel there is nothing they can do to better themselves or their illnesses.
I will post any significant updates as they come, but I don't expect to get any great news for some time.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and all the best of 2009 to you.
