Fighting Prostate Cancer: Part 1 | Medical Watch | WGNTV.com | WGN TV

Fighting Prostate Cancer: Part 1

Advances in treating prostate cancer can remove the cancer and prevent the lifestyle-changing side effects that have plagued men for years.

By Robert Jordan, Reporter

June 18, 2006

New medical advances in treating prostate cancer, which affects millions of men, can remove the cancer and allow men not to suffer the lifestyle-changing side effects that have plagued men for years.

Those side effects include, possibly losing bladder control and sexual function. But, those days are over, according to Robert Jordan, who joins us, now, to give us his personal story of surviving prostate cancer. And we want to advise you that there are some quick shots of actual surgery.

When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, I immediately felt crushed - thinking that my life, as I knew it, would be over. But I was very wrong. In fact, the "space-aged" procedure I underwent improved my lifestyle even more, since I'm without a growing prostate that can cause irritating symptoms. But, and this is key, you must catch the disease early, when a cure is almost guaranteed.

Tonight, in part 1, we'll look at a relatively new procedure for removing the prostate called the da Vinci Robotic Radical Prostatectomy. I went to Atlanta to have this done, finding a surgeon who had considerable experience in operating the robot. That's right, a robot. For this story, we went back to Atlanta, again, to follow another patient having the same procedure I did.

Dr. Miller:" So, you're ready?

Alex:" I'm ready.

Miller:" Questions?

Alex:" Nah. Let's go for it.

Miller:" I'm going to take really good care of you.

Alex:" I'm sure you will."

Urologist, Dr. Scott Miller and his patient Alex Leighton are heading to surgery. Miller, the same doctor I had, is about to remove Alex's cancerous prostate gland. But instead of opening him up, with a long incision running from the navel to the pubic bone, Dr. Miller will make 5, dime-sized holes in Alex's abdomen, where he will insert and guide the robot arms to remove the prostate gland.

Miller:" You'll be ready to go tomorrow. You'll be ready to go. . That's right. Alex will go home the next day; just as I did. We'll show you Alex leaving, later.

But first Alex has a date with a robot -- a three-armed, computer driven-machine that is actually controlled and manipulated by Dr. Miller after he makes the 5-tiny holes in Alex's abdomen.

Covered in sterilized plastic, the arms are inserted into long plastic tubes which allow different hands to be attached to the arms, as needed - scissors, retractors, clamps or suture needles. And when Miller moves his hand an inch, the computer reduces his movements inside the body to centimeters.

MILLER:"These are the view finders. I put my head into this space and we're then able to see the inside of the body through 2 separate cameras giving us a stereo view of the inside of the body."

Plus what he sees is enlarged -- magnified10 times bigger than normal. To him, scissors look like hedge clippers but they are the size of a fingernail.

MILLER:"The 3-D visualization is incredible. It is like a little one of me being inside the body."

And because the nerves and blood vessels - that control bladder function and erections -- appear so large, Miller can clearly see how to avoid them so that men can resume their old lifestyles.

Miller:"And within weeks, often, will have return of normal or close to normal sexual and urinary function."

As you can see from the camera inside the body, there is hardly any bleeding. Years ago men having a prostatectomy would routinely have to receive blood transfusions. But, with the da Vinci robot in the hands of a skilled surgeon, blood loss is minimal.

Almost an hour later, the prostate is cleanly dissected away from the bladder. Miller then inspects the gland to make sure he has gotten it all, the way he wanted to.

Miller:" I take a peek at it to make sure I have extra tissue, which I do. Make sure my margins look nice - I actually see fibers on that. And, we bag it."

Sealed in a plastic baggie, the prostate will be removed through one of the tiny holes in the abdomen and sent to the lab for study, to make sure the cancer was all inside the gland and had not begun to spread outside to other organs. And while the untrained eye might think this is a lot of blood, it is not. Remember the field is magnified.

Miller:" We just don't worry about bleeding during these cases, cause we know we don't lose that much blood."

Miller spends the remaining time carefully reconnecting Alex's urethra to the bladder with a catheter inside. He'll have that in for 5 or 6 days. Decades ago the catheter was left in for almost 2-weeks. And when Miller prepares to close the tiny holes - no sutures, just glue. That's right; the holes are so small that they are glued closed.

It's been a little over three hours and the patient is now in the recovery ward. It was relatively bloodless operation and the critical nerves were spared which means that the patient should be returning to a near normal lifestyle in a matter of weeks." BOB :"How you feeling?

Alex: "Not bad - actually pretty good."

This is Alex the next morning - up, walking around and preparing to leave the hospital: A true miracle. ALEX:" I'm a fast healer. If I had my way, I'd go back to work.

BOB: No, you're gonna have to slow yourself down, that's going to be the main thing because you're gonna want to do more."

ALEX: "Yah, I know. Feel so good. I know. And they tell you, take your time, take your time, listen to your body." A short time later, as Alex left Atlanta's Northside Hospital, the entire ordeal seemed like a blur.

ALEX:" It's hard to believe that a mere, what, 23 - 24 hours ago?

BOB: I know - unbelilevable.

Dr. Miller says that in Alex's case, just as in mine, he was able to get all of the cancer. Because we were tested often we caught it early.

Miller: "Early detection is the key to the treatment of prostate cancer if you're going to be successful.

And Miller urges his patients to ask questions and do their research because it's your body and your life at stake. MILLER:" I tell every patient, more important than the decision they make - they should feel comfortable with that decision. Ask questions."

RESOURCES
da Vinci Robot Prostatectomy
Evanston Hospital
Advocate Good Samaterian Hospital - Downers Grove
Urologist - Dr. Scott Miller
The website is www.laparoboticsurgery.com and the toll-free number is 1-866-705-5201
American Cancer Society