It wasn’t long before I received an appointment at the hospital for a cystoscopy. Apparently they wanted to look inside my bladder. Great!
Well, I turn up cheerfully for the procedure and whilst in the waiting room I read a poster which advised me that survival rate from bladder cancer for men my age is less than 50/50. Not exactly inspirational.
On to the procedure itself. Look away if your squeamish! A camera is passed through your urethra into your bladder . The bladder was also filled with water. From this they can not only check out your bladder but also see if there are any indications of prostate problems. As the camera was inserted into my penis I was reminded of the saying,” it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye ….”
I have to say that any discomfort wore off quiet quickly afterwards except for one thing. The feeling that I was peeing razor blades. That was very unpleasant and lasted a couple of days.
Some good news. No sign of anything untoward with my bladder but they needed to check my prostate now. “Roll on to your side”, said the nurse, “this may feel uncomfortable”. As this was not the first rectal exam for me, I found it neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, I just made some inane comment, which I immediately regretted. My prostate was enlarged she informed me but they still wanted to look at my kidneys, so my next appointment would be for a CT scan.
If you have prostate issues, you will have to get used to Digital Rectal Examinations (DRE). It goes with the territory. I guess this is a major part of why the whole subject is taboo to some people. The point is if you are going to get well, dignity will be the first casualty. Get over it!
Living With Prostate Cancer 