One of the most distressing consequences that some men experience following surgery for prostate cancer is the effect that it has on urinary continence. Sadly, many men will just be given leaflets from their local hospital that advise them to carry out regular pelvic floor exercises and are then signed off or discharged from the system. In my case I did recover significantly over the first few months, but I was never fully satisfied with what I had achieved, and assumed that this is what I would need to put up with for the rest of my life. I found this to be a rather depressing situation to come to terms with as an otherwise fit and healthy 60-year old. This was until my wife, who had herself experienced problems after childbirth, told me about specialist physiotherapists who work with men to improve their continence following prostate surgery (amongst other conditions). This was a revelation to me, and so I engaged with Gerard, who I found to be a very knowledgeable, friendly and sympathetic specialist physiotherapist. Over the past six months he has allowed me to progress much further with my recovery than I had previously achieved on my own. It has also given me confidence to face the additional challenge of radiotherapy to my pelvic area, which could also have knocked me back. I was also guided in how to maintain the health of my penis and pelvic floor during my two years of hormone deprivation therapy, so that I could maximise my chances of resuming a sex life after this had been completed . This was very important for me. To summarise, I am so glad that I sought and obtained the help of Gerard in helping me recover from my cancer treatments. It has been a very positive experience and has helped me to move forward significantly beyond what I had previously thought would have been possible, and has also given me a boost to my self-esteem.
DC