Music and Poetry Helped Me Through The Pain

A routine check up for Kiran Shah, 73 led to a diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. He shares the treatment he followed, the challenges faced and the rehabilitation and recovery journey.

The Diagnosis:

About 3 years ago, during a routine check-up, I was found to have an enlarged prostate gland with a high PSA value. I had no other symptoms at the time. My family doctor referred me to Dr Vinit Shah, an Urologist in Mumbai who advised me that there was nothing to be done at that time but to keep an eye on the prostate and look out for any symptoms. For the next 2 years, my PSA levels were under observation (active surveillance) with regular checks. However, when the level kept rising, I was told to get an MRI done in June 2018. However, the MRI results were inconclusive so a biopsy was prescribed. The biopsy revealed a Stage 1 Prostate Cancer which meant the tumour was confined to the prostate. We reconfirmed the biopsy with two other specialists.

The diagnosis was surprising as there is no history of cancer in my family. I do have Diabetes and Hypertension but had no other risk factors for cancer. Dr Shah sat me down and told me that an early diagnosis had the benefit of better prognosis and complete treatment. He went on to explain that I had two treatment options: a surgery or radiotherapy. After listening to and understanding all the pros and cons, I decided to go with the surgical option, which seemed like the best method to get rid of the tumorous growth.

The Surgery:

I met with the surgeon who was to do my surgery. He told me about the latest Robotic option for prostatectomy which we were eager to try and showed promising results. My Robotic Radical Prostatectomy was scheduled 20 days later. The tumour was effectively removed and I am now cancer free since 18 months.

The Recovery:

Recovering post-surgery was challenging and painful. Due to urinary leakage, the urethra had to be bypassed to the bladder, so an additional bypass procedure was done a few months later. I had a urinary catheter inserted for a prolonged time which lead to infections and high antibiotic dosages. I remember not leaving the house and had kept a ward boy to help out. It was an uncomfortable period as I could only sleep on one side. There was also a lot of weakness and fatigue. My haemoglobin had mildly dropped to 11.5 but iron supplements didn’t suit my digestive system, so I stopped them after some time.

My biggest challenge through it all was dealing with the pain. I quote the famous poet Ghalib when I think of it, who said “इशरत-ए-क़तरा है दरिया में फ़ना हो जाना, दर्द का हद से गुज़रना है दवा हो जाना “, which means that when pain crosses a limit, pain itself becomes medicine. Music and poetry helped me get by. My wife and daughter were by my side always and I was also blessed to have access to good doctors and hospitals.

Diet:

I was put on a high protein diet at the time. Lots of apples and carrots were recommended for increased fibre intake. Since I have Diabetes, my sugar intake is generally low. After surgery, I had weight loss of around 4 to 5 kilos.

Exercise:

The standard Physiotherapy after surgery was prescribed to get me out of my hospital bed and encourage movement everyday for a week. I now walk about 3 kms daily mostly indoors.

Present condition:

It’s been more than a year now and I feel like my old self. I am back to work as before. All my health parameters are normal. I continue to follow-up with my Urologist every few months, it used be very month earlier. I’m glad everything has turned out well for me.

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