Friday, May 7, 2010

Grandpa Cermak's Surgery

"Mommy, why aren't Grandpa and Nana at the park with us today?"



Some of you know that Grandpa Cermak was recently diagnosed with early Stage 2, i.e., T2, prostate cancer last fall. Grandpa had a prostatectomy today (Friday) to remove the prostate laparoscopically at Central DuPage Hospital and he did great! The procedure took about 3 hours and Nana Cermak and Francis were feeding Grandpa chicken broth by 5:00. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, and if caught early enough (as in Grandpa's case), it is very treatable.

Grandpa's procedure was a minimally invasive procedure called RALP, which is short for Robotic-assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy. The surgeon made a series of small (1 cm) incisions in the abdomen, and removed prostate with a tool called the "da Vinci Robot." You can see some cool pictures of the device at that link.

If all goes well, Grandpa only has to stay overnight in the hospital for one night and then he will be taking it easy for the next week or so. He is supposed to walk for 20 minutes, four times a day, but can't pick up anything heavy. We are hopeful he will make a full recovery with no long-term problems as a result of the surgery.

The twins will be sad that Grandpa can't pick them up for a while, but a walk to the park is definitely on the agenda! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and notes of support for Grandpa Cermak! We love you and hope you feel better soon!

2 comments:

KathiP said...

I'm hoping all goes well with your Dad's recovery Francis. My dad is 86 and has had prostrate cancer since 1990...so it is definitely survivable!

TempusFam said...

Glad to hear Grandpa Cermak is doing well! Jimmy's dad just got done receiving treatment (proton therapy) for his prostate cancer! YAY for early detection and treatments! He'll be running around with Evie and Gavin in no time! Prayers and well wishes to everyone!