Back toUpdated on October 22, 2024
Recovering from prostate cancer surgery can be a long and difficult process. Chris shares his story and offers tips on how to heal.
Transcript
I would say, be more patient than you think you need to be. You may feel good on the outside. It may look OK, but there's still
a lot going on on the inside. [MUSIC PLAYING]
As I got older, I just slowly got out of shape. I decided to try a triathlon because I thought
it would be hard and force me to really focus and start a fitness journey. I went from for a routine physical,
but I hadn't been in three years. I didn't see the need to go. I had an ego that said, man, you're fine. Look at you.
You're strong. You can work out. What could be wrong with you? I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was 49.
It was like getting punched in the gut and then kicked in the jaw and smacked in the back of the head with a brick, all at the same time.
And my urologist said that I was the youngest he had ever diagnosed in his 35-year career. It was a fairly easy decision for me.
Even though I was scared of the outcomes, I really wanted to live and be healthy, so I decided to have the surgery.
So recovery was difficult. Training for an Iron Man, which are very long-- they typically take over 12 hours
to complete-- we become mentally strong to endure that. And I think that training prepared me
for what I had to go through after surgery. I just remembered your body needs to heal. Just be patient.
Just practice movement. Nine months later, after the surgery, I tried to do a full Iron Man. I completed it, but my body basically disintegrated.
So I would say, be more patient than you think you need to be. You may feel good on the outside. It may look OK, but there's still a lot
that's going on on the inside. My surgeon and my urologist actually both told me, practice Kegels as frequently as you can, sometimes five,
six times a day in the beginning. You have to use a new set of muscles to hold your bladder, and you've gone through life never using them,
so they're very weak. This is me speaking personally. Don't be embarrassed about having to wear a diaper for a while, you know? Nobody can see it.
Only you really know you have it on. That will reduce your anxiety. And the anxiety makes you more nervous and have to use the bathroom more frequently.
So if you can reduce that, you can calm your whole system down and focus on just recovery and paying attention
to how your body feels. [MUSIC PLAYING]
