The following exercise and diet tips might apply to anyone having a TURP operation, or Radical Prostatectomy, or TURB operation. In my case, I had all of the above in one year, yet managed to retain good continence and general good health. Most tips should also apply to patients who choose one of the radiation treatments for prostate cancer, but I have no personal experience there.

And no, this is not being written by a health food and exercise nut. Just by a normal guy who has researched what food and activities helped my recovery.

Any claims I read elsewhere about diet or exercise helping to prevent future recurrence of prostate cancer may be encouraging, but are not yet proven in my opinion.

In the meantime, good nutrition and reasonable exercise as approved specifically for me by my health care professionals certainly seemed like a good idea for faster recovery now, and better future health in general.

At the time I was diagnosed with the need for a TURP operation, there was likely to be a delay of one or more months beforehand. Now was the time to learn about and practice Kegel exercises, and urinary continence would likely be much less of a problem after treatment. I wanted to improve those control muscles as soon as possible.

Kegel practice in advance was even more critical in the case of having a radical prostatectomy, where continence problems afterwards may be more likely.

Being in better physical shape beforehand would also likely speed up general recovery afterwards. It was vital to check with a family doctor or specialist as to what exercises would be reasonable considering the current overall situation. There was no need to become fanatical, as just walking every day within my capabilities would certainly help.

During the hospital stay after the prostatectomy, walking several times a day really made me feel better and gradually built up strength. That activity was to continue after release. It was surprising how weak I felt and how much my energy was diminished by the surgery, but I soon got stronger with every new day's activities.

After any of the surgeries, during the first four to six weeks, I had to be careful not to strain myself by lifting anything over 10 pounds. I really had to mentally concentrate about this, as it was all too easy to forget the limit when suddenly confronted by the need to pick something up. No, I had to obey the limit, as I did not wish to strain anything and delay recovery.

After six weeks I gradually started doing more tasks, lifting progressively heavier stuff and doing exercises with five, and then ten, pound dumbbells. Not trying to become a weightlifter with big weights for big muscles, just doing repetitive exercises with lighter weights to slowly build endurance.

My regular food and nutrition have changed a lot now.

I had always (40 + years) taken vitamins, but I read up on nutritional suggestions more specific to prostate and other cancers, and added some other supplements including extra antioxidants like vitamins E and C. Your specific needs may be quite different given your physical and medical condition.

Certainly most people will benefit from at least a multivitamin daily, as many nutrients are just not easily available on a daily basis through food alone. Do your research at the library and on the web, and most importantly by asking professional nutritionists and your doctors. If you go to a support group, they likely will have access to very good information and guest speakers.

I like to keep up to date with both official recommendations and new studies. For example, daily needs for Vitamin D are being revised very much upwards. Especially in far northern and southern parts of the world, our exposure to sunlight in winter cannot possibly supply us with sufficient self-made Vitamin D. New studies suggest at least 1000 I.U. (International Units) of Vitamin D are needed daily. Government official recommendations normally take much longer to catch up.

Many sources suggested that reduction in red meat and fatty dairy products would be a good idea for persons prone to cancer. No problem here in doing that. As I get older, I am finding that red meat is getting more difficult for me to digest. An occasional meal with one burger may be okay, but two are uncomfortable. Similarly, I don't seem to digest milk as well as before.

I thought I would still need some skim milk, but on the suggestion of a friend tried soy milk. It turned out that not all soy milks taste the same. My wife and I tried several brands and varieties and ended up liking So Good Fat Free Original best. (Some others came close, and are bought if shopping in a store that does not have our favourite in stock. We really did not like any of the flavoured varieties, but that is just personal preference.) Despite being fat free -- and full of nutritional supplements -- this soy milk variety tasted much richer than say 2% milk. After a few days, we actually preferred it to drinking skim or 2% milk.

One big surprise was the first time my wife used soy milk in her baking. Some favourite plain tea biscuits tasted unusually rich and moist, and retained their fresh taste for a couple of days vice a single day with the dairy milk ones. Pancakes and scrambled eggs were significantly fluffier and improved in taste. Since then, she uses soy milk in all her cooking with uniformly better results. The only place it has not replaced dairy milk is in our tea or coffee.

And no, in case you read the page here on suggestions to help improve continence, I am not usually having any caffeine products; decaffeinated coffee for me, and caffeine-free tisanes. I have the occasional real stuff, but in limited quantities. I sure sleep better now.

On my page dealing with help for improving continence, I mentioned taking a couple of tasty prunes daily; they are now part of our breakfast and result in good regularity that virtually eliminates the stress on the bladder that can be caused by constipation. After some taste trials of different brands, we settled on Mariani Premium Pitted Prunes. (Usual disclaimer -- no connection with this or any other company/brand mentioned on this website -- just satisfied paying customers.)

As for the rest of our diet, we added more fruits and vegetables and actually enjoy meals more now. Some of the websites out there have suggestions relating to proposed cancer patient diets. We increased the frequency of having tomatoes (and cooked tomato sauces) along with cauliflower and spinach and other strong/bright coloured vegetables and fruits. We're both generally feeling much healthier now.

Now if you are a doubter and think this lifestyle improvement is all in our minds, whatever the reason, it still feels mighty good to us. And isn't that a valid goal?

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Warning and Disclaimer. Contents here are based on non-medical personal opinions and experiences. Everyone viewing this website, or any other website or book or magazine or pamphlet or media source, is cautioned to seek advice first from their own qualified physicians and surgeons and health care professionals about anything written or implied or inferred. Your health care professionals are your primary and best resource for questions, advice, and treatments applicable to your personal case.