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Hi Ben-I had a gleason 6, PSA up to 9 at one point. Dr. Mark Kawatchi from the City of Hope, Duarte, CA said this to me: "Dave, we have three choices here: surgery, radiation, or watchful waiting. If you were in your 70's, WW is what I would suggest because you'd die with it and not from it. Radiation, 91% cure rate, surgery, 97% cure rate and with a highly skilled surgeon, maybe a bit more." I chose surgery and I'm glad I did. July 31st, surgery. Cancer contained deep within the prostate, all nerves spared. No urinary leakage, no pain as I was up about 4 hours after surgery and home the next day. Yeah, ED has hit but then again, this is day 14 for me and its still limp but improving. The surgeon's experience is paramount. Oh yeah, I just turned 50 with no medical history etc. Its up to you believe it nor not.
Another thing, Kawatchi has done about 2,000 robotic surgeries. I actually feel as if nothing happened; I feel somewhat guilty. ED is temporary. But remember: thats me. Everyone is different. Clear as mud eh? Dave
I chose proton therapy, with ADT (harmone therapy), at MD Anderson. I was Gleason 7 (3+4), PSA 3.0. I was particularly impressed with the odds of no ED, it's a non-invasive procedure, and it did/does not upset me to know that the thing that had cancerous tumors is still inside of me. I believe that after treatment the cancer in the treated area is gone. If my PSA starts to rise, then (I believe) it is not coming from my prostate gland. I finished PT in Apr'09, yet I am still experincing effects of ADT. My first follow up exam was at the end of July'09, my PSA was undetectable. The next exam is Nov. I am a mentor on YANA, so can you see my details there. I would recommend PT.
