Prostate Cancer Survivors

 

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Re: recent diagnosis

Terry,

As you know, we Americans are terrified of universal health care. Our media is replete with anecdotal stories about Canadians rushing our borders to access top dollar, private care. This is an important week for our health care system; maybe we'll take our first steps towards universal coverage with greater emphasis on preventative care. I hear the international ridicule.....Unfortunately we're pretty xenophobic and slow to learn from others that do it better.

I spoke to a trusted friend today and he observed that my own psychological comfort will impact my treatment. Many people just want to "get rid of it and cut it out". Thanks in large part to this YANA site, I recognize that I was rushed into a process, and need to slow down. Best regards -Stephen

Re: recent diagnosis

Stephen:
The advice your father is giving you is somewhat good. With only one in 12 cores showing cancer, it is not something to ignore, but it is also something that needs to be monitored, and not acted upon immediately (my opinion only). One suggestion is to get a fPSA, which is another tool to indicate how much of the PSA in your score is the bad stuff; Terry has a good explanation here: http://www.yananow.net/PSA101.htm

I assume that your PSA test was your first one? Although quite high for your age, PSA's do fluctuate and the medical community, generally, looks at "velocity" (PSA change over time) before they push the panic button.

Spend some time here on YANA and find the do's and don't's before your next PSA test.

Good luck, and congratulations on getting a PSA test, most guys won't get it done at your age!

Mike C (Canada)

Re: recent diagnosis

Mike ... good advice, but, the "panic button" was pushed when he heard the word "cancer" ... remember?

That one word changes us physically and mentally forever. Now, any ache and pain, and our beloved brain thinks it's somehow cancer related.

Stephen... you got time ... review this site in great detail ... read every story, every one ... and decide on your future course of action ... but, again, you DO have time.

Good luck sir.

Re: recent diagnosis

Stephen,
I am a relatively young man like you going through the same things...I am 45..
I won't get into the whole story here but I have been Monitoring my PSA levels for a few years due to a strong Family history,,Over the last year I saw a 1 point increase and I saw another one point increase over the last 3 months (My last check I was at 4.5)..Cipro Had no effect..DRE was negative but there was some shadowing on my Ultra Sound...I had a Biopsy last Friday and expect the results today or tommorrow.
I was divorced and Married a great woman that is 12 years younger than me..So I have some concerns over Erectile Disfunction..Reading the reports here has somewhat put me at ease because I see a pretty high rate of success on younger men returning to a somewhat normal sex life following surgery.(Following sometimes a long rehab period)
Just wanted you to know you aren't alone brother and from what I have read there are quite a few of us 50 and under "Prostate focused" men out there...
Good luck,
Brian

Re: recent diagnosis

Good luck with the Biopsy. I found the blood afterwards to be the most disconcerting. I do think that we young'uns have an extra wrinkle. I would prefer to avoid surgery. I have a second opinion scheduled for next Wednesday.

Down here in Florida health in general, and prostate cancer in particular are booming business'. Just yesterday I was driving by billboards and listening to radio adds touting one procedure over another....

Like a few other things in life, we are at a juncture and need to choose a path. Once taken, there's no going back. Keep the faith......-stephen

Re: recent diagnosis

Stephen,

I was diagnosised on Feb. 16. My PSA is 2.2 and my Gleason is 6. I realized that this type of cancer in like being run over by a glasier and I had time to investigate. After completing my evaluation it all came down to one thing, no matter which treatment I choose my chances of survival is the same and the chances are pretty good. I prefered not to survive wearing diapers and hoping that Viagar works so I chose the treatment with the least side effects, proton therapy. There are many good books out there on this topic and tons of info on this Website, so take your time and make the decision that works best for you. Do not listen to any one doctor. I would be happy to share my research with you if you would like to e-mail directly or you can just follow my posts on this site as soon as that function is up and running.

Take care,

Greg

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