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Welcome to the club you never wanted to join, John. If I were in your position, this is what I would do:
1. Go to A STRANGE PLACE and download a copy (or mail me at terryherbert42@gmail.com for a hard copy and read through it - that wil give you the basics pretty well
2. Read the YANA SITE from start to finish – and use the Links provided to gain more in depth information
3. Put your story to date on the site using the JOIN US page. This will mean that your story will be available to more than 2,000 men, some of whom no doubt will respond to your specific requests.
4. Join a mailing list, like PPML or Prostate Cancer Support – to join them go along to MAILING LISTS because they have many more member than this Forum
John,
If you live in So Cal I would highly recommend you get a 2nd opinion from Dr Mark Scholz at Prostate Oncology Specialists. You can review his website. He only specializes in PC and will give you an unbiased recommendation of which treatment is best for your individual cancer. He also can recommend the best doctors or treatment centers after your cancer is properly staged and he will review all of the pros and cons of each treatment method. Dr Scholtz has experience in all stages of PC and has seen tens f thousands of PC patients. He is one of the top 3 PC doctors in the country.
He is located in Marina Del Rey and his number is 310 827 7707.
Thanks for the info. and support. Next week is a big week for my wife and me, as we're seeing a radiation specialist on Tuesday, Dr. Kawachi at City of Hope re Robotic surgery on Wednesday and then I'm meeting with a friend who teaches meditation and self-hypnosis on Thursday. She had a stroke at an early age and credits meditation with helping her out of a funk and completely curing her. I am convinced that being a "type A" and the inability to handle stress well played a major factor in my joining the "club." I cannot say enough good things about this website. Thank you Terry!
I also live in SoCal, had a PSA of 2.2 and a Gleason of 6. You are correct, the choices are overwelming. I was diagnosed in Feb. 2010 and started treatment in June. I looked at all the options and decided that Proton Beam Therapy was the right choice for me. The outcome stats are about the same for all the treatments for men at our stage. The side effects are the big difference.
So you have to ask yourself, what do I want to do with the rest of my life, live as long as possible no matter what shape I'm in or maybe not live as long, but have a high quality of life. My answer was the later. Surgery is the most common "choice" even today because most men want to get the cancer out. No matter what anyone says about surgery, it has the greatest amount of side effects. PBT has the least and only 0.25 % of all men diagnosed choose this treatment. Only you can decide what is right for you. Once you make your decision, stick with it. I would be happy to share my experience with you at Loma Linda if you want to know more after reading my story.
Greg, thank you for your input. Based on my Gleason score of 4+3 which indicates a bit more aggressive grade plus the fact that three physicians indicated they could feel the tumor or hardness during the rectal exam added to the fact that two people I know had the robotic prostatectomy and are doing well, we decided on this method of treatment through Dr. Mark Kawachi at City of Hope. As you stated, this is a huge individual decision, and each of us has to make the choice that we feel will be best given our own individual situation. Again, thanks for the response. I am going to update my report later today.
