This forum is for the discussion of anything to do with Prostate Cancer. There are only four rules:
No fundraisers, no commercials (although it is OK to recommend choices of treatment or medical people based on your personal research; invitations to participate in third-party surveys are also acceptable, provided there is no compensation to YANA);
No harvesting e-mail addresses for Spam;
No insults or flaming - be polite and respectful at all times and understand that there may be a variety of points of view, all of which may have some validity;
Opinions are OK, but please provide as much factual evidence as possible for any assertions that you are making
Failure to abide by these simple rules will result in the immediate and permanent suspension of your posting privileges.
Since this is an International Forum, please specify your location in your post.
hi everybody,
my dad had his prostate removed 3 months ago, original psa was 13 and pathology report showed:
Poorly differentiated Adenocarcinoma of the prostate Gleason score 8 (3+5) is present in both hemispheres (left and right side) of the gland.
Tumour has invaded both left and right seminal vesicles to a small extent.
The prostate capsule has positive margins on both the left and right hemispheres of the gland.
There is perineural invasion present.
There is no evidence of lymph node involvement
stage PT3c N0Mx
so he had the first PSA test whitch came back as 0.51, his doctor didn`t suggest futher treatment and said that it s fine with this reading, and to come back to see him in 3 weeks,
Sorry to read of your concerns - and the apparent lack of concern of the doctor who should have taken some time to explain himself.
The PSA test was developed to measure the success or otherwise of surgery to remove the prostate gland. It has subsequently been used for other purposes, but in terms of the original studies and FDA approval, PSA should be undetecable after surgery. A reading of 0.51 three months after surgery should be accompanied by further investogations or at least a good explanation as to why there might be a positive reading
The Gleason 8 coupled with the high psa of 13 indicates a high risk PC. The positive margins, psa of .5 and seminal vessicle invasion are good indicators that the surgery was not effective. At this time I would search for a good medical oncologist specializing in prostate cancer as the disease is beyond your surgeon's level of training.
Good luck. (A list of Prostate oncologists by location is listed in the appendix of "Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers" by Dr Mark Scholz.
I had the same problem after my robotic surgery. My PSA was slowly rising so the surgeon ordered many tests (CAT scan, bone scan and a prostascint scan), all of which came up negative. After a year, another doctor (a hematology oncologist) ordered a transrectal MRI that showed half of my prostate still in place. The surgeon claimed it was a "surgical mishap". I had to go through a full course of hormone therapy and radiation. My PSA continued to go up for another year or so before it started to go down.
As a matter of interest did you seek, or were you offered, any recompense for the 'medical mishap'? It seems to me that the event might be categorised by someone other than the surgeon as 'medical malpractice'!
Sounds as if all was well in the end which must have been a relief to you I am sure.
I was not offered any compensation. In fact, neither the hospital nor the surgeon wanted to talk about it other than to say that it sometimes happens. I met with a malpractice lawyer and he didn't want to take the case because he felt it would be too hard to prove.
Paul, that is appalling and lends support to the view I have long held that the concern expressed by insurers and doctors about the high risk of being sued to justify their very high charges and the plethora of tests they order - often from suppliers in which they have a financial interest.
