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I can understand the shock you would have had - and the anger at the seemingly uncaring doctor. Good to see that you have made a good recovery from that initial blow - the expression here in Australia for someone who has had that kind of news is that he looks like a stunned mullet. I guess that's what your Sharks might have felt when WP thumped them. But it was to see that you have your priorities right as far as the rugby was concerned.
As to your PSA, I'm not sure if you have spent much (or indeed any) time going through the Yana site. Even if you have you might have missed the little PSA experiment I ran ten years ago when I had daily PSA tests - that's at PSA EXPERIMENT . so PSA in itself is not the main focus.
You say This morning when I woke up I had an epiphany.....I have decided to base my decision on Quality of Life rather than Longevity. That was my decision too back in 1996 - I wrote about it here WHY I DID NOT CHOOSE SURGERY OR ANY OTHER TREATMENT . Of course I am not saying that my decision was the right one for anyone else but me - and my Gleason was 7 not 8 - but I was 54 so theoretically I had more years left than you do at 75. Now I am 70 I don't regret my decision 16 years ago.
There is a chap whose writing might appeal to you. He used to post under the name LORENZO Q. SQUARF and amongst his advice was this little gem:
If you are in your 70s, ditto, but be very fussy about what constitutes negative symptoms. If they are not all that distressful consider treating the symptoms. Think amelioration of discomfort rather than aggressive intervention, but, if ordinary stuff can't supress your discomfort, why, discuss your particulars, and especially your personal values, with a urologist who listens carefully, and who seems to care more about you than his theories of aggressive intervention.
If you are in your 80s don't play the therapy game. Period. No. Don't do it. It will destroy the rest of your life. Ameliorate negative symptoms with medication. You can probably do this in an agreeable manner for a longer time than you might imagine. Smile. You have won.
I realise you are not in your 80s yet, but seems to me you're close to the winning line in Squarf's terms.
Good luck, whatever your choice of paths on this journey we share.
If you are in your 80s don't play the therapy game. Period. No. Don't do it. It will destroy the rest of your life. Ameliorate negative symptoms with medication. You can probably do this in an agreeable manner for a longer time than you might imagine. Smile. You have won.[/i]
I'm now 80, feeling good despite a testosterone of zero during my second cycle of Degarelix (Firmagon). I can't recall if it was one Dr.Meyer's articles or videos in which he advised that men over 80 use only Casodex and Avodart. I haven't used either yet. It seems young men who use a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor grow a nice head of hair. (It makes them more attractive to women, but the can't "act on it".) I'm already sexually disadvantaged to I suppose if I were to use Avodart it wouldn't make much difference.
