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.
Ernst:
I doubt that any of the participants on this site will attempt to talk you out of surgery. Some of us might wonder how you arrived at this decision.
How much research did you conduct? Did you consult more than one practitioner?
Nothing much will likely change in the next two or three months if you should decide to more fully explore your options.
Best wishes Don O.
No, I am not going to try to talk you out of surgery. That’s not in line with the aim of the site which is clearly stated as:
To provide comfort to any man diagnosed with prostate cancer, to offer thoughtful support to him and his family and to help them to decide how best to deal with the diagnosis by providing them with and guiding them to suitable information, being mindful at all times that it is the individual's ultimate choice that the path he decides to follow is his own and that of his family, based on his particular circumstances.
What I would suggest is that you cancel the surgery scheduled for next week August 20 because of the doubts you have and because it may well be that you are not fully aware of all your options. Postponing surgery is extremely unlikely to affect the outcome, which is likely to be a good one even if that is your final choice after gaining a better understanding of your options, for three, six or even twelve months, But at least you should be in a better frame of mind that the choice you make is based on the best data you can find and is what suits you best.
Where to find this information? – on the Yana site. When I was diagnosed back in 1996 I found it very frustrating that although there was even back then a good deal of information, it was fragmented – and often apparently contradictory. The reason I set up the site was to provide all the basic information in as simple and straightforward a way as I could – without any outside influence or bias. That is why I have never accepted funding offers from large organisations. Mark and I have kept the cost of running the site as low as we can and with donations from Yana men we’ve stayed ahead of the game. So whilst I cannot claim to have some divine insight into the intricacies of this complex disease, I do believe that, as a man who mailed me today said in part …. I don't need to tell you all the panic and thoughts that went through my mind and in searching the internet I quickly came upon your site. It's a treasure trove of useful information and I spent many countless sleepless and worried nights reading through everything…..
So my second suggestion is to go and dig through the treasure trove. Start at Don’t Panic and work your way right through the site clicking all the links. That way by the time you come to Choosing A Treatment you should be in a better position to evaluate the options – because you will have more detailed knowledge of the terms and language used. By all means come back to this (and other Forums) to clarify issues – or to argue that what I have said does not jell with other information you have - but take your time.
As to the questions of dying, well that is something that is rarely discussed anywhere on the Internet despite the fact that it is the main driver of decision making. One of the links on the site is to what I have termed The Elephant In The Room where I try to focus on the two questions that are in everyone’s minds but so rarely spoken “How Long Have I Got?” and “How Does Death Come.” You might like to read that before embarking on the marathon of going through the site!
I could go on – especially about statistics and how they are used – and how they might be used - but will pause there for breath. I hope this has helped. Keep in touch.
PSA after a biopsy? The reading would be inaccurate.
So PSA of 5 with G7, your stats are not that bad. No need to rush into surgery or any other treatment
As others have stated, there are various other options available. Once you commit to a treatment, there is no going back.
From your comments, you need to do more research prior to pulling the trigger, so to speak. You can start on short term hormone therapy, which will start to weaken the cancer, giving you more time to figure things out. With your stats that may not even be necessary. Get other opinions from specialist in prostate cancer, not just your knife wielding urologist
I had my surgery agust 20th 2013, 1000 pounds came off my shoulders immediately, just waiting on the pathology report In about a 10 days, they found a nodule so I believe the right incision was made,
