Posted: 5/30/2013 10:26:48 PM EDT
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Going in next Thursday for a test. I think it will be a biopsy this time.
Might have to put off my road trip for a while.. |
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3 years and still ticking after having my prostate removed at the age of 42. edit: If you have any questions, I would be happy to talk with you. What was your psa level at when it was removed? Does it run in your family? Mine is quite high, 19. But cancer doesn't run in the family. And I don't know of any extended family member that has had theirs removed. Glad you are well. |
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Quoted: Quoted: 3 years and still ticking after having my prostate removed at the age of 42. edit: If you have any questions, I would be happy to talk with you. What was your psa level at when it was removed? Does it run in your family? Mine is quite high, 19. But cancer doesn't run in the family. And I don't know of any extended family member that has had theirs removed. Glad you are well. My father had it diagnosed at 48. I was at my family doctor and on a whim, mentioned I was urinating 3 or 4 times a night and we did a blood test. My first test was around a 5 IIRC. 30 days later, we repeated the test and it was 5.4. I was referred to my urologist who suggested right out the box to have biopsies done, I agreed. Out of 12 biopsies, I had cancer in all 12. His words were, "Buckmaw, you have cancer and a lot of it..." It was in every quadrant of my prostate, but bone scans and other test revealed that the cancer had not spread outside the prostate capsule. Due to me being so young, we agreed that removal was the only viable option. I don't know your age, but other treatments are comparable with surgery out to 10 years, after that, you see a huge drop in survival versus people who had the prostate removed. It happened very fast. About 45 days from first blood draw to surgery. My urologist was on the team at Baylor who developed the Da Vinici Robot, and that is what they used. I have 5 tiny scars at belly button level, each scar being less than 1 inch. The surgeon play COD at a remote station. Depending on the outcome of the biopsies, that will determine the amount of surrounding tissue they will have to remove. There are some other lasting "issues" if you choose the surgery and I will be happy to discuss them with you, but lets wait on the results before doing that. Shoot me a PM when they are in. Good Luck. |
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3 years and still ticking after having my prostate removed at the age of 42. edit: If you have any questions, I would be happy to talk with you. What was your psa level at when it was removed? Does it run in your family? Mine is quite high, 19. But cancer doesn't run in the family. And I don't know of any extended family member that has had theirs removed. Glad you are well. My father had it diagnosed at 48. I was at my family doctor and on a whim, mentioned I was urinating 3 or 4 times a night and we did a blood test. My first test was around a 5 IIRC. 30 days later, we repeated the test and it was 5.4. I was referred to my urologist who suggested right out the box to have biopsies done, I agreed. Out of 12 biopsies, I had cancer in all 12. His words were, "Buckmaw, you have cancer and a lot of it..." It was in every quadrant of my prostate, but bone scans and other test revealed that the cancer had not spread outside the prostate capsule. Due to me being so young, we agreed that removal was the only viable option. I don't know your age, but other treatments are comparable with surgery out to 10 years, after that, you see a huge drop in survival versus people who had the prostate removed. It happened very fast. About 45 days from first blood draw to surgery. My urologist was on the team at Baylor who developed the Da Vinici Robot, and that is what they used. I have 5 tiny scars at belly button level, each scar being less than 1 inch. The surgeon play COD at a remote station. Depending on the outcome of the biopsies, that will determine the amount of surrounding tissue they will have to remove. There are some other lasting "issues" if you choose the surgery and I will be happy to discuss them with you, but lets wait on the results before doing that. Shoot me a PM when they are in. Good Luck. Thanks for the info Buckmaw. BTW, I'm 63. I'll let you know more when I know more. Thanks again. |
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Was checked again today. PSA was 32.
Am going in next Tuesday for a biopsy. He said he would probably take 14 to 16 pieces. Had to endure the ol' finger test. He said nothing felt out of the ordinary. He didn't even have the courtesy to turn the lights down and put on soft music. Sheesh!! |
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Was checked again today. PSA was 32. Am going in next Tuesday for a biopsy. He said he would probably take 14 to 16 pieces. Had to endure the ol' finger test. He said nothing felt out of the ordinary. He didn't even have the courtesy to turn the lights down and put on soft music. Sheesh!! I have prostate cancer and have been treated for it. At this time, I don't know if I will live or die from it but I get tested every 3 months. The biopsy will not be fun but it will only take about 7-10 minutes if you have a doc and an assistant. The physical pain is not that bad, I have had much worse. Just take a rubber hose with you to bite down on. Just kidding. You will be on antibiotics for a while after that. Upon completion of the biopsy and if you have cancer, you will be assigned a "Stage" and a "Gleason" score by the pathologist. Read up on all that. Basically, a 6 or lower is less aggressive than a 7 or higher. If you do have it, you now have some decisions to make on treatment. Surgery or one of the many types of radiation. There are several very good books you should probably read: Surviving Prostate Cancer by Dr. Patrick Walsh - has a surgery slant to it but covers all treatments in depth. Winning the Battle Against Prostate Cancer by Gerald Chodak - also a surgeon and another comprehensive reference You Can Beat Prostate Cancer by Robert Marckini - a patient who went through proton radiation therapy You can do: Surgery (open or DaVinci) - most now days is done via the robot External beam radiation Cyberknife, EBRT & IMRT Brachy seeds - couple of different types Proton Therapy You really need to get your shit together on this decision because there are benefits and drawbacks to each one. And, surgeons want to cut and radiologists want to radiate. I have been through a lot in the past two years with this. If you want, IM me and we can have a very frank discussion. I will be glad to discuss the above options and convey not only my experience but that of several friends of mine. We all chose different treatments based on our age, how far the cancer had advanced and where we happen to be in life. Edited to Add: for all you young bucks out there and by that I mean between 40-50, when I went through treatment, there were guys there of all races and age. Several guys were 40. That's right, 40 years old. So if you think this is some old guys problem, you are dead wrong. Don't let the jokes and discomfort of the testing associated with this sway you into not getting tested annually. A PSA test is easy. It does not necessarily mean you have cancer but coupled with other tests and possibly a biopsy, it could save your life. There has been a lot in the news the past few years about PSA tests leading to unecessary procedures but if you have a good urologist, the guy will know how to proceed. Sorry for the length on all this but it has to be said. |
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Was checked again today. PSA was 32. Am going in next Tuesday for a biopsy. He said he would probably take 14 to 16 pieces. Had to endure the ol' finger test. He said nothing felt out of the ordinary. He didn't even have the courtesy to turn the lights down and put on soft music. Sheesh!! I have prostate cancer and have been treated for it. At this time, I don't know if I will live or die from it but I get tested every 3 months. The biopsy will not be fun but it will only take about 7-10 minutes if you have a doc and an assistant. The physical pain is not that bad, I have had much worse. Just take a rubber hose with you to bite down on. Just kidding. You will be on antibiotics for a while after that. Upon completion of the biopsy and if you have cancer, you will be assigned a "Stage" and a "Gleason" score by the pathologist. Read up on all that. Basically, a 6 or lower is less aggressive than a 7 or higher If you do have it, you now have some decisions to make on treatment. Surgery or one of the many types of radiation. There are several very good books you should probably read: Surviving Prostate Cancer by Dr. Patrick Walsh - has a surgery slant to it but covers all treatments in depth. Winning the Battle Against Prostate Cancer by Gerald Chodak - also a surgeon and another comprehensive reference You Can Beat Prostate Cancer by Robert Marckini - a patient who went through proton radiation therapy You can do: Surgery (open or DaVinci) - most now days is done via the robot External beam radiation Cyberknife, EBRT & IMRT Brachy seeds - couple of different types Proton Therapy You really need to get your shit together on this decision because there are benefits and drawbacks to each one. And, surgeons want to cut and radiologists want to radiate. I have been through a lot in the past two years with this. If you want, IM me and we can have a very frank discussion. I will be glad to discuss the above options and convey not only my experience but that of several friends of mine. We all chose different treatments based on our age, how far the cancer had advanced and where we happen to be in life. Thanks for all the info Mike_48. I will update this after I get the results of the biopsy. Prayers to you for a continued recovery. |
| There are two types of prostate cancer: 1) slow-growing (very treatable) and 2) fast growing (tends to migrate from prostate and is more difficult to treat). I've had a couple prostate biopsies and they turned out to be negative. Some prostate cancers are such slow-growing type that you will die of old age before the cancer could kill you. Removal isn't always the best treatment. |
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There are two types of prostate cancer: 1) slow-growing (very treatable) and 2) fast growing (tends to migrate from prostate and is more difficult to treat). I've had a couple prostate biopsies and they turned out to be negative. Some prostate cancers are such slow-growing type that you will die of old age before the cancer could kill you. Removal isn't always the best treatment. Happened to a friend of my dad. He was in his early 70s iirc and they said the risk of dying of surgery was greater than of the cancer. |