Positive Surgical Margin on one tumor

jhenrymaine

Hi all -- I got the pathology report back from my prostate removal on October 31 and it showed that I had not one, but TWO, tumors (one graded 3+3 =6 on the left, which I knew about, plus another graded 4+5=9 on the right side. The more aggressive one was not even found in the biopsy last July!. I'm so glad I had the prostate removed. But....the report also says there was some minimal surgical margin on the grade 6 tumor (margin was negative on the grade 9, thankfully). Here's my question - has anyone had positive surgical margin for a low-graded small (.6 cm) tumor? Does this mean that if my PSA rises in the months/year to come that I might face radiation or another treatment?

RichardRS

Hi: I have just been diagnosed, PSA 6.2, Gleason 3+4 Right Lobe. Recommendation: Robotic Surgery. Thanks for your history. My understanding is that monitoring PSA post surgery is critical. For any Gleason above 6, there is a strong likelihood of reoccurance in 5-7 years. However this is all statistics so you or I may be anywhere on that scale. www.malecare.com has an excellent discussion of grading and risk patterns. I also found an excellent study on nutrition and prostate cancer at ProstateCancerFoundation.org. They strongly recommend cooked tomatoes. "Lycopene, a naturally occurring chemical found mostly in tomatoes, but also in watermelons, pink grapefruits, guava, and papaya, has long been touted as one of the most “prostate healthy” compounds available. Why? Among other things, lycopene acts as a powerful antioxidant and helps protect the body against cancer. During normal cellular processes, extra oxygen atoms, or free radicals, are often produced and are used by the body to destroy foreign invaders like bacteria. However, Eating at least two servings a week of tomato sauce can significantly decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer " They go on to say that Lycopene from tomatoes retards aggressive cancer. Have you heard anything about Viagra therapy increasing blood supply to the affected areas? How about KY + Novacaine cream for catheter irritation?

mudock

jhenry i dont know if you have been on the yana prostate survivors page.Maybe you could get some additional information there. Doesnt hurt to ask Mudock from pa

jhenrymaine

RichardRS said:

Hi: I have just been diagnosed, PSA 6.2, Gleason 3+4 Right Lobe. Recommendation: Robotic Surgery. Thanks for your history. My understanding is that monitoring PSA post surgery is critical. For any Gleason above 6, there is a strong likelihood of reoccurance in 5-7 years. However this is all statistics so you or I may be anywhere on that scale. www.malecare.com has an excellent discussion of grading and risk patterns. I also found an excellent study on nutrition and prostate cancer at ProstateCancerFoundation.org. They strongly recommend cooked tomatoes. "Lycopene, a naturally occurring chemical found mostly in tomatoes, but also in watermelons, pink grapefruits, guava, and papaya, has long been touted as one of the most “prostate healthy” compounds available. Why? Among other things, lycopene acts as a powerful antioxidant and helps protect the body against cancer. During normal cellular processes, extra oxygen atoms, or free radicals, are often produced and are used by the body to destroy foreign invaders like bacteria. However, Eating at least two servings a week of tomato sauce can significantly decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer " They go on to say that Lycopene from tomatoes retards aggressive cancer. Have you heard anything about Viagra therapy increasing blood supply to the affected areas? How about KY + Novacaine cream for catheter irritation?

Thanks, RichardRS, for the info. Wish I knew about KY and Novacaine cream ten days ago! Catheter comes out tomorrow (doc was delayed a day due to family emergency). Spoke to a family friend who is a radiologic oncologist and he concurred that PSA monitoring is key. The Gleason score of 9 is VERY surprising to him, but it' still all organ-confined tumors are small. My oncologist friend said I might expect recurrence (he called it "persistence") and may need hormonal therapy for a few months, then conformal external radiation IF (and that's only IF) the PSA rises in the months ahead. I pray that doesn't happen. But I'll be very proactive if I need to be. I will continue to eat lots of cooked tomoatoes and drink 8 ozs. of pure pomegranate juice daily (UCLA study currently assessing pomegranate). I'll be back to regular exercise soon as well. I'll do all I can to stop those free radicals and any remaining cancer cells IF there are any. I'll see what my urologist says tomorrow (I've studied the pathology report completely). By the way, I never heard of Viagra therapy to increase blood flow to the affected area -- where did you read that? Doc and I will be discussing Viagra therapy for "penile rehabilitation."

RichardRS

jhenrymaine said:

Thanks, RichardRS, for the info. Wish I knew about KY and Novacaine cream ten days ago! Catheter comes out tomorrow (doc was delayed a day due to family emergency). Spoke to a family friend who is a radiologic oncologist and he concurred that PSA monitoring is key. The Gleason score of 9 is VERY surprising to him, but it' still all organ-confined tumors are small. My oncologist friend said I might expect recurrence (he called it "persistence") and may need hormonal therapy for a few months, then conformal external radiation IF (and that's only IF) the PSA rises in the months ahead. I pray that doesn't happen. But I'll be very proactive if I need to be. I will continue to eat lots of cooked tomoatoes and drink 8 ozs. of pure pomegranate juice daily (UCLA study currently assessing pomegranate). I'll be back to regular exercise soon as well. I'll do all I can to stop those free radicals and any remaining cancer cells IF there are any. I'll see what my urologist says tomorrow (I've studied the pathology report completely). By the way, I never heard of Viagra therapy to increase blood flow to the affected area -- where did you read that? Doc and I will be discussing Viagra therapy for "penile rehabilitation."

I heard about Viagra Therapy to promote healing (insurance pays for it) from a man in New York who is part of a study being done by New York University Medical Center. When I raised this topic with my surgeon, his office said he also recommends Viagra Therapy. I see him today and will enquire further and let you know.