6 Week PSA----YES!!!

ejn
ejn Member Posts: 64
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
Just got my first PSA results back post op and it is undetectable. The nurse called me so I did not ask for the exact number but I know what the answer would have been. I'm very happy and relieved. Now I just need to find the hyperlink to download the application for the Zero Club. I hope it will be ok to pay the initiation fees and dues with a post dated check.
Ed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age 53
Pre OP PSA: 1/2008=5.9, 2/2010=6.0 (free=9%)
Biopsy, 4/10/2010 This was my 2nd Biopsy. The Uro put me out and took 36 samples. 3 samples positive 1%, 2%, 2% no evidence of perineural invasion. T1c

Dx April 2010
Gleason: 3+3=6
CT Scan: Neg
DaVinci: 8/11/10, Dr David Bryan, SSM DePaul-St Louis
Post Op Path:
Gleason 3+3=6
Tumor involves left lobe only
Tumor constitutes less than 5% of gland volume
No vascular or neural invasion detected
No capsular invasion detected
Distal urethral margin of resection free of tumor
Proximinal urethral margin of resection free of tumor
Radial margin of resection free of tumor
Seminal vesicles uninvolved by carcinoma
TM stage T2a (unilateral less than 1/2 of one side), NX, MX
ALL Margins uninvolved
Extra Prosatic extension: Absent

Comments

  • Kongo
    Kongo Member Posts: 1,166 Member
    Congratulations
    Ed, that is great news. I hope the good numbers continue to stack up for you.
  • lewvino
    lewvino Member Posts: 1,010 Member
    Welcome to the 0 club. It
    Welcome to the 0 club. It feels great doesn't it?

    Larry
  • chitown
    chitown Member Posts: 90 Member
    Good news Ed
    Looking at your stats you must have been told the lifetime recurrence is less than 3%. All the best. Rest easy now!
  • CharlieG
    CharlieG Member Posts: 67
    chitown said:

    Good news Ed
    Looking at your stats you must have been told the lifetime recurrence is less than 3%. All the best. Rest easy now!

    Great news, Ed
    I am about 1 month behind you. Still just 3 weeks out...

    I get my blood drawn at the end of this month and see the Dr for a follow up on 11/10.

    Hope I can follow in your footsteps!
  • griff 1
    griff 1 Member Posts: 114
    ed
    that is great i had to wait for the 3 month test and got it today and zero. great huh? for some reason my dr. does not do a 6 week test he says its to early for a good reading. i hope you are doing good. griff
  • ejn
    ejn Member Posts: 64
    griff 1 said:

    ed
    that is great i had to wait for the 3 month test and got it today and zero. great huh? for some reason my dr. does not do a 6 week test he says its to early for a good reading. i hope you are doing good. griff

    Thanks everyone, I am doing
    Thanks everyone, I am doing great. Been camping and fishing, remodeling basement and tomorrow I am getting back on my dirt bike. Life is good.

    Ed
  • jminnj
    jminnj Member Posts: 129 Member
    ejn said:

    Thanks everyone, I am doing
    Thanks everyone, I am doing great. Been camping and fishing, remodeling basement and tomorrow I am getting back on my dirt bike. Life is good.

    Ed

    Congrats
    Congratulations!!! This is great news!! Wishing you all the best on your journey
    Joe
  • JR1949
    JR1949 Member Posts: 230
    ejn said:

    Thanks everyone, I am doing
    Thanks everyone, I am doing great. Been camping and fishing, remodeling basement and tomorrow I am getting back on my dirt bike. Life is good.

    Ed

    Congratulations Ed
    Congratulations Ed on zero PSA. You are now an official member of the Zero club.
    May you continue to be a member.
    JR
  • griff 1
    griff 1 Member Posts: 114
    CharlieG said:

    Great news, Ed
    I am about 1 month behind you. Still just 3 weeks out...

    I get my blood drawn at the end of this month and see the Dr for a follow up on 11/10.

    Hope I can follow in your footsteps!

    charlie
    so what did they say about your blood test or is it to early. i hope the big fat zero for ya. griff
  • CharlieG
    CharlieG Member Posts: 67
    griff 1 said:

    charlie
    so what did they say about your blood test or is it to early. i hope the big fat zero for ya. griff

    No word yet
    I am not sure if they will call me or wait until my appt on 11/10. I presume that I would get a call if it were bad news? One might think the other way around wold be better...
  • Kongo
    Kongo Member Posts: 1,166 Member
    CharlieG said:

    No word yet
    I am not sure if they will call me or wait until my appt on 11/10. I presume that I would get a call if it were bad news? One might think the other way around wold be better...

    Charlie
    Sheesh, Charlie, give THEM a call. They work for you. Why put yourself through all this uncertainty? Just call the nurse and say, "hey, what was my PSA reading???" I sometimes think medical staff forget how important any little tidbit of information is to us and they may think "no news is good news" but we know better. We want the news NOW.
  • lewvino
    lewvino Member Posts: 1,010 Member
    Kongo said:

    Charlie
    Sheesh, Charlie, give THEM a call. They work for you. Why put yourself through all this uncertainty? Just call the nurse and say, "hey, what was my PSA reading???" I sometimes think medical staff forget how important any little tidbit of information is to us and they may think "no news is good news" but we know better. We want the news NOW.

    The only problem with
    The only problem with calling is they can read the test to you wrong. It happened to me about 4 months ago. When I mentioned this to my Doc he said that is why we don't like you calling in. Nurses and Doctors can make mistakes!

    THe mistake they made for me was she didn't tell me the less then sign....She said Oh your PSA is .1 when it was actually <.1

    Larry
  • Kongo
    Kongo Member Posts: 1,166 Member
    lewvino said:

    The only problem with
    The only problem with calling is they can read the test to you wrong. It happened to me about 4 months ago. When I mentioned this to my Doc he said that is why we don't like you calling in. Nurses and Doctors can make mistakes!

    THe mistake they made for me was she didn't tell me the less then sign....She said Oh your PSA is .1 when it was actually <.1

    Larry</p>

    Thought of you
    You know, Larry, I thought of you when I responded to Charley's post and all the agonizing you must have gone through when you were given misinformation. Now, when I call in I make the nurse be very explicit when she reads me the numbers and then I read them back to her and question whether I got it right. But you know, at the end of the day these guys work for us and we shouldn't have to be worrying about whether or not the nurse can't read a standard lab report or not. If we call, they should give us the right numbers and we shouldn't have to be filled with anxiety about wondering whether they are going to call or not. It's not like its a job interview or anything.
  • lewvino
    lewvino Member Posts: 1,010 Member
    Kongo said:

    Thought of you
    You know, Larry, I thought of you when I responded to Charley's post and all the agonizing you must have gone through when you were given misinformation. Now, when I call in I make the nurse be very explicit when she reads me the numbers and then I read them back to her and question whether I got it right. But you know, at the end of the day these guys work for us and we shouldn't have to be worrying about whether or not the nurse can't read a standard lab report or not. If we call, they should give us the right numbers and we shouldn't have to be filled with anxiety about wondering whether they are going to call or not. It's not like its a job interview or anything.

    I agree with you Kongo.
    I agree with you Kongo. Unless one has had a cancer diagnosis I don't think they understand the anxiety we can go through wondering with each test as to what is next for us.

    On a different note....I had a small tumor removed from my neck this week. My wife is working on becoming a Surgical 1st assist. One of the doctor's she is studying under is the doctor that removed this small tumor. When I told him who I was he stated "Oh, you should have had your wife come in with you, she is really good and I would have let her remove the lump for you." My response was Doc, I don't want my wife anywhere near my throat holding a knife in her hand!

    Larry
  • Kongo
    Kongo Member Posts: 1,166 Member
    lewvino said:

    I agree with you Kongo.
    I agree with you Kongo. Unless one has had a cancer diagnosis I don't think they understand the anxiety we can go through wondering with each test as to what is next for us.

    On a different note....I had a small tumor removed from my neck this week. My wife is working on becoming a Surgical 1st assist. One of the doctor's she is studying under is the doctor that removed this small tumor. When I told him who I was he stated "Oh, you should have had your wife come in with you, she is really good and I would have let her remove the lump for you." My response was Doc, I don't want my wife anywhere near my throat holding a knife in her hand!

    Larry

    Funny Story
    Good story, Larry. Hope you enjoy a speedy recovery from your recent surgery.
  • mrspjd
    mrspjd Member Posts: 694 Member
    Kongo said:

    Charlie
    Sheesh, Charlie, give THEM a call. They work for you. Why put yourself through all this uncertainty? Just call the nurse and say, "hey, what was my PSA reading???" I sometimes think medical staff forget how important any little tidbit of information is to us and they may think "no news is good news" but we know better. We want the news NOW.

    also request they fax a copy of the labs to you that day
    Definitely call for test results (why wait for them to call?) AND at the same time, request that a copy of the actual printout of the lab results be faxed and/or mailed to you that day so that you can confirm the oral reading with the written result. Best case scenario, "waiting-for-test-results-anxiety" is relieved for the time being. Worst case scenario, doc may get on the phone; however, BEFORE you meet face to face with the doc, you have time to gather your thoughts, research your options, put your questions together and be better prepared to have an intelligent/informed discussion with your doc about what comes next.
  • CharlieG
    CharlieG Member Posts: 67
    CharlieG said:

    No word yet
    I am not sure if they will call me or wait until my appt on 11/10. I presume that I would get a call if it were bad news? One might think the other way around wold be better...

    Just got the results <0.1 Yeah!</b>
    6 weeks down and 39 years to go.
  • BRONX52
    BRONX52 Member Posts: 156
    CharlieG said:

    Just got the results <0.1 Yeah!</b>
    6 weeks down and 39 years to go.

    Charlie G
    Great news---here's wishing you a zero each and every time ! To an outsider, wishing you a zero must sound strange. But to a fellow pc brother it's music to the ears !! good luck and continued success----Dan