Second Biopsy

JimmieJoe

Received a call from my urologist concerning the second biopsy (6 weeks apart). He said everything is the same, no cancer in any other cores. Still shows low grade cancer in one core. I haven't received the biopsy report, but will know more when I do. Active Surveillance is what he is recommending and return in 6 months.

Kongo

Good Advice
I think your doctor is giving you excellent advice.

hopeful and optimistic

don't forget to get a second opinion
on the slides, and use this time to do research about active surveillance

MCinNC

Sounds familiar
Hey JJ. For comparison's sake, I was diagnosed last year, age 56, with a small % of one out of 12 cores showing positive. PSA then was 2.3, but had been rising to 2.8 earlier. No other symptoms. T1c. After a couple of months of reading and researching everything I could find, and visiting a bunch of drs, I arrived at "active surveillance" as my chosen strategy also. I'll have quarterly PSAs, an annual biopsy, etc. and will re-evaluate the situation if there is cause to do so.

However, as long as my condition appears to be a slow developing one, I am comfortable with delaying treatment, and the possible side effects of treatment, indefinitely. After a lot of effort, I finally found a surgeon with whom I am very comfortable with who is ready to treat if the need arises. And, as more information becomes available on other possible treatment options during this delay, I will certainly take a look at them. For me, CyberKnife was also an interesting option and gaining more data as to its results for PC over time is something I'm interested in too. In choosing AS I had to gain some confidence that the monitoring regimen would be reliable. Evaluating how much risk there is to you in your situation is difficult to figure. Nothing is guaranteed. Delaying treatment while retaining effective "curative" treatment options is the goal I adopted.

The path I took to reach my decision was a convoluted and unpredictable one, but when I finally got there it made sense to me. Its a highly individualized process and decision though, so I would encourage you to keep working on it, gathering information as much as you can, talking to as many doctors as is needed, until YOU are satisfied with your decision. Unfortunately, you're as much of an expert on your situation as all the doctors you will meet, because you're situation and and your life is unique. So don't be bashful about taking charge of the process. You definitely need the knowledge and skill of the experts about treatment options, etc., but you and your loved ones are the ones that live with the results. The ultimate decision you make about treatment, using all the expertise available to you, is one that only you can make.

Best of luck to you.

Mac

hopeful and optimistic

MCinNC said:

Sounds familiar
Hey JJ. For comparison's sake, I was diagnosed last year, age 56, with a small % of one out of 12 cores showing positive. PSA then was 2.3, but had been rising to 2.8 earlier. No other symptoms. T1c. After a couple of months of reading and researching everything I could find, and visiting a bunch of drs, I arrived at "active surveillance" as my chosen strategy also. I'll have quarterly PSAs, an annual biopsy, etc. and will re-evaluate the situation if there is cause to do so.

However, as long as my condition appears to be a slow developing one, I am comfortable with delaying treatment, and the possible side effects of treatment, indefinitely. After a lot of effort, I finally found a surgeon with whom I am very comfortable with who is ready to treat if the need arises. And, as more information becomes available on other possible treatment options during this delay, I will certainly take a look at them. For me, CyberKnife was also an interesting option and gaining more data as to its results for PC over time is something I'm interested in too. In choosing AS I had to gain some confidence that the monitoring regimen would be reliable. Evaluating how much risk there is to you in your situation is difficult to figure. Nothing is guaranteed. Delaying treatment while retaining effective "curative" treatment options is the goal I adopted.

The path I took to reach my decision was a convoluted and unpredictable one, but when I finally got there it made sense to me. Its a highly individualized process and decision though, so I would encourage you to keep working on it, gathering information as much as you can, talking to as many doctors as is needed, until YOU are satisfied with your decision. Unfortunately, you're as much of an expert on your situation as all the doctors you will meet, because you're situation and and your life is unique. So don't be bashful about taking charge of the process. You definitely need the knowledge and skill of the experts about treatment options, etc., but you and your loved ones are the ones that live with the results. The ultimate decision you make about treatment, using all the expertise available to you, is one that only you can make.

Best of luck to you.

Mac

Treatment options

Mac,as a 68 year old, my viewpoint toward AS is the same as yours.........and I am also inclined toward Robotic Surgery, CyberKnife, as well as Temporary Seeds in the event that my cancer spreads or becomes more aggressive....I would like to decide which of these three active treatments is best so I can quickly take action at that time.....frankly at this point, I don't know what is the best option of the three.....I'm having a problem deciding, so I am starting a new thread for discussion.....

MCinNC

hopeful and optimistic said:

Treatment options

Mac,as a 68 year old, my viewpoint toward AS is the same as yours.........and I am also inclined toward Robotic Surgery, CyberKnife, as well as Temporary Seeds in the event that my cancer spreads or becomes more aggressive....I would like to decide which of these three active treatments is best so I can quickly take action at that time.....frankly at this point, I don't know what is the best option of the three.....I'm having a problem deciding, so I am starting a new thread for discussion.....

tough choices
Hopeful, I completely understand the dilemma. I actually don't feel the need to make a final decision right now, because by the time I actually have the treatment there may be more information available then about one or more options that may change my decision. I just try to stay generally informed and keep an open mind about it at this stage.

Mac

hopeful and optimistic

MCinNC said:

tough choices
Hopeful, I completely understand the dilemma. I actually don't feel the need to make a final decision right now, because by the time I actually have the treatment there may be more information available then about one or more options that may change my decision. I just try to stay generally informed and keep an open mind about it at this stage.

Mac

Mac
I developed knowledge about various aspects of the disease as it has come to me, but I realize that I have not used this information to focus -- on determining the optimun treatment, if there is such an animal ..., when I am not able to do active surveillance....say if the there is a 3+4=7 gleason which can happen at any biopsy...(my doc wants to do one in this summer).

I want to be somewhat comfortable with a choice based on current information.....just in case...to be prepared

Ira

JimmieJoe

Kongo said:

Good Advice
I think your doctor is giving you excellent advice.

Second biopsy
Thanks. I hope he knows what he is doing and won't let it get out of hand before interveining. I am concerned about the high grade PIN, but he doesn't seem to make much of it.