PSA Finally Under 1
Comments
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Awesome!Swingshiftworker said:Further Update
Just got my June 2015 PSA test result back -- 0.232 -- a drop of 0.087 from December 2014. So, the declining trend is still in force.
The next test will be in December 2015 which will mark my 5th year as a PCa "survivor" following my CK treatment in Sept 2010 based on the biopsy diagnosis in Jan 2010. If the PSA result comes in lower again then, I my RO says I can go back to annual (instead of bi-annual) PSA testing.
The 5th year of PCa survival is touted as a significant benchmark and some would say that I'm "cured" but, as we all know, there is always the possibility of the recurrence of any cancer. But my lower stage at time of diagnosis makes that less likely in my case, as it does for others like me. Here's hoping that that's true.
As before, no noticeable side effects from the CK treatment -- no ED or incontience issues. Still have some frequency and urgency urinary issues which were the original symptoms which prompted the biopsy that led to the PSA diagnosis over 5 years ago, which is being treated w/Flomax and oxybutynin. So not changes in that regard. But, otherwise, I'm living a normal and active life for a man who is about to turn 65 in October.
Good luck and best wishes to all of you who are also still struggling to defeat this disease!!!
Absolutely GREAT news. Congrats to you, and thank you for the wonderful presence you are to all on this board. Continued good health
CC
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Approaching a Nadir?
Just took another PSA test yesterday. Reading was .200 -- .032 lower than the last one on 6/2/2015. Since the plot is flattening, it looks like I am nearing a nadir.
A relatively recent report on the long term results of CK treatment yielded the following: "PSA levels fell to a median of 0.12 ng/ml at 5 years (and radiation dose had no impact on median PSA levels post-treatment)."
Stereotactic body radiotherapy for localized prostate ca...Radiat Oncol. 2013 May 13;8:118. doi: 10.1186/1748-717X-8-118.Preview by YahooAt 5 years/4 months following CK treatment, I'm a bit above the 0.12 median reported by Katz in 2013 but not by much. So, it looks like my results are pretty much on track. From the graphs in the report, it looks like I can expect a further lowering in the next year to 6 years out (the limit of the study) but the graph lacks sufficient definition to determine exactly what levels were reached by the study participants. It would be interesting to find out what the range of PSA levels were reach at 5 and 6 years out.
In any event, while my PSA level could go lower, I would not expect it to fall much more. So, I'm close to (if not already at) my personal nadir and I'm about as "cured" as any PCa patient can expect.
For those of you who are still considering or just recently received CK treatment, I would also like to note Katz's report on the likehihood of 5 yr recurrence was rated at 97% for low-risk (Gleason 6) and 91% for intermediate risk (Gleason 7) and Epic Quality of Life scores for the study group as a whole at almost 100% from "baseline" 5 years out with respect to urinary/bowel control and a generally declining sexual activity score of about 10% from baseline over 5 years.
It's not stated but this decline in sexual QOL may be due to increeased age independent of CK treatment, since the median age of patients looks to have been between 70-74 years old. So, CK may not be entirely to blame for this delcine.
I know from my personal experience w/CK that I have had absolutely NO reduction in urinary and rectal control and my sexual activity level has also declined a bit from age 60-65 but I attribute this entirely to age and not at all to CK. I am just thankful that it has not yet been lost for all time as it probably would have been following surgery.
In any event, I remain convinced that for those men who are diagnosed w/PCa at Gleason 6-7, CK is and remains the absolutely BEST possible treatment for your cancer. It trumps surgery by MILES and, although reported results are similar, it is still better than BT and IMRT/IGRT because of the easy of treatment and better quality of life results.
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poster man for SBRT
Great results..........you are the man..........a great example of success.
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Closing your PCa patient chapter
Swing
Two years ago I raised the term cure in our exchanged posts. This time the results are more convincing and certify the success. I wonder for your continuous participation in this forum. You could have "close the page" of your history as a PCa patient and just become a survivor and "go for good". I respect your wishes to continue posting, helping the many afflicted with the disease.
Congratulations.
VG
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Closing the ChapterVascodaGama said:Closing your PCa patient chapter
Swing
Two years ago I raised the term cure in our exchanged posts. This time the results are more convincing and certify the success. I wonder for your continuous participation in this forum. You could have "close the page" of your history as a PCa patient and just become a survivor and "go for good". I respect your wishes to continue posting, helping the many afflicted with the disease.
Congratulations.
VG
Congratulations on your successful outcome.
I echo Vasco's recommendation -> Please consider remaining with us in this forum from time to time to provide guidance and companionship to the existing PCa members, and to those who will inevitably be joining this forum in the future as new PCa members.
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Great reportSwingshiftworker said:Approaching a Nadir?
Just took another PSA test yesterday. Reading was .200 -- .032 lower than the last one on 6/2/2015. Since the plot is flattening, it looks like I am nearing a nadir.
A relatively recent report on the long term results of CK treatment yielded the following: "PSA levels fell to a median of 0.12 ng/ml at 5 years (and radiation dose had no impact on median PSA levels post-treatment)."
Stereotactic body radiotherapy for localized prostate ca...Radiat Oncol. 2013 May 13;8:118. doi: 10.1186/1748-717X-8-118.Preview by YahooAt 5 years/4 months following CK treatment, I'm a bit above the 0.12 median reported by Katz in 2013 but not by much. So, it looks like my results are pretty much on track. From the graphs in the report, it looks like I can expect a further lowering in the next year to 6 years out (the limit of the study) but the graph lacks sufficient definition to determine exactly what levels were reached by the study participants. It would be interesting to find out what the range of PSA levels were reach at 5 and 6 years out.
In any event, while my PSA level could go lower, I would not expect it to fall much more. So, I'm close to (if not already at) my personal nadir and I'm about as "cured" as any PCa patient can expect.
For those of you who are still considering or just recently received CK treatment, I would also like to note Katz's report on the likehihood of 5 yr recurrence was rated at 97% for low-risk (Gleason 6) and 91% for intermediate risk (Gleason 7) and Epic Quality of Life scores for the study group as a whole at almost 100% from "baseline" 5 years out with respect to urinary/bowel control and a generally declining sexual activity score of about 10% from baseline over 5 years.
It's not stated but this decline in sexual QOL may be due to increeased age independent of CK treatment, since the median age of patients looks to have been between 70-74 years old. So, CK may not be entirely to blame for this delcine.
I know from my personal experience w/CK that I have had absolutely NO reduction in urinary and rectal control and my sexual activity level has also declined a bit from age 60-65 but I attribute this entirely to age and not at all to CK. I am just thankful that it has not yet been lost for all time as it probably would have been following surgery.
In any event, I remain convinced that for those men who are diagnosed w/PCa at Gleason 6-7, CK is and remains the absolutely BEST possible treatment for your cancer. It trumps surgery by MILES and, although reported results are similar, it is still better than BT and IMRT/IGRT because of the easy of treatment and better quality of life results.
Must be a big relief; congratulations!
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No Plans to Drop out . . .
Thanks to all of those who have commented about my apparent "cure."
I have no intention of "droping out" of this forum and I will continue to post comments where I think I have something useful to say, as well as to continue to report on my status (good or bad) over time.
As I have in the past, I will continue to recommend CK as an alternative form of treatment, especially to those men who seem too quick to opt for surgery without sufficient knowledge of the risks associated with it and who may not be aware of CK and other alternative forms of treatment.
I believe that I've "informed" at least a few men about the alternative of CK, who chose it over surgery with positive results. That's reason enough for me to continue to be an advocate of CK over surgery for those who are eligible for it.
Best wishes to all!
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Under One results
Good news indeed.
The fact is to be celebrated. How about a trip to Europe to keep the moment unforgetful ?
CONGRATULATIONS.
Note: Regarding your trouble with the Scroliliac joint, I have been reading about the influence that the spine could have in our health if affected by the cancer. In other words, what symptoms could we have that would related to the affected bone. So far I have identified two parts that could be due to spread in my case. The L2 and the L5.
Here is an interesting graphical of the symptoms; http://www.chiroone.net/interactive-spineVG
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Another Zero
Another Zero, and another celebration.
What are you planning to do this time. Visit Europe and my corner or a trip to Antarctic?
Both are good for memories.
Congrats,
VG
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good news
I am happy for you and all those who can see that Pca does not necessarily mean and early demise. I m now at 40 months since diagnosis with multiiple wide spread matastases. Vasco mentions "under control". My Pca is under control, which means to me that it is not gone, but is not affecting me or my qaulity of life. So, a cure is not the only way out. Pca can simply go dormant and stay that way. There is always hope. love, swami rakendra
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All contribute gifts here....Rakendra said:good news
I am happy for you and all those who can see that Pca does not necessarily mean and early demise. I m now at 40 months since diagnosis with multiiple wide spread matastases. Vasco mentions "under control". My Pca is under control, which means to me that it is not gone, but is not affecting me or my qaulity of life. So, a cure is not the only way out. Pca can simply go dormant and stay that way. There is always hope. love, swami rakendra
Rakendra,
Many guys here share important and useful facts and medical information, and you do that as well.
But you also share PERSPECTIVE and truth -- rare things in our world.
max
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Just relief . . .VascodaGama said:Another Zero
Another Zero, and another celebration.
What are you planning to do this time. Visit Europe and my corner or a trip to Antarctic?
Both are good for memories.
Congrats,
VG
No celebration, Vasco. Just relief.
Haven't been doing much traveling lately. Actually haven't gotten on a plane for over 5 years. Not afraid -- just don't want to deal with the delays and hassles of "so called" airport security. I'd much rather drive or take a train/boat instead.
However, my GS and I have been talking about taking a trip to Paris or China. Not sure if it'll happen or not.
We'll see . . .
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I remember when you first
I remember when you first posted at the board, and you were very relieved to be part of the blue cross benefit plan, so you could be treated with SBRT, which was not available at Kaiser. UCSF is the best of the best. The ablility to switch plans came at the right time for you.
Good luck with your switch back to Kaiser
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Just another update . . .
So, I took my 1st "annual" PSA test since being treated w/CK back in Sept 2010 a bit early because it coincided w/a variety of other blood tests that I had to take before seeing my PCP in October. The result was 0.137 which was lower again than the .200 result in Jan 2016. So, the trend is continuing to decline 6 years after treatment.
I will probably take another PSA test in December which will be when my annual test for this year would have been actually due. That will be the last test I can take before I will have to switch from UCSF w/Blue Shield back to NorCal Kaiser because my retirement program has decided to drop Blue Shield as a health care provider for retirees because Blue Shield wanted to raise it's rates 10% for the coming year.
FWIW, I was a lifelong member of Kaiser before I decided to switch to UCSF in 2010 because of the lmitied PCa treatment options offered to me by Kaiser back then and I chose UCSF/Blue Shield specificially because that's the only way I could have received CK treatment. Turns out that switch was very fortunate, not only because of getting CK treatment, but also because I got 2 rotator cuff surgeries, a double hernia surgery and 2 spinal/hip steroid injections out of it. So, I got more than my money's worth out of Blue Shield and hopefully I won't need to call on Kaiser for anything as complex or difficult in the coming years.
The change over should take place in Jan 2017 and I'll have to find a new PCP at that time. I may try to hook up w/my old Kaiser PCP when that happens but more than likely her patient roster will be full and I'll have to choose another. We'll see . . .
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Good luck, indeed!hopeful and optimistic said:I remember when you first
I remember when you first posted at the board, and you were very relieved to be part of the blue cross benefit plan, so you could be treated with SBRT, which was not available at Kaiser. UCSF is the best of the best. The ablility to switch plans came at the right time for you.
Good luck with your switch back to Kaiser
It was indeed good luck that I was able to switch to UCSF from Kaiser and to get treated w/CK. There were a lot of things that could have happened to prevent it.
My diagnosis occured in Jan 2010. Did my research in Feb/Mar 2010. Open enrollment was in April 2010 and became effective in July 2010 and I was treated at UCSF in Sep 2010. If I didn't submit the "open enrollment" change in April 2010, I would have had to wait until April 2011 to do so. Might have opted for AS for a year if that happened, but fortunately it didn't happen that way.
Also, Blue Shield only changed its policy on CK/SBRT from "experimental" and (not covered) to "accepted practice" (and covered) in Oct 2009, only a few months before I was diagnosed. So, it was a very tight timeline. If it was still deemed "experimental" when I was diagnosed, I never would have made the switch to Blue Shield and would have had to choose between brachytherapy, surgery or AS under Kaiser or just pay UCSF for it out of pocket ($65k was the estimate). In that case, I probably would have stayed w/Kaiser and paid UCSF for CK out of pocket. So, the change in policy and switch to Blue Shield not only "cured" me but also saved me a lot of $$$
But everything lined up just right for me. Guess it was just meant to be and I'm certainly thankful that it turned out the way it did.
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Health Insurances and Peace of mindhopeful and optimistic said:I remember when you first
I remember when you first posted at the board, and you were very relieved to be part of the blue cross benefit plan, so you could be treated with SBRT, which was not available at Kaiser. UCSF is the best of the best. The ablility to switch plans came at the right time for you.
Good luck with your switch back to Kaiser
Your comments regarding the insurances just confirm how you were wise when got a membership, but not many believe and have followed the same steps.
We many times read those posts of guys commenting to be over 65 and fit but for what unbelievable reason it could be, they were stricken by PCa out of the blues. The fact is that we are aging inside without giving it much attention, and then find us in need of more detailed medical care. Insurances are the means for the many to feel peace of mind. However, these wouldn’t accept new members aged over the 65 or cover previously diagnosed illnesses. The insurances policies are expensive and lead many to reject them.
I think US citizens are better prepared to confront a positive diagnosis than Europeans. You care for insurance coverage as prevention so that you are set to get into one earlier in time.
Europeans do not care much. Their national health services providing security free of charge (which systems are so invidious by those whose country hasn’t got one), made them to behave sort of irresponsible. However, one should open their eyes to the negatives in the NHSs. These were created on the basis that it would be economically self-sustainable. Initially, fathers, sons and daughters would pay to get the benefits; then it become the sons, daughters and grandchildren; then they added the great grandchildren to make it sustainable but these could not pay into the fund so that they figure out a way to charge them by increasing the government debts. Now the bill is so high that even the fourth generation of the grandchildren, yet to be born, have been included. They will pay the system and the interests of the debt in years to come. When does the madness stop?
Here is an interesting story of an American who got treated at NHS UK;
http://www.businessinsider.com/an-american-uses-britains-nhs-2015-4
Best,
VG
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Congratulations
SSW,
Congratulations on your PSA test results. I pray those results will continue. As has been stated, Please stay with us. We all need to hear the sucess stories.
Peace and God Bless
Will
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psa still over 1
Hi Swing , posted awhile ago here but I had lost this thread , just found it again and am soooo glad to hear "the rest of the story"!
I'm still over 1 since June 2012 C/K - pre c/k 16 , post c/k low 5's , then 4's for 2 or 3 years , then 1.35 and recently 1.65 .
Called my C/K doctor - Dr. Katz himself! , he says he's seen longer lingering .
Your story encourages me , gonna get another test soon with my fingers crossed , but regardless am so happy for you!
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