Coming to grips

Deadmansoon
Deadmansoon Member Posts: 43
in Prostate Cancer #1

Had radiography images done today, waiting on those results. I've heard they're are 3 things to consider. Psa level, gleason score, positive cores out of all cores taken. Well my prognosis doesn't look good. Psa in 40s, probably 50s now. 12 positive cores out of 12 at a 100%. All is gleason 9 score. For those who have asked, I had symptoms, start about 4 months ago, Ed, urinary issues, pain in testicles, and lower back pain. I'm 39 years old.

Comments

  • hunter49
    hunter49 Member Posts: 247 Member
    #2
    not true man.  YOu can do a

    not true man.  YOu can do a lot.  I had a friend get it at 38 PSA was in the 100's.  Had treatment brought down PSA had a good life.  Attitude man is everything this is not fun but far from the end.  Good luck.  BTW, I got the beast at 49.

  • GeneRose1
    GeneRose1 Member Posts: 64
    #3
    No. That's not right. Plenty

    No. That's not right. Plenty of guys live a long, long time with prostate cancer. If you have not already done so, get Dr. Patrick Walsh's "Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer". Just about every book store has it and if they're out of stock, you can order it.  Long story, short, there is initially the combination of surgery, radiation treatment, and hormone-blocking therapy that should get your PSA down to the 0.05 range which means the cancer is under control. When the PSA starts climbing again (hopefully a couple of years later) you should be aggressive and coordinate a range of tests with your oncologist to determine a new protocol of treatment to get it back under control. There's guys who have been doing precisely this for 15 or 20 years and there still out there going strong. You need to be part of the solution on this and not be afraid to switch Doctors. I had a urologist who's answer for everything was "see you in three months!" while my PSA was doubling in the same period. There are plenty of good oncologists out there who are up to speed on the latest treatments and have a sense of urgency to get this under control. Yes, it's disheartening at first, but you are coming along when there's a whole bunch of new treatments coming out that will help you keep in check. Good luck to you.

  • Will Doran
    Will Doran Member Posts: 207 Member
    #4
    Not True----------

    Not true at all.  As GeneRose & Hunter 49 stated.  There is much to be done.

    I had a PSA of 69 when diagnosed.  Gleason of 3+4=7.  I had no symptoms.  I did robotic surgery in Dec of 2013.  Post surgery pathology put me as a Stage 3--pT3bN1 with one lymph node invloved. I was treated as an aggresive Stage 4.   After surgery I had  two years of Lupron and 8 weeks of radiation as "clean up".  PSA went down to <0.010 and held there for 2 1/2 years.  My testosterone was down to 17. My PSA, post surgery went to .62 after one month, that at 6 months it was .057, and at 8 months post surgery and treatments it was at <0.010, where it stayed until 4 months ago.    As my Testosterone started to come back up to normal my PSA went to 0.034, and now that my testosterone is back up to 380 my PSA is at 0.145. I am now three years and three months post diagnosis. Appointment with oncologist on Friday,  Will make decision for the next 4 months.

    So as stated by others there is much to be done.  So don't back down.  Fight like Hell.  I admit, the side effects are hard to deal with at times, But It's better than the alternative.  This is a hard fight, I admit.  But Id' do it all over again.  I will do whatever is necessary to fight this beast. 

    Will

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