Disgusted and a bit pissed

Cancer growth

Hi Steve,

 When my PSA got to around 4.5 and my Internal Medicine doc told me to go see a Urologist and subsequently a Oncologist, the Onco guy told me that probably I had cancer for around ten years.  Starts out very slow growing I guess but my Int. medicine got me to the right people at the right time.  My doc was doing PSA’s every six months until I got up in the 4.5+ range.  But hopefully we got it taken care of with my Robotic RP but Im still a nervous reck every year for my wellness check until I get the PSA number.  Don’t look back man, start looking forward with hopefully good future reports. Hopefully the worst is behind you and you will have a brighter future.  We never know when we will meet the grim reaper via cancer, a Mac truck, or a jealous husband(LOL).  I always try and live for the future because I can’t change the past so why dwell on it.  Just my 2c worth.

Dave 3+4

Steve1961 said:

I know

it’s tough ..being kinda a hypochondriac I can’t believe I didn’t research this more I guess I fell for this dr thinking he was real good 

Common, Steve

Steve, many doctors today minimize the importance of PSA, partly due to the pressures from insurance companies.  Many primary care guys no longer even order routine PSA checks, so your doc is not necessarily outside the mainstream.  The same thing has been going on with mammograms for years, and it is mostly because of insurance carriers.

When my PSA hit 4.1 my family doctor said "ignore it, it means nothing." This was despite the fact that it had been on a steady, linear increase for a few years.   I went and made an appointment with a urologist, and she recommended an immediate biopsy, which I had done a few days later.  It came back Stage II PSA.

I approach health care as a logic problem, as in:

" Result x may or may not be significant; professional opinions differ.  Which is more likely to address underlying problems:  Acting as if it is indeed a problem, or ignoring it?"

Many here will tell a guy that "a PSA of 10 may be because you had sex or rode a bike; proves nothing."    Whereas the liklihood of behavior sending a PSA that high is profoundly less likely to be the cause than prostate cancer.    I say, don't assume what might be, verify instead.  This is not paranoia, it is due diligence.

Obviously, acting as if it is possibly a problem is more likely to catch diseases early-on.  I know that people must avoid neurosis and hysteria.   But the conclusion to be vigilant remains sound and valid.