My journey with prostrate cancer.

I found this forum during my search for more and more info on prostrate cancer. I hope this story will help someone else the way stories have helped me. Mine began last october, with a company health screen, which we do every year. My PSA jumped from 3.91 in 2007 to 5.71 in 2008. Yes, hind sight is twenty twenty, I should have went in 07 for more tests, but my regular doctor said not to worry, we would look at it when it hit 10 to 12. So much for a doctors advice. As every one finds, every doctor has a different opinion on the value of a PSA test. Anyways, pulled a 12 core biopsy at the end of October, and got the results back first week of November, with 3 cores showing cancer, one of those a little more aggressive than the other two. Went down to MD Anderson in Houston for consultations in December 08, which turned out to be the best thing I think I could have done. My brain was scrambled enough as it was, and it seemed that there is no definite set of actions to follow. I have read of so many guys getting the run around across the country, so that was what I expected when I went to Houston. They turned out to be the most helpful people I have ever dealt with when it comes to health care. You would think you were the only patient in the place. They took the time to explain the answers to all my questions, and did not try to push me in any direction. They laid out my options for treatment, and what they recomended, but told me the decision was mine, and to let them know what I wanted to do. I decided to go with the DaVinci robotics, and they scheduled my surgery for the 21st of January 09. The surgery went well, with for me a surprisingly small amount of pain. I left the hospital the next day, stayed in Houston for a couple of more days, just in case of any complications. I flew out of Houston on Sunday, and returned home. I think it boils down to what I have seen several guys state, just look for and find a doctor who you feel confidence in, who has performed the proceedure you decide to do many, many times, and a hospital you are comfortable with. If it had not been for the health screen that my company does yearly, I would have not known about my cancer until it probably was too late to do anything about, as I had no symptoms. If this makes one more guy get checked, it is all worth it. Take care, and keep writing in, because I do believe it helps to read how other guys have went thru this, and how it turns out in the end. Thanks for the time and space to post this.