I'm New Hubby just been diagnosed /looking for best treatment

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  • Evagirl
    Evagirl Member Posts: 60
    #22
    erisian said:

    Don't Rush
    I'll second that advice. It's hard to do, because you feel that it needs to be treated NOW, but given DH's age and history, his PCa is probably slow-growing. And you say that his PSA has been high "forever". What are the numbers and dates of the last two or three?

    The absolute number of the PSA is not as important an indicator of prognosis as the PSA doubling time, which is to say the direction and rate of change. If the PSA doubling time is long, then the cancer is not aggressive. I have an aggressive case, and I have had a PSADT of less than 90 days at times. A PSADT of 12 months or more is considered slow, as I recall.

    The less aggressive the cancer is, the less aggressive the treatment should be. I don't mean to add to your confusion, but this is something you should know about:

    http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/winter09/html/disc_overdiagnosed.php

    the overdiagnosed article

    erisian

    I read the article....

    yeah if we had a crystal ball to find out which of the less aggressive
    C would be confined to the prostate and not cause death, then wouldnt
    that be great...just makes me think that to take our time and not rush
    is of much importance~

    thanks~~~
  • Evagirl
    Evagirl Member Posts: 60
    #23
    lewvino said:

    Evagirl,
    Yes I considered
    Evagirl,
    Yes I considered Proton. Actually it was my first Choice. My dad was treated with Proton for his prostate Cancer in 1997 at Loma Linda and is doingwell today 12 years later.
    Mine was a borderline case with Gleason 7 where they would mix Proton and radiation. My insurance denied treatment with Proton so i would have had to pay out of Pocket. I could not justify in my mind paying out of pocket plus after much prayer, etc I strongly felt that I was being led to Robotic Surgery with Dr. Smith at Vanderbilt in Nashville Tn.

    If you consider Proton there are about 6 centers in the USA now that offer Proton. As stated my first choice was Loma Linda since they have the most experience with Proton plus 7 or so weeks of treatment in Southern California is a nice area! LOL. Also my wifes brother works at Loma Linda so I had even arranged to stay with him duing treatments.

    If you or you husband ever want to talk via phone or private email just let me know.

    Larry

    thank you Larry...that is so
    thank you Larry...that is so nice of you ...we know where to find you :-)

    about the Proton...I did read where , some were experiencing incidents of
    bladder c. after the proton treatment~~ whats up w/that??
    But your dad is doing well after 12 years... impressive~

    so you had a gleason of 7 ...sounds comparable to my DH...I talked to a
    thera-seeds nurse and she told me w/ my DH case that they may alternate a short
    round of beam radiation with the seed treatment and we are going to see a dr at
    University hospital in missouri ( we live in central missouri) his name is Steve Westgate He is a theraseed specialist.. from what I understand...

    I will tell my hubby what you said about contact....stay tuned~~~
    Like you we are praying every day for Gods guideance...So important.
  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #24
    Evagirl said:

    Hi Hopeful

    Hopeful

    I am not sure about the scores..yet...all I got from our urologist was that
    the 12 plugs from the biopsy showed 6 negatives on the right side and 6 positives
    on the left side...on the gleason score ...they were 2@6 and 4@7 he said they graded on a 5 to 10 scale, so he put him in the medium range (whatever that means)
    they did do a bone scan and it was clear...fine....

    sounds like your scores are low and very early stage...
    so have you decided to do anything or just watch ???

    Hi Again
    I was diagnosed one year ago.........and am doing active surveillance or (watchful waiting)whcih is considered a treatment option. I am closely being monitored.......I listed the diagnosis tests that I took..it may be helpful to others.

    It is a very good idea to get a copy of your biopsy results , and any other tests such as psa , etc, so you have it available.........and can bring the information to other doctors, research your disease, and communicate effectively on this site, support groups or any place else that you wish........as for the the most part , we are educated non medical professionals........so it is hard enough for us to make comments with complete information.........and extremely difficult to give good advice with limited information.

    Ira

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