My grandpa, 81yrs- told has Prostate Cancer/ PSA of 25 from LAB Work / he's waiting for me to tell h

kesley
kesley Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
My grandpa, 81yrs- told has Prostate Cancer/ PSA of 25 from LAB Work / he's waiting for me to tell him what to do next. HELP!!!!

My grandpa has had Type 2 Diabetes for years now and does not watch it as well as he should. He does not get regular check ups either. He is scared to death of any diagnostic procedure and has procrastinated for years to have anything checked. He finally went to see a doctor because the extreme numbness in his feet and lower legs. The doctor did some blood work and the Lab results revealed the "High" PSA level of 25. This was 3mo's ago and he still has not made any appointments to have it further checked out. He just told me today actually. Can anyone confirm for me that this is a huge deal? Please if anyone has gone through this can you tell me your experience and opinion. I realize every case if completely different, but any first hand information you can offer will help me better assess this situation. I want to be informed to the best of my knowledge of the reality of this situation. Should I really push my grandpa to get a definite diagnosis, or at his age if he really is too scared to seek help should I back off and let him enjoy his remaining years peacefully not knowing the unknown. Any thoughts will be so appreciated. God Bless

Comments

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #2
    Hi
    Your grandfather has apparently made his own decisions about his health......I know that I would seek medical attention , but I'm me and he is he. Kesley, if you are a male I would have my Psa checked and get a digital rectal exam since prostate cancer can run in families.

    Ira
  • shane59
    shane59 Member Posts: 86
    #3
    hopeful and optimistic said:

    Hi
    Your grandfather has apparently made his own decisions about his health......I know that I would seek medical attention , but I'm me and he is he. Kesley, if you are a male I would have my Psa checked and get a digital rectal exam since prostate cancer can run in families.

    Ira

    To be honest
    well i have worked with many elderly men at his age there is not a lot options some docs give hormone injections that seem to help ,heck hes made it to 81 .Some people say at that age it may not be what kills him .All I can say is let him decide ,sorry i cant tell you anything you dont already know it all comes down to quality of life at his age .Best wishes and hope all goes well Shane59. ps as also stated if its in the family get all the men checked for there own peace of mind your Grandad may have saved his family
  • Kentr
    Kentr Member Posts: 111
    #4
    Kesley
    At his age, I think I'd leave things alone. As Hopeful noted, he's already made his decision by default. Without a baseline PSA reading there's no way of knowing how long his PSA has been elevated so it could be he's been in that range for YEARS. I'd be more concerned about his diabetes situation and the numbness in his feet and lower legs.

    Our thoughts and prayers are with you both.

    Kent
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 866 Member
    #5
    Your grandfather sounds like a wise man
    81 and still whistling …pretty good…the advise seem sound on this string right now…be more worried about his quality of life with diabetes and get yourself checked out for PC before you are 40 with a history in the family…best of luck
  • active surveillance
    active surveillance Member Posts: 16
    #6
    Hi Kesley
    Yes your last words inscribe the truth in what you MUST do... Let him live the joy of his remaining years without the nightmarish protocols of battling Prostate Cancer -- and for him there is no point anyway! I hope he is continent in these years.
    I am wide read in all of this crap including Diabetes 2, I wish I had never been forced into these arenas but "something will arrive in this life to carry us to the next". So find some Alpha-Lapoic acid tabs , at least 300 mg or more per day and see if his nerves feel better or symptoms decrease. He should take this his remainder of days.. Give him tons of pomegranite juice, green tea, aloe, and
    Lycopene , i.e. , lots of antioxidants for both maladys heretofore mentioned.
    My favorite less $$ supplements come from Swansons' on line .
    Take his mind and eye off the storm in favor of the joys of the gentle rain.
    Love and healing
  • tr008
    tr008 Member Posts: 9
    #7
    Grampa
    I think you are getting good advice from this forum. It takes someone who has had to make that decision to understand completely. At his age with his other problems I'd say that prostate cancer is NOT what he is going to die from. My father just died last summer at very nearly 99 yoa. He'd had high psa numbers for quite some time, going back to some 40 years ago when they didn't know what to do and frequently did nothing. He did not die of Prostate Cancer.

    Tom
  • Evagirl
    Evagirl Member Posts: 60
    #8
    Kelsey
    Kelsey


    My DH has had a high psa for years...

    and had 2 negative biopsy...was just recently diagnosed with Prostate C.
    medium to low grade...I believe very slow growing...

    a high psa is not a definate C. diagnosis, but could be...Only God Knows

    I feel your pain...Your wondering if you should push it or not...
    maybe talk to his dr. and find out how long he has had the high psa..
    Has he had any urinary trouble?


    I kind of concur with the above suggestions....Pray...give him good nutrition and
    if he has not major urinary problems...let him paddle on in life w/a smile on his
    face...if he knows the good Lord...then he only has heaven to gain...
    Boy wont it be wonderful to make enter , where there will be no pain or the big C!
  • erisian
    erisian Member Posts: 107
    #9
    Evagirl said:

    Kelsey
    Kelsey


    My DH has had a high psa for years...

    and had 2 negative biopsy...was just recently diagnosed with Prostate C.
    medium to low grade...I believe very slow growing...

    a high psa is not a definate C. diagnosis, but could be...Only God Knows

    I feel your pain...Your wondering if you should push it or not...
    maybe talk to his dr. and find out how long he has had the high psa..
    Has he had any urinary trouble?


    I kind of concur with the above suggestions....Pray...give him good nutrition and
    if he has not major urinary problems...let him paddle on in life w/a smile on his
    face...if he knows the good Lord...then he only has heaven to gain...
    Boy wont it be wonderful to make enter , where there will be no pain or the big C!

    If he wants to know
    It sounds like he doesn't, but if he does, then another PSA test would be enough to get an idea of the aggressiveness, or lack thereof, of the cancer. The high PSA number by itself is not enough, but another test now after the three months would show whether or not it is changing rapidly. If it isn't, then you (and he) can stop worrying about it. Chances are that it is not aggressive, because the older a man is at diagnosis, the more likely it is to be slow-growing.
  • socks
    socks Member Posts: 2
    #10
    2 do?, or not 2 do?
    Hey there. I have just finished with my prostate radiation. (38 treatments)every day except wknds. I hope this is the last of it. But if i was 81 i would not have had the surgery or the rads. If he's got good control of is continence don't even think of any kind of surgery or radiation. Just deal with his diabetes and let him enjoy the rest of his life however long that may be. My father had surgery @75yrs, wish he hadn't done it. i think it cut his good time down considerably, he was ok but not like before the surgery. Now, i know it would have been better just to do nothing. He died at 82. Oh by the way i am 62 now had the surgery at 61. For me it was the right thing to do. (i'm pretty sure.). Hey Ur good!
  • finbar
    finbar Member Posts: 26
    #11
    Grandpa
    I've Well,Kesley, I've read the replies you've received to your HELP.
    I guesss I'm the contrarian.
    Last year I was 83 and diagnosed with prostate cancer. In generally good
    health, I've had type 2 diabetes for some 20 years. My urologist informed
    that the cutoff date for surgery is the age of 74 and set up an appointment
    with a radiologist who spoke of radiation, of injections and the insertion
    of radioactive seeds. I asked about all the side effects and on hearing these
    I said to myself "no way, I'm getting a second opinion".
    I knew of the 10 year rule and I figured I had more to live and I wanted the
    damned thing o-u-t.
    I undertook robotic surgery and here a year later, I'm feeling terrific; my PSA
    is zero and my diabetes is under control.
    I remember the line in a fairly recent movie: 'either you get on living or you
    get on dying". I chose to live and live well and I'm 84 now.

    Of course, it's your granddad's choice.
  • randy_in_indy
    randy_in_indy Member Posts: 496 Member
    #12
    finbar said:

    Grandpa
    I've Well,Kesley, I've read the replies you've received to your HELP.
    I guesss I'm the contrarian.
    Last year I was 83 and diagnosed with prostate cancer. In generally good
    health, I've had type 2 diabetes for some 20 years. My urologist informed
    that the cutoff date for surgery is the age of 74 and set up an appointment
    with a radiologist who spoke of radiation, of injections and the insertion
    of radioactive seeds. I asked about all the side effects and on hearing these
    I said to myself "no way, I'm getting a second opinion".
    I knew of the 10 year rule and I figured I had more to live and I wanted the
    damned thing o-u-t.
    I undertook robotic surgery and here a year later, I'm feeling terrific; my PSA
    is zero and my diabetes is under control.
    I remember the line in a fairly recent movie: 'either you get on living or you
    get on dying". I chose to live and live well and I'm 84 now.

    Of course, it's your granddad's choice.

    Finbar
    You prove that each persons situation is just that...and anything or any way is really an option.....I feel it is really in how one approaches it with attitude...doing what you believe in usually seems the way to go.... but then again I hear and see storys of people who just seem to be very unlucky and have misfortune day after day. Congrats on your choice and outcome!

    Randy_in_indy
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 866 Member
    #13
    socks said:

    2 do?, or not 2 do?
    Hey there. I have just finished with my prostate radiation. (38 treatments)every day except wknds. I hope this is the last of it. But if i was 81 i would not have had the surgery or the rads. If he's got good control of is continence don't even think of any kind of surgery or radiation. Just deal with his diabetes and let him enjoy the rest of his life however long that may be. My father had surgery @75yrs, wish he hadn't done it. i think it cut his good time down considerably, he was ok but not like before the surgery. Now, i know it would have been better just to do nothing. He died at 82. Oh by the way i am 62 now had the surgery at 61. For me it was the right thing to do. (i'm pretty sure.). Hey Ur good!

    Socks
    How long was it from your surgery to radiation treatments? Thanks
  • JR1949
    JR1949 Member Posts: 230
    #14
    I agree
    Kesley,
    I agree with all of the comments in this forum. From my experience and what I have read in my research, I would suggest that your grandpa get another PSA and I would talk to his doctor about it. It is my understanding that at his age prostate cancer is not likely what will cause his death. Of course only grandpa and/or the family can make the final decision regarding treatment. I agree that you should definitely concentrate on treating the Type 2 diabetes. May God bless grandpa and show you the path to take.

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