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Active Surveillance after I have diagnosed with (small) prostate cancer.

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cocoroton
cocoroton

Hi everybody. New here. Last week I have found out after a prostate biopsy ,I have PROSTATIC ADENOCARCINOMA , GLESON SCORE 6 (3 +3) ,INVOLVING APPROXIMATELY 10% OF THE 16MM BIOPSY CORE.

​My doctor told me the best solution is an ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE meaning new PSA every 3 months ,and after one year a new biopsy.

​For the last three years my PSA went from 3.8 to 6.6 but I dont have ANY symptoms . For last two years my doctor recomanded CIPRO antibiotic which works ok for me ,always droping the PSA to around 4.2-4.4... Somehow on 11/2015 my PSA went up to 6.6 ( after I had sex) from previeus 5.5 one month earlier. I switched the doctor and my new one did straight a prostate biopsy with the result above.

​He told me: IT IS NOTHING TO DO FOR NOW. DONT WORRY, of course with the recomandetion of Active Surveillance.

I am 63 in good health and I AM WORRY.  It is canacer .

​I dont know how fast my prostate cancer will go .I have to wait to see. But what else I can do at this stage? I would appreciate any advise. Is this Active Surveillance a good solution ? Thank you.

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • david41094
    david41094 cocoroton

    Posted

    Your doctor is right. There are many who believe 3+3 should not be called 'cancer' because of all the negative feelings surrounded by this diagnosis. If you had only 10% from one core then that is a tiny amount of PCa - probably what you would expect to find in an average man of your age. Book yourself in for regular PSA tests and stop worrying about PCA - it is very unlikely to play a part in your life. All the best.
    • cocoroton
      cocoroton david41094

      Posted

      Thank You david41094. I have been reading a lot about PCa and in the last period of time and I believe this is the best solution for now. I will be here and I will keep you people informed about the evolution . As I said no  symptoms but I have family history of cancer.
  • Pepasan
    Pepasan cocoroton

    Posted

    Your cancer rating is very similar to mine and your PSA is slightly lower. I've been on Active Surveillance for years now and I recommend you go with the advice given to just keep it monitored. The stock phrase is many men die with prostate cancer but they don't die of it. The monitoring will check that you have a non-growing or slow-growing type. If your scores go up dramatically that will be the time the advice will probably change, but you could be as lucky as I have been, so right now there's no cause for alarm! Get some support from a real person (nurse? counsellor?) as well as this forum, if you have trouble managing the anxiety.
  • Attempt82
    Attempt82 cocoroton

    Posted

    Hi cocoroton,

    The active surveillance is the right thing to do, you can have false positive and false negative results, surgeons are men of action whereas an oncologist will be a bit less eager to go in!! That's what happened to me, I had a radical prostactomy with a long recovery, my PSA was 7.3 and when I saw the Oncologist after the surgery he said he wouldn't have recommended surgery instead he would have put me on active surveillance!!! The surgeon didn't do the wrong thing but he didn't do the right thing either.

    Good luck brother and try to be worry free

    • cocoroton
      cocoroton Attempt82

      Posted

      Thank you Attempt82.

       Well, I am going to do Active Surveillance until I will have a good reason to go to the next step of treatment. I have to watch my PSA and for sure any symptoms... I am looking at many other things as "Free PSA”, which came 23% (good), the size of the prostate which my doctor which performed Prostate Biopsy told me is 50 cc... I still do not believe the last PSA, 6.6, was "real". Why two days later it was 4.3 and four days later it was 4.9? Not even close of 6.6. I didn’t know having sex will increase the PSA.

      ​Anyway Prostate Biopsy is a standard procedure since 2015 here in the USA if the PSA is elevated. How much elevated I have no idea.

      ​I think to go to see an Oncologist for his opinion .

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