Prostrate cancer.
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Notes on Prostrate cancer.
anthony70342 william67671
Posted
Your doctor should be explaining this to you. But in my husband's case, his urologist told him that prostate cancer is one of the slowest growing cancers. Of course this is NOT what I wanted to hear because I knew my husband would drag his heels which as it turns out he did. My husband did wait too long and he was a Stage 4 by the time he started getting radiation & chemo which he had done @ the CTCA of Phoenix late last year and to date, he is cancer FREE! That's good but the "C-word" is very scary. Keep the faith and seriously ask your doctor to explain it all to you. Godspeed!
william67671 anthony70342
Posted
DoubleDee william67671
Posted
William67671,
?I've been on this forum for a couple of years now and the reply's vary greatly. My story is different from the rest and I'll share with you a bit of the story.
?Never had the first symptom, PSA had gone to 4.0 and the urologist wanted to do a biopsy and I resisted. Digital exam were always normal.
?Two years later I cut my finger and had stitches put in and scheduled an appointment with my GP to have them removed...took them out myself but kept my appointment. As my PSA was on the high side my last checkup he conducted another digital exam and found a hard lump this time...PSA came back 6.8.
?Urologist conducted a biopsy and pathology came back 20% cancer and a very aggressive type. Both passive watching and ADT (only) treatments were not viable so we scheduled robotic prostatectomy surgery 3 months out as we already had tickets and plans for a Europe vacation. After the surgery pathology came back T3b, 3+4=7 Gleason, N0, M0. The T3b means the cancer was found in the inking and most likely the cancer had gotten out past the encapsulation. T3b is considered high risk treatment, Gleason of 3+4=7 is considered intermediate risk. Just to be clear, there were no cancer cells found in the Vas deffern's, or other adjacent glands.
?After the surgery I regained full continence in just a few weeks (worked hard at my kegel exercises) but my PSA was .1 so they new I still had a few lingering cancer cells at the margin. They conducted further treatment with two shots of Firmagon and a big shot of Lupron (ADT) which lasted 6 months, and 39 EBRT treatments. The last two PSA checks were 0 and my testosterone levels are coming back and my PSA is still 0.
?A big help in understanding the doctors recommendation was a document referred to me by the head of the cancer department. You can find the patient site here: http://www.nccn.org/patients
?I also have the document for recommended treatment by physicians written by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) with a panel of the top cancer doctors in the nation. It contains a whole lot of information that was helpful to me in understanding my diagnosis as I had both a high risk and intermediate diagnosis for treatment.
?I agree not to worry, but after your biopsy study the results, refer to the documents I listed as they will help you make the best decision you can.
?As my cancer was aggressive, I wanted it out. At 65 years old I plan to live another 20 years and did not want to have to deal with prostate cancer again. Best of luck...
Pepasan DoubleDee
Posted
THE NCCN LINK IN YOUR REPLY DIDN'T WORK FOR ME, BUT I SEARCHE NCCN PATIENT
The NCCN link in your reply didn't work for me, but I searched NCCN patient then selected Prostate Cancer in their list and got the documant.
Maybe this link will work:
http://www.jnccn.org/content/suppl/2016/01/04/14.1.19.DC1/0019.pdf
william67671 DoubleDee
Posted
rich22 william67671
Posted
"worried sick" is exactly that - you make yourself sick worrying. don't do that, Will -- nothing in this world is ever settled one way or the other. the only constant is change itself.
"aggressive" is a buzz word, designed to scare the living crap out of you. yes, some PCa metastasizes faster than others but most are SLOW, brother. The biopsy will clarify things but it's no fun; make sure you get one that is at least ultrasound image-guided (TRUS). if you want better, but not covered by Medicare, get an MRI-guided one. Dr. Karamanian in Houston is excellent, paid $2,500 with a consult and follow-up, SEs (side effects) minimal, temporary.
Get the biopsy, get your Gleason score and take it from there. I recommend joining a dozen blogs, Inspire, HealthUnlocked, etc. FB has a great selection, but i validate everything through the NIH.NCI abstracts of scientific, clinical studies (PubMed). You must educate yourself, brother.
all that said... you're just starting out, so you really need to know the basics:
Rule #1, - DO YOUR HOMEWORK! consult "Dr. Google" often, whenever you don't understand something, especially the freakin abbreviations!! for instance, RT. -- google RT medical -- add the word medical after each abbreviation.
Rule #2, record every doctor consult on your cell phone. if the doctor objects - FIRE HIM. you need another doctor, period. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Rule #3, YOU'RE NOT ALONE. you've been inducted into Warriors Against Prostate Cancer. no, there's no such organized group, but our numbers are legion.
Rule #4, oh fer petesake, there are no rules. just try to take one day at a time.
william67671 rich22
Posted
THANK you my friend for your reply. I'm getting g stronger now and beginning to settle down. It is what it is and I'll get on with it. God bless.
rich22 william67671
Posted
if google fails to provide correct meaning of abbreviations, try this: https://prostatecancerinfolink.net/tips-tools/abbreviations/
thoughts and prayers for all of us. hang in there, more fun and games await you. keep up your spirits, remember to enjoy other aspects of your life - try not to obsess over this - easy to do, brother but so unproductive.