Re: Husband diagnosed today with prostate cancer....

...and we're not sure we know what's next. We first saw our GP who gave us the bad news and then rushed us out of his office as he was running late. Our next appointment was with the urologist who stated simply, "You have cancer, my friend." I managed to write down a couple of things, but I'm not sure exactly what a Gleason score is. I've read about the numbers that people had from this here, but I'm still at a loss. For the record, his was 3+3=6, his PSA one month prior to the biopsy was 2.8, up from 2.4 in January of '09.

 

We were told that Hubby required a blood test prior to being able to schedule bone and CAT scans and from there a visit to an oncologist. I'm sure each of these should follow very quickly, but could some of you please share your 'wait time' between the diagnosis and your first visit to the oncologist?

Any help would be much appreciated as tonight we feel we are living in a nightmare.

afterglo, The good news is that a 3+3=6 Gleason is the good news. Least agressive. We need more info to help. You should create a signature with the info that you have. You can edit the info after the Dr visit. I got my call on my way home from work. Dr. said we found some cancer. Over the phone he told me that he would sdet me up for a bone scan and chest x-ray. After the results we would have a discussion about options.

You may want to read other newbe post to see what was done. Your man will have several options. After the Dr visit get second opinion and possibly third. It seems like forever waiting to meet with the Dr. Take a deep breath and be thankful tomorrow that the C was would iin the early stages. Outcome with 3+3 is usually very good.

If you have any other question or specific questions just ask. If you think too personal you can e-mail me.

Keep us informed.

Jeff T
Cajun Country

With a Gleason 6 and a PSA 2.8, where are they going to look with the CAT scans and what are they going to find?

My surgeon and my wife (my wife works for the surgeon) tell me that my PSA of 3.5 and GL of 3+4=7 the chances of finding anything outside of the prostate is remote. Even if cancer existed outside of the prostate, those numbers indicate it is so small that it is unlikely they could identify it.

What I've learned, and anybody here can throw in their $.02, is that the best predictor if what you have and how you are going to survive is pulling the prostate out and taking a look at it. I see my path report and put it against the charts and it looks like things might work out -- but I don't know. Nobody does.

So, your husband has a GL 6, which is on the more hopeful side of the club. He has a lot of options. I don't understand the need for CAT scans now.

OBB

First, Don't Panic. You have lots of options and wll no doubt research them all until you reach overload. Spend the time to look around and understand the numbers. I would gladly trade with you in a heartbeat. ;-)

As you can see from my signature, I needed to do something. The earlier the better. You are in a better position.
I had the biopsy and scheduled the surgery for 6 weeks later. The bone scans were duirng that interval. I met with an Onc as a "meet and greet" where we discussed my odds (Partin tables) about one week before the surgery. Reviewing those results was one of the most depressing experiences in my life. We set up a followup appointment for about 2 months after the surgery and agreed that I could cancel depending upon the results of my diagnostic PSA. It was 0.04 so I cancelled.

I am sure hubby feels fine now. Use the time you have to get him in shape and enjoy that vacation you have been putting off. It will never be easier than right now.
Good luck. You can be thankful you found it early.
Jeff

If possible, you should add a signature with your vital statistic. It really helps when you are looking for info. Mine is attached below so you can get an idea of what we include.

I think we all remember how you and your husband feel. Cancer is for the other person, not us. My doctor called me at home because I blew off a doctors appt after my biopsy. Wow. Well dear, I told my wife, I've got cancer.

And off to the races we went.

Time is not as critical with PC as it is with a heart attack or stroke. What is important is that you and your husband go to school and learn all about this disease. Then you have to learn the options, and all of the good and bad things about each option. Then you are ready to talk to doctors. Second and even third opinions are good things in this game.

After all the dust settles, you and your husband will have to make a decision you both agree you can live with, and then go for it, and never look back. You will hear guys on this forum talk about their decsion like it was the best one, but don't listen. What you decide is the beswt one for you.

Good luck. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to answer many questions in the coming weeks and months.

Goodlife

afterglo I found your post very upsetting.

You should not be feeling like you're living in a nightmare, or hardly even a bad dream. However, I know exactly how you feel and have every sympathy for you. I found out I had PCa from a telephone message left on our answering machine on the weekend. It took me until Wednesday before I was able to talk to the doctor. Some of the worst days of my life. I figured I was a gonner for sure.

But I'm not gone and I have no intention of going. The Gleason score is an indication of how bad things are and how bad things are likely to be. My score is worse than your husband's, but now, after surgery, when I plug my stats into one of those prediction models they calculate that in 10 years I have a better than 95% chance the cancer won't be back. Tonight we had dinner with several friends. Two of the men have had their prostates out. Two haven't. The two of us who have been eviscerated figured we have far less chance of having prostate cancer in 10 years than the two who haven't. Our cancers have been found and treated. Their's may be lurking and growing.

As you'll learn the Gleason score is made up of two numbers. A pathologist looks at a slide of the biopsy seeking abnormal cells. These are rated from one to five. Anything less than a 3 isn't considered to be cancer according to a urologist oncologist I consulted with. The most common non-normal cells your husband has are threes. The second most common are also threes. Add 'em together and that's the six. He's got prostate cancer alright but he just meets the minimum standards to join the club. Doctors are going to be fighting to treat him. He'll make their track record look excellent. Chances are if he treated his PCa with a weekly massage and meat lovers pizza at Pizza Hut on Friday night he'd be fine in 10 years.

Pretend you're on a four engined plane crossing the Atlantic, 30 minutes out of Paris. An engine conks out. Not good, but hey, the other three are going and even if they start to blow, the two pilots can glide you into Charles De Gaulle for a safe landing. Can things go wrong? Certainly. But, out there over the Atlantic are hundreds of other flights which could have trouble too. At least you know what your problem is, the pilot is trained to deal with it, and you're just 30 minutes from touch down. Those poor folk following in waves of planes behind you might blow two engines three hours out!

Tomorrow the focus of your Thanksgiving should be a real celebration. You may be down an engine, but with a Gleason 6 you've got three others working hard and you've got experts to glide you into a safe landing. I guarantee you on Black Friday if you head to the shopping center you'll pass men with prostate cancer who don't know they have prostate cancer --- and you should be grinning from ear to ear because you know he has PCa, that with a Gleason 6 he has a very treatable cancer and has every chance of being cured. It's the guys who don't know they have it, and aren't going to get treated who should be having nightmares.

I don't want to downplay the fact he has cancer, and that you'll likely decide to treat it. But I do want to help put this into perspective for you. And that perspective is that tomorrow you have much to be thankful for.

Ahead of you you've got some learning to do, and some decisions to make, and probably you'll decide to treat the PCa --- although one of the things you'll learn is that with a Gleason 6 and his low PSA what they call 'watchful waiting' may be a reasonable option. But, that's next week. Tonight, and tomorrow, you really do have something to celebrate and be thankful for!

Sheldon AKA Sleepless

P.S. I'm 67 and I'm making plans for my 100th. I'll put you two on my guest list, if you'll put me on his. Deal?

Bob's theory on the scans...it's all about the money...someone gets the bill...someone makes out nicely for a proceedure being done  especially on super low stats patients is usually a waste of medical dollars. Amazing the insurance companies have not figured it out and trimmed it, when we get our new medical health care system of 'excellence'(LOL) you will see cost cutting and savings all over the place. Oncologists like Dr. Strum et al types whom know the biology of PCa and seen all types of presentations, have said that these scans are over done in most cases and alot of medical dollars wasted on such, tell the ones collecting the money as doing these scans on low stats patients=(oh it is highly necessary...yada..yada..yada).

Find out what these scans actually are billed at is an eye opener, too. In some patients it is worth doing of course, maybe mid to high risk patients, as mets is sometimes defined and treatment protocols based upon that info. Still these scans are not even definitive enough to pickup micro mets or small cell groups like under 1-billion cells.

It is possible to have clear ct and bone scans with even: psa 46 12/12-biopsies all 75-95% PCa, Gleasons 7,8,9's (2 sets the same), how do I know....that was my own history in 2002 when diagnosed. Nice to see clear, no guarantee when seen clear(Partin tables and other nomograms say non-contained...so where is the PCa?

 

So that is how great these scans are, not definitive enough, alot of money spent on them in the name of excellence. I do see excellent money being made on them-LOL. The only thing 'half glass' about this stuff...is everything about PCa is non-definitive, far from excellence in assessing and analyzing it at any juncture and we get to make huge decisions(or the docs do it for you in totally non-biased fashion- ) based on junky information. No wonder the salvage therapies, bizzare protocols, failed surgeries, failed radiations, and other treatments. This is the truth on PCa and likely other cancers, but hey I am only the piano player. Yes, we do wish to be cured and/or do as well as we possibly can and hope is eternal especially in something higher than $$$$$-God, there is also the reality side of PCa and it is what it is.  Now let's enjoy Thanks Giving today.

Post Edited (zufus) : 11/26/2009 7:11:51 AM (GMT-7)