First Post SRT PSA & Radiation Oncologist Visit

David, I am sorry that your first PSA was not what we all hoped for. However, I agree with others that the second PSA test will be the clincher. Right now, you are sick and tired of fighting but hopefully you'll get your Irish back up in 3 months!

zufus:

i slowed down my fingers on purpose this time to make sure that i did not mispell your name once again, i am improving.

yes, i most definitely plan to have another reading in april, then in june. those two, plus the one today should show a little something if anything new is going on. i think it would be safe to say, the jury is out right now.


6071: thank you. that's why i purposely said i wasn't being literal with "ignorant bliss" statement, more of a random passing thought

David,
I'm so sorry about your PSA test results. I just hope and pray that your April test will be lower. Fighting PCa is never easy and a high Gleason is impossible to predict. I follow your journey closely because I don't really know what the future holds for me. You are much younger than I'm, so I hope that you don't give up the fight. Good luck brother.

David, I was hoping you would have knocked it out with the radiation. I had high gleason but my PSA was still under 4 at surgery. I have followed your posts with earnest as you have endured a lot. I know as time heals your body and mind you will/may look for alternatives. This is a blow. A friend of mine from church had his prostate removed in August of 08 and had recurrence a year later. After radiation, his PSA at one month actually went up. I hope the best for you and will be here waiting to hear the next chapter in your story.

Hi David,

Sometimes all this medical stuff can become all consuming and other things take a back seat to it. I try and look at all the other aspects of life and do my best to sample as many of these as possible in the time alloted. There is time for everything and certainly the medical crap doesn't figure as prominently as all the rest in my world.

Hope that helps,
Regards,
Bill

 Hi David,

Sorry the results were not what you anticipated.  As you can see from my stats that the PSA stayed the same 3 months after IMRT.  I was not happy but I realized that it was only about 40% effective in some cases. Fortunately I had good insurance.  I only paid $53, however, the 37 treatments cost well over $100,000.  I am alot older than you, but after this I am not going to rush into further treatment right away,  We will wait for our 6 month test to decide.  I know a guy  over seas who has been on Casodex intermittently(minimal ED side effects) for 10 years and kept it under control (below .1)  The FDA won't approve Casodex without Lupron ($3500 a shot) so go figure. I am not against HT.  You have to balance the benefits with the side effects . At my age I might just do watchful waiting.  Just my opinion.  Don't want to offend anyone on HT here on the forum.  I feel after all my research on PC I can handle my own treatment.  With my present psa doubling time, I can probably live about 15 yrs. or so doing nothing.  Hang in there. Use this time for research if you need further treatment in the future.  I am hoping that the PSA will go down next test.  Good luck David.

David-
I am very sorry to hear that your PSA didn't drop like we were all hoping. You have been through so much and I hope the road gets easier for you. All the best!

DD

Hi David,
I haven't been on as much lately. I like to spend as much time with family during the holidays as possible. I got robbed of a christmas Spirit a few years ago due to this cancer so I have just decided that won't happen again. There is still time for your PSA to drop. SRT does not always result in immediate drops. It's preferred but not always. I think I'm going re-insert the motto that carried me through my journey and that is "Stay Positive". Too many good things to live for and many great reasons. I was touched by the shirt you received from your daughter, and it's true. I still want that shirt that says "Cancer Sucks". Because that's true also. But it can't have my will. And you have shown that poise as well.

Peace brother.

Tony

Tony, thanks, in retrospect, I honestly think I wouldn't have lost it there this morning if my Radiation Oncologist hadn't so obviously reacted herself so negative to the news. She didn't know the number ahead of time, I was hand carrying the results after picking up the report from my Uro/Surgeons office earlier in the morning. She is usually real composed and steady, I think she was expecting much more of a hit against my PSA after such a dose of radiation. Telling someone that it could have been worse is not always a positive re-enforcer.

Know what you mean about Christmas. I don't have a single useful memory of Christmas 2008, which was a month after my big surgery the previous year, I even look at pictures taken, and don't even remember being a part of it. This past Christmas, 2009, was good in every way, and it helped greatly.

Greebra, I'm not indicating it's the end of the world. With most things in my life, I take a pragmatic and realistic position on things, and my mind tends to scan, analyze, and make a decision, and then go with it.

Every man here may have to come to face with their own decisions and situations concerning their PC journeys. But until I am literally having to face the next juncture of decision, not going to waste a lot of time thinking or worrying about it.

Much more interested in having this catheter out of me, today is day 97, you can only imagine how annoying that is.

David in SC

Hello and thanks, Jennifer.

The expression "pc is slow growing cancer" rings shallow to anyone fighting it for sure. And it is certainly not an entirely true statement. It is very slow for many people.

How's your husband doing currently? Trying to remember the last time you updated.

David in SC

Thanks back, Jennifer. Glad Richard is doing that well. I just had a delay involving my last PSA test, so I know how frustrating that can be. Hopefully, we will be welcoming him into the all inclusive "Zero Club", with all rights, gifts, and benefits. Sounds good on the incontinence part to be only 7 weeks out.

Yeah, to become cath free soon is my most direct goal and need. When I agreed to the SP one, I knew it would be for months, but saying that and doing it are two different things for sure. Now that I seem to be close to the end of that, its making me anxious for it to happen.

David in SC

Billy, everything you described is the general gist to how RT works as a primary treatment. But according to my Radiation Oncologist, if the recurring PSA is still local to the prostate bed, then the salvage radiation should have knocked it back to <.10 readings, even from the start, especially since mine was at .16 at the start. For now, there is nothing I can do but wait out the next 3 months and get post SRT psa #2 in April, then a 3rd reading in June. Worse, case, if it starts to go up, then it must be accepted that it's not local anymore.

This goes back to the question and argument of how dangerous Gleason 7 can be. Also very unpredictable. Meanwhile, my interest is in the area of getting rid of this blasted catheter, considering how long I have been on one kind or the other in the past 13 plus months, I have dealt pretty good with the whole thing, but I am not rapidlly approaching the end of my limits of patience and understand. If, by some reason, that my uro/surgeon isn't able to succesfully find a long term solution on his next try, want to see if he can pass me on to someone that might have extra experience in dealing with long term blockage issues. I think that would be a fair approach. I am not blaming him at all, but if it continues endlessly, then I do want to see if there is a "specific" expert out there somewhere that could help us solve it.

Thanks for a good post, mate.

David in SC

Mel, I live in an area of good hospitals and specialists, at least by SC standards. Had certain insurance limitations, etc, and with all my family here, tried to make the logistics simple on anything. My uro is like 3-4 blocks away, the radiation clinic and hospital about 15-20 mintues. Know location isnt the prime concern, but it helps in getting things accomplished.