Recurring Cancer

 Well Im sorry to say it has raised it ugly head again

ive been gone for a while so here is a brief history

Prostate Cancer March 2007 Had radical prostectomy. Was  0.1 to 0.2 PSA till present march 2010 Last psl .04. Was a Gleason 7 4/3 at diagnosis. This march was my third aniversary of no cancer detectable and I got the news that it was now .04 and in the opinion of the urologist it is reoccurance in the bed where the prostate was before surgery. They had removed all the lymph nodes in area at time of surgerh and not cancer was dected in the nodes at that time. My margin at surgery were uncertian but they felt it was contained. Now they say a few may have escaped or there may be som tissue still there that is causing the increase in psa.. They have recommended i go to radiation therepy. I have a appiontment tuesday for consult. So here I am again all shook up concerned and like most of you all probably aprehensive and have to admit a little scared. I am very concernes as ill be 62 in june and still have lots of financial matters to clear up due to my earlier years of over charging and spending. Now Im concerned that i may not live long enough to get it all clear so my wife isnt burdened...  Yeah i know I was stupid :) But now I dont feel positive that my life expectancy will be long enough to clean it up :)   and Not sure what to look forward on the treatment. I was scared stiff of the surgery and this form was great you all got me through it and i can never thank you all enough. just wanted to check in and see if anyone has any good statistics on survival after reccurance and  radiation treatment so I can at least my my death to be more bearable for those i will leave behing.. Gee i sound morbid but im really confused... any way if  you feel like kicking me around a little id appreciate it.

thanks

 

Telstar, I am in a similar situation as you - except my PSA is still down at 0.2. I have looked into it, and as Ricky mentioned, the fact that it has taken this long to recur really helps your chances. Radiation is still a possibility (and decent probability) of a cure. There are quite a few here that have had the SRT (radiation after prostatectomy), and have had little side effects. Their PSA has dropped to undetectable afterwards. Believe it or not, your chances are better that the PC can be cured with the SRT if your margins are positive than if they are negative. If mine rises, I plan to do the SRT, and I also plan to survive. As Ricky said, Think positive. You may just have plenty of time to aggravate over that debt.
Best Regards (and prayers), Jeff

oops... thank you 2 IM_Pateint...

You still have a "cure" card left - SRT. Sloan Kettering has a nomogram that predicts probability of success with SRT. As others said, it is usually 50%+. In my case (I am doing a combination SRT+HT) it is over 65%. So, you have decent odds to beat this beast.

Should that fail, you are stll not at the end of the road. You probably have several years where you can manage this disease quite well. There are many who manage it for 10-15-20 years. So, you are still more likely to die from a heart attack.

Finally, I remember my first coherent thoughts after being diagnosed were about providing financial security for my family. I have written myself off. Don't do it! You have many years of living to do and while you should not ignore the financial side, please focus on living.

While your news is exactly what a PC survivor never wants to hear, it happens. It has happened to more than a few of here at HW. The fact that it has taken 3 full years to reccur with you, works better in your favor. We have brothers here that have had instant recurrance, or at 3 months, etc. Mine was declared at 9 months.

What another said above, is that you have used up only one of your two "possible cure" cards with your surgery. Thank goodness you still have your "salvage radiation" card to use in the first place. You should be meeting with a good and experienced radiation oncologist, preferable one highly experienced with lots of prostate cancer patients. You should discuss having radiation done with or without adding HT to the mix. There are good arguments on both sides of that issue, and I have personally spoken to very experienced radiation oncologists that can make a case for not adding HT, and for adding HT. Would depend a lot on their experiences and your particular case.

And as others have pointed out, even if that second card ultimately failed, you are not at the end of your rope or life for that matter.
Our brothers that are in advanced case situations, many are doing quite well on their chosen protocals.

So, at this point, the news sucks, I know, been there done that, but you still have choices and more paths ahead. Good luck, and keep us posted.

David in SC

Telstar,
Good advice from everyone so far. I won't repeat what they've said, but I will point you to a short layperson's guide I put together on the topic of recurrence and salvage radiation. Some of it repeats what others have told you here, but perhaps you will see additional information or find the links useful. You can find it here:
http://knol.google.com/k/salvage-radiation-for-prostate-cancer#.

I also kept a blog before, during, and after my own IMRT after rising PSA. There's a link in my signature if you're interested.

Don't despair.

G.

Telstar,

Good to hear from you again and glad you are going to get started with the needed treatment. Mine went fairly well with no major side effects. So hang in there and count them down and just take it day to day. keep us posted on your progress.

Michael

Thanks all and i apogize for the wrong post due to my forgetting how to find this one ( the correct one lol ) Guess that tellse me to log on more :). I thinki ill be ok not so much aprehensive of the treatment itself as to the side effects. I really want to be active an continue with my normal routing but fear that side effects can stop me. Im a natural hypochondract so can dreeam up stuff :). I try not to read too much into side effects but do need to know what will happen not what may happen :)
if i know it will happen i can at least prepare for it.. but so far it seems the common factor is some naseau and some bladder pain .. As of for the rest they are not so comon... ill try to post at least once a week during the proceedure so if any one is following they can follow my progress.... It is people like you all that help make the trip a little better. and of course i do believe God will be following the case too :)
thanks again for your responses...

Well made it to my first treatment today.. Was nervous and a little aprehensive but got throuht it ok. Found out im not getting proton but conventional radaiation in a focused area... Hmmm now I have to consder what ive learned about proton and Conventional... I hope it is effective. Was told i would feel nothing and the process took only about 2 mins 15 sec at Top bottom and each side... Im not sure on the not feeling anything... True did not feel nothiing from the radiation but after it was done and i stood up did feel a little queasy in the radiated area... sort of a full feeeling or needed to take a bowel movement feeling... but was not bad. Is this normal or am i imagining it :).
any day one of 35-38 done :)
thanks for all the help people

tel, glad you got your first one done. radiation treatments are all about an endurance contest, just getting through one day at the time, then one week at a time, until you get through it. your nausea probably wasnt related to that first "zap", but its possible. i had a real hard time with my salvage radiation, and i started getting nausea before the end of the first week. every body reacts different to radiation poisoning, so it can vary. most guys feel nothing at all. i wish you luck as you continue on your path.

david in sc

Nervousness can definitely do a number on the stomach!! I've read that cold drinks v. hot drinks help the nausea as well as, the BRAC diet, salty foods like pretzels/crackers, ginger whether ginger ale, ginger candy. You can also get a prescription for Zolfran for nausea if it becomes intolerable. For diarrhea, BF took a half to one pepto tablet every day. He also maintained his workout regimen along with running/walking. I think the exercise helped him. After today, he has 5 more treatments to go. All in all, he faired well considering and hope you do as well!

I all thanks for the replies. You all make me feel a little more confident as the doctors act like its a sin to give you information :)
well I have made it for the first 2 weeks so fare with mostly symptoms i create myself :) Have had one spell of stomach upsets and diahreea but I dont think it was due to radiation but someting i ate on memorial day. I still cant seem to get information on my exact stituation from the doctor... If im dead tell me lol. < kidding. Im mostly concerned about the after long term of radiation... but again doctor just says every one has a different road... .Like you 142 I have some back problems but the pain i get from treatment is mostly due to lying on the slab not radiation... I cant seem to get good info on long term prognosis from medical staff and they tell me im in a sort of catagory that no real studies have been done.... As I had the surgery 3 years ago and was cancer free till this year and at time of reoccurance was only at .04 Psa my pathology i had a t1 tumor contained ( or so they said ) margins unknow... so i guess they were wrong on contained.. they said it is possible the tumore was conataiend however a "few" cells may have been left behind.. I also had the nerve sparing proceedure so am curious if the cells could have escaped to the nerves. Any way back to the bs they are feeding me. They are radiating the prostate bed to kill the escaped cells and feel it will probably be a possibe cure... BUT < the old "but" as not long term study can predict if i ll have another reoccurance. According to th e study i saw people with worse cancer reoccurance have a better chance of recovery than i do So i wonder did i just waste my time... If im still only going to survive for a few more years then i want to get out my bucket list and go enjoy the time i have left not spend it on cold tables and strange medicines...I know i can still have chemo and hormone but I dont want to go through that as they wont tell me any stats on it either... Ive been very lucky the Lord has given me the time i have had so far so not going to waste what is left. Any way ive vented and feel better :) Hoppe is all that is left and you all do give me HOPE thank you so much

U keep saying .04, when u mean .4, the decimal points mean a lot in this business