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Been having simptoms for about 10 years

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Prostate Cancer
Is there anyone that might be able to give some insight on this
I might have had Pc tens years ago and didnt know it - 100.0% - 8 votes
Maybe i shouldnd do anything except watch and wait for a while - 0.0% - 0 votes
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Posted 8/13/2011 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
Been having all the symptoms of prostate cancer for years but it never dawned on me that i might have it until my last doctor visit when he said my psa was 3.4. I said what is Psa, the next visit my PSA was 4.1. I had a biopsy, so now i know I have cancer. My numbers are 3+4=7, 1 out of 12 positive at 6%. NOT DETECTED WITH D.R.A. So from what i understand I'm a stage t1c, if that really mean anything, are does it . Been reading lots off stuff on the internet with the same numbers but different outcome.My uro say with # like mind that surgury is a good option, so is radiation.IM very active and execise and recreation is a big part of my life.im very much concured about condinance but more concerned about ed. With all the years i thought i had it and waited ,does that mean it has spread to other parts and is out of control.IM thinking about the robotic surgury to get rid of the cancer if it has'nt spread but, i read bad side effect problems as to the outcome. Does radiation have less side effect with just about the same outcome for cure.
Posted 8/13/2011 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
 Welcome to our gang of prostate cancer journey men and women, sorry for the reason you are here, but this is right place to be for all the opinions, advice and support you will need and seek in the next few months. Remember one thing you will get advice on all kinds of treatment routes to go after but there is only ONE correct one and that is the decision you will make as you will be the one who lives with it.

The first thing you need to do is go into your profile and create a signature like most of us have that gives us the information on your condition and diagnosis's, This will help in the advice and opinions we will give to you. When you post make sure you check the box at under options at the bottom of the post that will show your unique signature.

Were you ever diagnosed with an enlarged prostate? The symptoms from this can mimic PC symptoms without sending your PSA sky high. This might explain the last 10 years.

Good luck and we are all your new brothers and are pulling for you.

Posted 8/13/2011 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bogerman and another welcome to the forum.

It is possible that you have had PCa for years and didn't know it. about half of men age 50 have it and that number rises further with increasing age.

You are probably now in the same position as you would be had you known about it early and done active surveillance ~ a very reasonable approach given your numbers. A Gleason 7 is not a reason to be alarmed, but rather a call to action.

You uro does surgery so naturally he will recommend surgery. However there are other treatment options like seeds (brachytherapy) and/or IMRT, (external radiation) that can give the same end results, but without the same risk of incontinence or ED.

Another option is to continue with the active surveillance, but to make dietary changes ~ see for example Casey's current thread DON'T FEED THE CANCER

So no need to panic, but take your time to study the options, and pick the one that is best for you. Good luck and keep us posted.
Posted 8/13/2011 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your reply and your welcome.IM 50 years old with a family hist of prostate cancer that i just found out about.so much for better late then never.My cousin had radiation with some new laser guided( calipso) not sure about the spelling but he said he has no side effects 6mo after radiation .MY uro scheduled me for a appt.to talk to a oncologist who is suppose to be the top dog with this,? have you heard of this.Ill work on my profile but i must say that all i have for now is my biospy report paper.just started taking this stuff serious
Posted 8/13/2011 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks piano. And I did see casey's thread,but its truly hard to live with active surveil.now that i know i have PC.i feel that something need to be done because its not going to just go away.
Posted 8/13/2011 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
bogerman,

welcome to HW, sorry for your diagnosis, but glad you found us here.

at this point, sounds like you have all options on the table.

as far as your biopsy goes, the 6% positive in 1 core is encouraging, but the Gleason 7 element is a concern. Some gleason 7's act slow and harmless, and others, like mine, have been very aggressive. they are hard to predict. with a 12 core biopsy, and i don't say this to scare you, but its just an estimate, and one has to hope that it found the bulk of the cancer, and that there isn't more outside the range of the 12 cores.

regardless, i agree with the others, no need to freak or rush into any immediate treatment decision. i would gather from several doctors, opinions about what to do, including the full spectrum of radiation choices as a primary treatment. of course, surgery is always there to be a choice, i had open surgery myself.

while you are figuring out what to do, getting into the best shape you can can only help you in the months/years ahead.

as far as the obvious known side effects of surgery, ED and/or incontinence, if you read here long enough, the outcomes are all over the board. Some men have total nerve sparing ops - yet end up with long term ED, I only had one nerve bundle left - yet never suffered a day of ED, some men are dry from the moment the catheter is removed, and others are still totally incontinent 2 years later, for me, incontinence wasn't an issue, as i suffered from multiple long-term strictures, that prevented me from being able to urinate. my point - there's no way to predict those outcomes, even if you have the best of the best surgeon, it can vary that much

feel free to ask whatever you want, there are men here experienced with all treatment methods, and with loads of experience in dealing with side effects and other issues.

in the end, you need to choose what is right for you, so that you can live with your decision.

my best of luck to you, may you do well

david in sc
Posted 8/14/2011 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Bogerman

Welcome to the forum, sorry you have to be here, but as others have already said, you will find information and support.

I was like you in that I had symptoms for some years before being diagnosed with Pca. I was orignally told I had benign enlargement and my Uro told me it is possible to have both conditions at the same time just to confuse matters!

The only advice I can give you is to learn as much about the disease as you can, so that any decision(s) you subsequently make about your treatment will be an informed one.

Posted 8/14/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your Reply. With numbers like yours you sound very positive.One thing that im learning about reading these threads is that it help to keep a positive attitude .Sorry that your here also.Im also learning as much as i can as i know you did also.I plan ON making the right decision.
Posted 8/14/2011 3:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

I can empathise with what your are going through, especially since I'm close to your age. Your amount of cancer detected is very small, but with Gleason 7 at your age it is generally not advised to "watch and wait". One thing that you may want to consider before jumping into treatment is having the biopsy reanalyzed for a second opinion. I'm currently in the same dilemma as you, researching the pros and cons of surgery versus radiation. I've ordered about 10 books form the library that cover each side of the issue. Anyway, I wish you the best.
Posted 8/14/2011 6:31 AM (GMT 0)
I thought about getting a second opinion but, i also thought what good would it do. Is it for a better are worse score are is it to say' you dont have cancer. then i would have to get a third opinion.IT might make since but i dont know if i want to go down that road.I truly believe i have cancer because it runs in the family. i just hope my uro dont sugar coat it to make his pockets fat.if thats neg.then im sorry but it something that cross my mine.I hope that you dont feel the same as i do and that you can feel very confident in your health care team.IM thinking adout waitig until sept 25 when the new cancer center opens up to reanalyz .I hope i can relax until then and uro dont push to hard to make it happen. So far the robot is the number one choice but having a very hard time with ed problems may PSA; 3.4 June PSA;4.1 July- biopsy 1 positive core of 12 @6% 3+4=7
Posted 8/14/2011 1:33 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome also. I think so far you are on the right track. Worring about docs making there pockets fat is not negative, just a fact of life. Not all docs, but some for sure. I would advise a second opinion on your biopsy gleason because of your age, good health, relatively small amount of pca found. If it came back G6 rather than G7, you could more safely avoid surgery and go with another plan. If it came back G7 again, you could still decide to go with another plan, but if you decided to go surgery, you would be more confident in coming to that conclusion.

Also, other than ed, what other symptoms did you have for so long? And what is the size of your prostate?
Posted 8/14/2011 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
from what ive been reading.It seems that people that go through radiation treatment have less side effect after the procesure then surgury patients ,but the side effects from radiation take from one to two years.Ive read alot of post and it seems hard to find rediation patients that would like to post side effects after two year are longer.do the side effect just go away?I see alot of surgury pat. still talking about the side efft.
Posted 8/14/2011 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
For well over 10 years I had trouble relieving myself and just ignored it. No checkups, no PSA tests. I kept telling myself that this is what happens as you get older. It finally reached the point where I would try to relieve myself and just couldn't. After walking around a little I could then get it done.

My wife dragged me off to the doctor's and the rest is history. Looking back my attitude towards ignoring the symptoms was just plain dumb.

Bob
Posted 8/14/2011 10:59 PM (GMT 0)
Thxx pa69,sounds like we are one of the same.i had symptoms for a long time but ignorded them. i wouldnt tell my doctor that i had freq.urination problems because i thought it was all related to drinking to much beer.boy was i wrong about that.Hope things are going well for you now.For me , im still trying to figure out the best treatment .Thinking about da Vinci surgury,i here alot about the catheter and the ed witch is scary all by itself but what about the pain from the surgury HOW BAD IS IT.
Posted 8/14/2011 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
I had open and found the pain was not bad at all. If you do have pain, your docs will give you medication ~ just ask. Your healing will be quicker if pain is under control, and there are no prizes for being stoic. My biggest "pain" was the catheter -- probably the longest 7 days of my life!
Posted 8/15/2011 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
I had daVinci surgery and the resultant pain wasn't too bad. Because of the advanced size of my prostate the surgery took around six and a half hours. After catheter removal it took about 15 months to become completely continent. I only have myself to blame for letting it go too long.

Oh, I'm not a beer drinker but I definitely won't turn down a glass of red wine (maybe two).

Bob
Posted 8/15/2011 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
thx piano, you seem to always have good advice,and yes you did give me something to think about in one of your reply about my gleason score being a 3+4 and that you hope that it is truly contained .Any more insight on that because i thought my # were good (so to speak).waiting to talk to uroligist again to ask more ?. But for now What does all the other #mean in my patho.report organ confined ,cap penetra,s.v involv,lymp node does these #mean anything are its just a wild guess like my true geason score.
Posted 8/15/2011 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
I Just got done talking to my cousin who also Have Prostate Cancer.his was treated with radiation.He is doing fine and said that his side effects wasnt much of a bother.Im glad that things have worked out for him so far in his recovery>He is six mouth post last treatment.Any way he asked if i wanted him to go to the oncoligist appt.with me.IM thinking yes it sound like a good idea because he might have ? from exper that might help in my decision on treatment options.
Posted 8/15/2011 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
Its always a good idea to have someone with you when talking with your Dr.s. Some even record the session with the docs permission, so you can review to make sure you understood. Here is a link for some questions to think about asking. Good luck.

www.yananow.org/questions.htm
Posted 8/15/2011 3:07 AM (GMT 0)
THx for your info it will help alot.i plan on asking everyone of the question on the list .web sifht very helpful
Posted 8/15/2011 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
Hope you get some good answers.
Posted 8/15/2011 9:57 PM (GMT 0)
Well today was just another day at work.Its the same old job but it seems different. Im finding it harder to make it through the day with my two faces. One face is the same old guy,who i use to be.Im the guy that people said was healthy and in good shape,and the guy who always told others to take care of themself. The second face is the guy that is scared and don't really want to say whats on his mind to his co-worker and close friends that look up to him.The sad thing is ,is ill keep it that way I really dont give a ....... about that right now....Im thinking about my treatment for now.Is that selfish.What do you think
Posted 8/17/2011 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
When you are researching you options, look at Proton Therapy. I had mine early this year with absolutely no side effects. It's painless and easy. I was also a Gleason 7 and feLt it was the best choice after tons of research. 3 months post treatment with no problems and 1st psa .7 I think Mayo in Phx is putting in a Proton Center.

Regardless of your choice, Gool Luck
Posted 8/17/2011 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
thats good advice.I really havent did any search on it at all but i will.thxs
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