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Posted 1/31/2012 9:18 PM (GMT 0)
I am 78 years old and in good health. I had PSA number that went from 5 in 2004 to 10 in 2012 so my urologist did a biopsy last week and today he told me there was a "small" amount of cancer detected. He now wants me to come in and have a cat scan and a bone scan. I assume this is to see if the cancer has spread outside my prostrate.
I'd appreciate hearing any information about what this all means from people who have been there before me. Obviously I am very concerned but trying to keep it all in perspective.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Posted 1/31/2012 9:33 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the club no-one wants to join. You have made a great first step in reaching out to this forum. An amazing wealth of knowledge and experience with folks happy to help out.

First and foremost is to learn all you can. Start with getting your biopsy info. Things like the number of cores positive, to what extent, what the Gleason score is. These are all key datapoints that guide what course of action you should take.

Next get a copy of Dr. Walsh's - Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer. It is the bible and will give you tons of understanding of all the options and why for each. You will jump way up on the knowledge curve which will help you understand all you are looking at, know what questions to ask the doctors, and understand what it is they are saying when they reply. It is a must read and excellent.

Without knowing your biopsy results it's tough to offer you suggestions at this point. Please post your results and folks can give you some great thoughts.

You mention a "small" amount, if it truly is small, at your age Watchful Waiting also called Active Surveillance could be a very appropriate approach. That means doing nothing at all today except for active monitoring with your doctor. Something worth discussing with him/her.

Learn lots, discuss here, and you'll be a lot more comfortable with what you are dealing with soon. It's not a journey you wanted to be on, but it is one with lots of support and potentially not a lot of issue for you. Hang in there.
Posted 1/31/2012 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
gburd:

I wish I was 78 when I was told I had cancer. I don't know what your life expectations are, and I don't know the severity of your cancer, but I can tell you that over the last year I have learned that this cancer is a very slow growing one in most cases. Of course that means different things at 78 compared to 40. If I were you, unless they told you it was wildly aggressive, I'd sit back and really take it in perspective. My grnadfather was told he had prostate cancer in his 80s, upon medical advise did nothing about it, and died in his early 90s of unrelated cause.

I ahte to say this, and I will ge tblasted for saying it, but you couldn't haver gotten a better type of cancer and you couldn't have gotten it at a better age. That's the perspective I would take into this.
Posted 1/31/2012 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
gburd

I am very glad you found our little corner of the world here. Great place it is with brothers and sisters (wives, daughters, daughter in law) all who are fighting this prostate cancer.

My suggestions;

1. Do not freak out! You have plenty of time to figure out where you are and than by coming here and posting you will be able to get info from guys who have or are walking the walk. Being those with this crap called Prostate Cancer

2. Do NOT goggle anything until you have some idea what is what. Come here and ask questions first. There is so much stuff out on the internet that is either wrong or out of date.

3. Be calm - Right yeah I know. Scary stuff. There is a lot of information you need to get first before deciding on any treatment plan to include the do nothing plan.

4. The medical community has a full arsenal of drugs and other treatments - with more coming down the pipe line.

5. When you go to the Doc. Have someone with you, someone who can remain calm.. Someone suggested audio taping the doctors conversation, that can be very helpful if the Doc agrees.
Write out all your questions before you go to the Doctors appt - than hand a copy of the written questions to the Doc and go over them one by one.

6. Prostate Cancer: The Really Useful List made by HW people for HW people.
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1717641

7. Sure get the books, but realize they are out of date.

Bud
Posted 1/31/2012 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Just so the link is clickable:

Prostate Cancer: The Really Useful List made by HW people for HW people.
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1717641

Also, a current book is Dr. Peter Scardino's Prostate Book (2nd Edition, 2010). It is a similar text to Dr. Walsh's book, but recently updated.

Welcome to the group no one wants to belong to -

Posted 1/31/2012 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW Prostate Cancer,

Sorry you needed to find us, but glad you did.

Some more information on data from your biopsy would be a big help, before any useful suggestions could be offered.

Please keep us posted, and we are all ready to help answer your questions.

David in SC
Posted 1/31/2012 10:36 PM (GMT 0)
At 78 about 80% of the men your age will have prostate cancer; it just comes with old age and if you live long enough you have 100% chance of getting it. The good news is that only about 3% of all men will die from this disease so your odds are very good. It is important to identify whether the cancer you have is agressive or non agressive. PC goes across all ranges and is not created equal. It ranges from a ***** cat to a tiger. The 10 year survival rate is very close to 100%, treated or not. With a non agressive form at 78 any radical reatment would most likely do more harm than good, so learn all you can and do not make any rash decisions before getting plenty of 2nd opinions.
Posted 2/1/2012 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
I like John T's advice on this in your situtation and the scans most likely are wasteful spending of your insurance monies. Uncommon to find mets spread in low psa cases, actually is rare but is also possible.  A wise onco-doc would run a battery of tests on your blood and urine of which a couple are red flags for possible bone break down (micromets/mets), then scannings might be more worthy to atleast consider.  You could take a drug like casodex, or estradiol patches (these are easier on the side effects) and control the cancer and feel more normal....but you didn't hear that from me (ha-ha). Alot of docs just don't mention that option....you should wonder why they don't???  Could it be $$$$$ ?   This is the wonderful world of medical....seems most are practicing too.
Posted 2/1/2012 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome, but sorry you have to be here. More information would be helpful.

Take your time and do not rush into anything. Ask any questions you want to here on this forum. There are many helpful people here.

Good luck to you. Take a deep breath. You are going to be okay.
Posted 2/1/2012 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry you are here... but rest assured not everyone agrees with the sentiment that one poster stated

"you couldn't haver gotten a better type of cancer and you couldn't have gotten it at a better age".

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Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 2/1/2012 1:21:20 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/1/2012 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
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Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 2/1/2012 1:22:42 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/1/2012 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
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Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 2/1/2012 1:23:26 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/1/2012 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
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Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 2/1/2012 1:24:22 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/1/2012 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
The most important number on that biopsy report is your Gleason score. If it's Gleason 6 (3+3=6) then all of the optimism posted so far is quite true....

But if it's Gleason 8, 9, 10....Well then some form of treatment, probably hormone therapy, will be needed to get you through this...I left out Gleason 7.....We can talk about that one if we need to.....
Posted 3/26/2012 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
I am 72 and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December of 2011. I had a horrible biopsy and found that I was a very low risk...after consulting among others, with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Florida. Dr. Pow-sang, who heads the department, told me that at my age and a PSA of 7.O and a Gleason score of 6, he would not recommend any other treatment than to "watch and wait". My Urologist in North Kansas City Cancer Center says he wants to have another biopsy in December of 2012. I'm not sure I'm ready for this again. I am in a dilemma because of the possibility of another painful biopsy and the possibility of missing something along the way. Does anyone have any experiences with another biopsy and the results.
No one wants this in their life but, there we are.
Posted 3/26/2012 8:54 AM (GMT 0)
Randy, for those who choose "active surveillance", some doctors have been recommending following the tumor with magnetic resonance imaging. This is of course more expensive method, so one needs to inquire if insurance pays for this. If MR is 1.5 Teslas, one needs endorectail coil for a perfect picture of the prostate, if MRI is 3 Teslas, imaging of prostate can be done without an endorectal coil. Apparently, this method is very accurate in determining the extent of your cancer, and will tell you if you need to act more agressively (surgery, radiation) as you undergo regular scans. It is an option if you are dreading biopsies as means to follow the cancer, perhaps you can ask your doctor about it.
Posted 3/26/2012 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
Randy, the biopsy experience for most patients is not a big deal but for some, like yourself, it indeed can be "horrible".  We have had a number of threads here concerning patient experiences with biopsies.

FYI, many urologists conduct the biopsy under IV sedation.  You still have the after effects of bloody semen and a little discomfort, but you sleep through the biopsy itself so that part is painless.  Doing follow up biopsies for men on active surveillance is usually recommended but you might want to consult a urologist who uses IV sedation so that you do not have a repeat of your first experience.

Good luck.

Tudpock (Jim)

Posted 3/28/2012 4:14 AM (GMT 0)
First of all, I want to thank all of you who have given your expertise, experiences and comments. It is so comforting to know that there are others who are living with prostate cancer and so many are going through far more than I am. To answer your questions about the diagnosis, here it is.: Of 10 samples: the most significant: #4 right lateral base Gleason pattern (3+3=6), involving 10% of the total tissue submitted and #5, right lateral mid, Gleason pattern (3+3=6), involving 15% of the total tissue submitted on 12/9/11. The rest of the samples were diagnosed as: "benign prostatic changes".
Any comments or insights will be welcomed.
Thanks to all of you.
Randy2
Posted 3/28/2012 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
gburd...I, too, am 78 years old...had Cryogenic surgery last June. Cancer was found by DRE and confirmed by biopsy...5 of 12 samples contained cancer,Gleason score 6. Now, 9 months later my PSA is 0.002 and the only SE remaining is this darned ED and I will fight that devil as hard as I can. I sure still have urges to chase my wife around the bed, just don't have the working equipment yet to finish the chase with her. Take your time and explore ALL of the surgery options available to you...you and I probably still have another 15 or more years ahead of us so let's make the most of them. Lots of luck and stay strong! JOE
Posted 3/28/2012 4:11 PM (GMT 0)
Randy,
Your stats are well within the range of an Active Survelience program and your doctor is correct in recommending AS for a man of your age with low risk PC as any treatment will cause more harm than benefits. The biggest risk to any AS program is a missampling of the original biopsy that is why a follow up biopsy is recommended within one year. An MRIS with a T3 MRI would be a good suggestion, and a less expensive and better option would be a color doppler ultrasound to confirm the size and location of the tumor and give a base line to monitor any future progression. A good reference for monitoring an AS program can be found in "Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers" by Dr Mark Scholz.
JohnT
Posted 3/28/2012 10:41 PM (GMT 0)
I am a 41 year old male, went to urologist today for an unrelated matter, he performed a DRE on me since I haven’t had one in a few years. Found a nodule and said it could be calcium or cancer. My PSA was 1.5 a month ago. He scheduled me for a ultrasound next week and if he sees something odd a biopsy. I am kind of worried, any advice or am I overreacting?   (John opened a new thread with this same post - you'll want to respond on that copy - 142) Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 3/28/2012 5:09:33 PM (GMT-6)
Posted 3/29/2012 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
I am coming up on 77. I was diagnosed with PC in March at age 73 and had the Da Vinci procedure in July 08. I had done some reading which led me to a decision but I did not become aware of this site until my wakeup call in July of last year when I got a detectable psa reading. With what I'v gained in knowledge from this sight I would have moved a lot slower than I did. I went in with my eyes wide open regarding the possibility of a non nerve sparing result but it does continue to bother my wife and I. I was unaware of the high reccurence rate which was a big dissapointment. Good luck to you. I think your in a very good position all things considered.
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