Question

Okay, so I'm sitting around thinking today, which I do WAY too much of. But the question occurred to me. What do I say if someone asks me if I have cancer? I HAD it, but my post-RP PSA (5 month) came back <.01. Do I say I had it but I'm cured? Do I say I'm in remission? Or do I say, yes, I have cancer but it's under control? It occurred to me that I don't really know the answer to this.

Cwren,

Being a Gleason 6 with a small amount of cancer at biopsy I would say kiss this thing goodbye...(I am assuming that it was contained to the prostate)?

You should continue to monitor PSA, but I can only dream of being in my 40s with those stats. No PC guy is completely cured, but I'd imagine you're as close as it gets. Say - had it, dealt with it, all signs look great and moving on.

Leave the "it's under control" and "it's a disease that can be managed" descriptions for guys like me who can't even spell the word cur.

Good for you
Jerry L

I like, in your case, the "under control" answer, because unless it flares its ugly head one day in the future, you had it, and it is under control. good luck.

david in sc

cwren:

I would say, at this point in time, you are a cancer survivor.

Well, we are all survivors until we aren't. I know mine is back with a vengeance, so I tend to say "I'm a survivor, so far".

But your case seems to have an infinitely better prognosis than mine, so I'd drop the "so far" if I were you.

cwren,

As some of us joke, "we will never know for the rest of our lives whether or not we are cured." However, after my surgery, my surgeon told me: "I really think you can consider yourself cured."

Looking at your stats, I would say that you ARE cured as long as your PSA remains at zero. So, when someone asks if you have cancer, you can accurately tell them NO. At this point, you probably have a better idea about yourself than THEY would know about themselves regarding cancer.

Keep up the good reports!
Chuck


7/11 PSA 6.41 (4.1 2009) DRE-BPH,no lumps PCa Dx 8/11 age 62 adenocarcinoma 3/20 cores,T2C Glea 3+3 DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 Mayo Clinic, nerve sparing Dr. Matthew Tollefson-highly recommend! Pathology-tumor confined to prostate 5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicules, extraprostatic soft tissue negative 1x.6x.6 cm mass involving R post inferior, R post apex, L mid post prostate R post apex margin involved by tumor over .2 cm length
Catheter out 7 days, no incontinence
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, PSA <0.1

Cwren,

As Co-Chairman of several Prostate Cancer Support Groups in NJ,

I use the following greeting to members ---

"Hello, my name is Bob and I am a Prostate Cancer Survivor".

I believe this is appropriate.

Best of Luck,

Bob

My oncologist uses the word 'cure'; who am I to argue with him?

Time will deal with your friends and family asking about it. It's not obvious to the public that you had major surgery.

The more I thought about the term "prostate cancer survivor," the less I liked it. I was diagnosed and treated a little over two years ago. Given my stats, I would certainly still be alive today even if I hadn't been treated (though maybe not doing so well), so technically at this point I have not yet "survived" prostate cancer. I'm just a ****who's had the misfortune to have been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer, though I'm hopeful that it won't recur before something else kills me. I don't know if that attitude is pessimistic or just realistic, but that's what works for me. So, I usually tell people, if the topic comes up, that I've had prostate cancer, but that I'm doing OK at the present time.

Really, at this point, all I've really "survived" is the prostatectomy.  If I'm still alive and showing zeroes 10 years from now, maybe then I'll be comfortable calling myself a "prostate cancer survivor."

Post Edited (clocknut) : 1/5/2013 8:10:58 AM (GMT-7)