PSA

Hi trapshooter. May I assume a 12 guage?

First of all welcome...I think you will find many friendly people here to help you. Best way to start is to tell us about yourself with as much detail as possible. Then we can begin to answer your questions and provide assistance.

jack

trapshooter, you did good, we welcome you and want to help in any way we can!

Do not be concerned about how your message come across, as many of us are not great at expressing ourselves with written words.... The more your share about your stats the more we collectively can help!

Looking forward to your next post here... adjust

Welcome trapshooter - over and under I imagine? As others have said, don't worry about how the post will look, just let us know more about you and what we can do to help.

I am 72,was diagnosed 12-26-10 with Gleason 6. One biopsy needle came back positive 5% and the rest were hi grade PIN or not cancerous.

I am formulating my story, it includes visits to 6 different doctors, a visit to Sand Lake imaging,and to Dr Dattoli,hope to bring it to you in several days

Will do a more complete form this time Age 72 was diagnosed in 2010 with Gleason 6, 1 out of 10 bi-op needles positive at 5%, 3+3 others hi grade pin or benign.
Started this in 1997 with PSA over 4 for the first time,had a bi-op that year that came back some hi grade but mostly benign.That started my long run at PSA and biopsies, from then until 2010 I had PSA's varying between 4 and 9 for a high, had 6 biopsies in that time frame, some with hi grade PIN but no cancer,half of these were done at the Cleveland Clinic or there satellites.
Cancer found in 2010 with 5% involvement, we go to Ft Myers,Fl. for 3 months so after talking to 4 doctors I had an injection of Lupron(4 mo) to keep cancer at bay and to shrink prostate(57cc) to prepare for brachytherapy, returned from Fl. and had another 4 mo Lupron injection to assist seeds in killing cancer, had brachytherapy 5-11. 66 seeds of I-125,asked about additionally giving me external radiation but oncologist said with 5% it wasn't necessary.PSA after 1 month from brachytherapy was .3, 6mo's later it was .7 12 months later it was 1.2 18 months later it was 1.49. At this time I became worried,asked my oncologist about this rise and he thought it was a bounce, seen my urologist 4 days later and he said the cancer was back,suggested another prostate biopsy,orchectomy,or Lupron, now I am worried. Seen a hematologist that I have know for 26 years and he suggested salvage prostotecomy,cryosurgery, or Lupron. Called the Cleveland Clinic and made a appt. with a leading rad.onco there,he said more then likely a bounce and doubted there was any cancer left in the prostate but he did say you could have cancer somewhere else. MORE WORRIED.
Had been on the internet and seen of a Dr Dattoli in Sarasota,Fl.that specializes in prostate cancer and since I will be 50 miles from him for the winter made a decision to call him.Talked to him early Feb. for an hour on the phone,asked all kinds of questions and he came to the conclusion that I had lymph node involvement,wants me to go to Sand Lake in Orlando,Fl. for tests and I agreed to do this.Drove to Sarasota for a PSA and PAP and other bld. wk. Was scheduled for testing at Sand Lake 1st 2nd & 3rd of April,soonest I could get in since they are so busy,had PET, CT,and 3T MRI with Feraheme and also talked with Dr Bravo,he has high respect for Dr Dattoli. Had no problems with any of the tests or injections.They were very busy there.
Seen Dr Dattoli on April 10 for test results,had a CT scan there and also a Color Doppler Ultra scan and the scan showed no cancer in the prostate,he didn't think there would be any there, have lymph node involvement in pelvic and abdominal nodes,we talked about DART and he said I would be a good candidate for this procedure so had a 3 mo. Trelstar injection,bicalutamide,and Avodart to take along with edtradiol spray once a day and cabergoline 3 times a week.Am going to Sarasota for 40 DART treatments to the lymph nodes in mid July to mid Sept.
I think this is all but have probably forgot something,if so will re post.

12 gauge single and also o/u, use 3/4 oz shells and don't do to bad

Would appreciate any comments and thoughts and I thank all of you for taking the time to help any and all of us that are in the same boat

Thanks Yooper for getting back to me

Trapshooter,
I am very impressed how well informed you are relating to specifics on your PCa. Knowledge is power and you have plenty of that. Best of luck, you will beat this monster!

I am not attempting to spread SPAM here but the John Hopkins newsletter has articles on advanced treatments. Below is a cut and paste from one of the newsletter advertisements. I personally do not subscribe to the newsletter but it does address issues that trapshooter is facing with failed Brachytherapy. Just another tool in the box that may or may not be worth reading.

"You will also read about Treating Prostate Cancer After Brachytherapy Failure, by Theodore L. DeWeese, M.D., Professor of Radiation Oncology and Urology and Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. DeWeese and his colleague, Danny Song, M.D., guide you through your questions as to how brachytherapy is supposed to work, why it is possible that it may have failed, and what your options are if that proves to be the case. When should hormone therapy be initiated? Are you still a candidate for a radical prostatectomy? What if the cancer has spread to the bone (metastasized)? How can a TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) for BPH (enlarged prostate) affect the outcome of brachytherapy?"

Below is the address Hopkins uses to send me notifications. Try to cut and paste the link to your browser. Hope this works. If it does not paste we can make arrangements through an email.

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/eletter/profile/10612/110961.html?ET=johnshopkins:p110961:1200161a:&st=pmail&s=PUC_130517_AU1

Thanks grandpaof4
think I found it viperguy,it's by the 2 doctors you mentioned, thanks

Thanks David,

I will be going to Sarasota mid July,my PSA when I went to Sand Lake was 1.3 using the ultra sensitive test,the scans showed white to gray area's in the pelvic and abdominal nodes which I take means cancer since the normal nodes turn black from absorbing the feraheme material and also the size were larger then they should be,Dr Dattoli told me he would be treating those nodes with the DART technology plus some below and above the cancerous one's in an attempt to destroy additional cancer that might be to small for the 3T MRI to see.No biopsies were performed.The report reads and I quote (evidence biochemical relapse of disease; however,more recent radiographic imaging has not identified any local recurrence,but there is demonstrable pelvic lymphadenopathy in left common iliac and right external iliac lymph nodes and no distant metastasis). That is from his report.

I to was using a Estradiol patch however I started to break out from the adhesive so I e-mailed Jennifer Cash and asked for a spray and she said no problem,I like the spray much better,I will be on this triple blockade for a year also by the way.

I am scheduled for 40 treatments,perhaps several more or less according to how things go,like you I also thought the staff there was as nice and helpful as can be.

I stay in Ft Myers for 3 months during the winter so I am near whenever they want to see me,we drive there to have my blood work done and will probably continue to do so.

Where did you stay in Sarasota,I am going to try and rent a condo at Villagio for 2 months,it's a 10 min walk from the center. I live near the Cleveland area so I don't have near the distance you have to travel.

Thanks for replying to me David,it means a lot to know some one else that has gone thru this.

Dave,

Will look into that site you sent,I will be driving since I'm not as far away as you.

i know a little about Amish food,there is one near here and they serve family style,we try to go their half a dozen times a year,will be sure to find out where it is.

Plan on taking my golf clubs and trap-gun,hope I feel well enough to use them,how did the treatments affect you? and how many lymph nodes did Dr Dattoli treat for you.

Thanks Dave