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My Dad's Gleason score and PSA.

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Posted 5/30/2014 3:02 AM (GMT 0)
So my dad's Gleason score is 3+3=6 and his most recent PSA is 11. He's meeting with the oncologist tomorrow and wants to ask him a few additional questions.

His urologist said he couldn't stage him. Maybe the oncologist will?

What does the 3+3=6 mean? I've been reading up but it eventually gets jumbled in my head!

I should also mention his core sample were positive 3 of 12. 1 on the left, 2 on the right.

Post Edited (worrieddaughter14) : 5/29/2014 9:18:37 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/30/2014 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
Having cancer is never good news but Gleason 6 prostate cancer seldom kills anyone...Your Dad will probably live to die from something else...The 3 positive cores means there is enough cancer there to need treatment. You can't just ignore it.

Prostate cancer can be treated effectively in several ways. If I were your dad, I would look into "seed" implants, Brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy. It's very effective and has a minimum of side-effects...Sometimes seeds are combined with beam radiation, a one-two punch that is extremely effective.. There are two books you might like to read, one by Dr. Pat Walsh and the other by Dr. Gerald Chodak. Walsh is a surgeon at Johns-Hopkins and his book is "The Bible' of Prostate Cancer..Chodaks book covers all the treatment options in an unbiased fashion...There is no need to rush into anything, take your time and learn what you need to know about your treatment options..And stop worrying, your Dad is going to be around for a long time...
Posted 5/30/2014 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
Gleason 6 cancer is a generally non-aggressive form of prostate cancer that can often be monitored without treatment if there isn't too much of it. With three positive cores and a PSA of 11 your dad probably has a bit too much cancer for "active surveillance" even with low-risk Gleason 6 tumors. So, like Fairwind said, he will probably want to seek treatment. He will have a lot of options for treatment and the chances are that any of them will cure him. For the most part his choice should be based on which treatments are most likely to gave the smallest impact on his quality of life from the side effects.

Again, as Fairwind said, radioactive seeds (brachytherapy) is often a good choice. It works well and has few side effects. But the other options have their advantages and drawbacks as well. He has time. He should talk to lots of doctors about lots of different treatments before he decides.
Posted 5/30/2014 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
bad that he has PC, but G6 is the lowest reading you can get and still call it cancer. The oncologist should give you the staging.

What does it mean? It's a very treatable and likely curable PC. He'll have plenty of choices for treatments. Get a couple of opinions on treatment. I suspect the most difficult problem you'll face is how to treat it - surgery, radiation, seeds...

Hang in there and keep us updated.
Andrew
Posted 5/30/2014 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone!
Posted 5/31/2014 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
why is the urologist not staging? Is that common? The original uro Paul had wanted to see him today for staging....
Posted 5/31/2014 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure what you mean?

His urologist will not stage him. I don't know why. I was hopeful the oncologist would today but my dad had to reschedule for Tuesday for that appointment.

I'm curious what, if any, role his hydrocele plays in this. He had this diagnosed a few years ago in his left testicle. He just mentioned it to me today, said it was hurting. I asked if he told the urologist this and he said he did, but the urologist dismissed it (at his appointment last week).

I'm starting to see how people with MEDICARE HMOs get treated differently than say, me with an private PPO. my dad has switched doctors often due to poor bedside manner or lack of good communication. This urologist is no different.

If anyone has good suggestions for the Houston/Pasadena area I'd pass it along to him.
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