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Posted 6/1/2015 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
First urologist appt.today after receiving biopsy report on Friday G6,7/9 cores positive,age 56, psa 7...
the journey begins. Read the thread "read this first".
Hope to be a candidate for AS....can't even wrap my head around anything else right now.Stay tuned...
Posted 6/1/2015 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck...since you're already here, you know what to ask...

Lisa
Posted 6/1/2015 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
The one thing you detect the most on this forum is the positive attitudes of these people.

To the rest of the world you're the poor guy that has prostate cancer. To us we see G6, highly treatable. You have a great chance your pc will be eliminated. Highly probable you will die of old age or something else besides pc.

Sorry you are here but have a long life.
Posted 6/1/2015 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
Following app this morning Dr. is recommending surgery (open or robot) or radioactive seeds.Would not even consider active surveillance,point blank said I would die of cancer if I opted for that,was not going to see me again or recommend more testing of any sort.My tumor is stage t2b,psa 7, 7/9 cores +,age 56....in shock from that.Also told me to stay off the Internet as all I would find is bad news.
Posted 6/1/2015 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW, sorry you need to be here.

First the internet is filled with wacky advice, so the doc is partly correct there. However I think you've found a place here where sanity generally rules.

Very surprised about his comments on AS.

At this point, I strongly suggest that you get a second opinion from another doctor.

If you do decide to go ahead with some kind of treatment, take a good look at the Brachy (seeds) option. Might be just the thing for you.

Andrew
Posted 6/1/2015 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
T2b? He felt lumps on more than half of one side? If so, that puts you into the "favorable intermediate risk" category. I don't know how long you'd be able to stay on AS, but there are programs that would accept you, especially if they have an experienced radiologist at reading mpMRIs. Other programs (e.g., Johns Hopkins) might not accept you. There's tremendous variance in requirements.

There's a link in "read this first" for getting a second opinion on the biopsy slides from Bostwick or Epstein.

With your Dx, you can take some time to investigate treatment options. SBRT, HDR brachytherapy and LDR brachytherapy as well as surgery all have about the same excellent odds of curing you. You have to find and interview specialists in each of those.
Posted 6/1/2015 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
Canada...even though it's free,we get what we get.Likely all uros will give the same opinion....have been told that virtually all radiation pts will have ED....most wish they never did it and a few guys even said they'd sooner be dead than live like that
Posted 6/1/2015 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome aboard TallBill!

Boy your urologist sure has an attitude, firing you if you pick AS. I think I would fire him and find another urologist. Maybe he won't treat the next patient like that again. Your uro needs to be your friend and guide you.

With PCa, you will be going back to him\her for many years after treatment so they need to give you unbiased advice. My uro suggested surgery but also suggested I talk to a radiologist. I decided on surgery then went back and asked him who he would have do surgery if it were him having it done. He recommended the surgeon I eventually chose who had done thousands of surgeries.

Do your research, you have time, and find the treatment that is best for you. Each treatment has it's side effects, find the one that will do the job you want.

I would not spend a lot of time on the internet. Maybe search for doctors you may want to discuss treatment with. The good thing about Healing Well is you now have brothers and sisters who will help you by telling you what we did , what worked and didn't work. It is hard to discuss this with co-workers or some other relatives.

We are open 24/7 so drop in when you need us.

Bill from Florida cool
Posted 6/1/2015 6:50 PM (GMT 0)

tallman said...
..have been told that virtually all radiation pts will have ED....most wish they never did it and a few guys even said they'd sooner be dead than live like that

Hi Tall and welcome to HW...sorry you have to be here. What you have been told about radiation is pure BS. But, don't take my word for it - study and learn for yourself. Refer to the sticky at the top of our forum for some basic info. Then if you want to review some studies for yourself, I would recommend that you email "AYooper" who saved multiple studies in an organized format and will be glad to share them with you.

As you review treatment options, you most likely need to talk with experts in various protocols - rarely is a doc highly experienced in multiple ones. So, yeah, look at surgery. But also look at SBRT, LDR Brachy and HDR Brachy by visiting experts in each of these fields. It's a lot of work on your part but you get once chance to do this right the first time and you need to do your due diligence and get educated BEFORE making a decision.

Good luck and please feel free to ask anything here.

Jim
Posted 6/1/2015 7:28 PM (GMT 0)

tallman said...
have been told that virtually all radiation pts will have ED

Poppycock! In the largest survey of its kind in the US, researchers found that for men in your age group (50-59), the percent that had functional erections two years after treatment were as follows:

Surgery: 43%
IMRT/3DCRT: 52%
LDR brachytherapy: 67%

Source:Prediction of Erectile Function Following Treatment for Prostate Cancer

In addition, erectile function preservation for HDR brachytherapy and SBRT across all age groups is in the 75%- 80% range.

Where in Canada are you? I or others may be able to recommend doctors to see.
Posted 6/1/2015 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Really appreciate all the support,need time to process and decide what to do...doc says I have to decide soon as I may have had this cancer for a long time...zero symptoms and already recovered from biopsy last week...
Posted 6/1/2015 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
I had seeds plus IGRT. give me your doctor's number and i'll text him a picture.

ed
Posted 6/1/2015 11:08 PM (GMT 0)

tallman said...
Doc says I have to decide soon as I may have had this cancer for a long time

I'm chagrinned by the scare tactics this doctor is using. How long you've had the cancer is irrelevant at this point. Some men have cancer like yours for 40 years and never die of it - it's called "indolent" when that happens. I'm not saying yours is indolent, I'm only saying your Uro has no idea of how long it's been there nor how long it will be before it progresses.

How was it staged T2b?
Posted 6/1/2015 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
Not that TA needs my validation , LOL, but he said very well, exactly what I was thinking. Find another Doctor
Posted 6/2/2015 7:55 AM (GMT 0)
[quote] Your uro needs to be your friend and guide you.

Tallman, your doctor doesn't seem like he'd be a friend. A second opinion is always a good recommendation. Actually, my husband talked with three other doctors. A morning session of four hours was set up to help him decide what to do. Radiation was eliminated quite quickly. Definitely research. I wish you the best in your decision.
Posted 6/2/2015 10:38 AM (GMT 0)
 I'm just going to repeat what others have said.  Find another doctor if you can.  You have time to do so with your stats.  Good luck.  I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the advise your doctor gave you.  It seems almost irresponsible.
Posted 6/8/2015 12:08 PM (GMT 0)
Now that I am quite certain I'll be doing brachytherapy my question for you guys that have had it done is...how long of a time period was it between your biopsy until you had the seeds planted? Do you need to heal the trauma from the biopsy before going at it with another traumatic procedure? Docs seem to think it's okay to just go for it.
Posted 6/8/2015 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
Howdy and welcome Tallman! I'm a fellow Canadian, where are you located?

Cheers, Doug
Posted 6/8/2015 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hey tallman,
I'm not a brachy guy. I had surgery. But, when I was researching I was told the minimum time between biopsy and "a procedure" is 6 weeks. They usually try to let the prostate heal before adding insult to injury.

Welcome to HealingWell. "Don't panic."

Jeff
Posted 6/17/2015 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
It never gets easier,you just get stronger,right? And patient...waiting for appointments.....
prostate 59cc , likely too big for brachy so will need a shot of lupron and wait some more.
yesterday's app saw even the radiology oncologist trying ram surgery down my throat...wow...it's like yeah you've got a choice of one thing!
Posted 6/17/2015 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
Have your brachy done by one of the experts - makes all the difference in the world.
Posted 6/17/2015 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Tallman-
Lupron for a Gleason 6 sounds like an unnecessary risk to me. Have you considered HDR brachy or SBRT where the size of your prostate is not an issue?

- Allen
Posted 6/17/2015 8:32 PM (GMT 0)

tallman said...
Really appreciate all the support,need time to process and decide what to do...doc says I have to decide soon as I may have had this cancer for a long time...zero symptoms and already recovered from biopsy last week...

You are a Gleason 6? I was a 5+4=9, far, far worse than a G6, and they did not even rush me. You may have had the cancer for a long time? So what? It is still a G6. There are a lot of 70 and 80 year old men who have had PC for who knows how long ( or at least there used to be before PSA testing) who die of various things other than PC, even though they have had it for many years.
Posted 6/17/2015 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Tallman:

Something just doesn't seem right regarding the advice/pressure you are getting.

Just curious: where are you located?

Can you see some expert somewhere?

Mel
Posted 6/17/2015 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Tallman, Not much I can add to what others have said. Your story is crying out for a second opinion, and a urologist who will be helpful and supportive rather than abrupt and threatening. Your biopsy results are eminently treatable, and pretty much all the alternatives have a good chance of success.
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