Hello, all. Russ (last name deleted) here, out in Salem, OR, in the beautiful Willamette Valley. I've been reading this forum for the last couple of weeks, gathering information about
"my new friend' (as my brothers referred to their lung cancers 3 years ago).
At the risk of making a short story long, my PSA has always been high (the 1st was 2.5 in 1988, at 32) for my age, but finally broke 4.0 3 years ago. It waffled up and down until a year ago, hitting a high of 6.5, dropping to 3.1, etc. The average for the last 9 tests is 4.35, BTW.
My Urologist wanted to do a biopsy last July at 4.5, talked him into waiting 90 days. He added the free% test in October; we got 4.2 and 21%. He said "It's good, we'll wait". I'd read enough to say no, that's too "gray" for me and sure enough, I was right, but just. Such a tiny amount. I am aware that he may have grazed the tumor, yet that "inflammation" on the left side says otherwise (read that in Dr. Walsh's book).
I do recognize the gravity of the situation, yet am soothed by the fact I do have time on my side, based on all the things I have read, both here and other places. We'll be doing Active Surveillance, with PSA (total & free%) every 4 months (with a DRE, I assume), then another biopsy at 12 -18 months, depending on the numbers. I also recognize I am young enough to face the larger possibility of surgery or radiation, since I am otherwise very healthy, with no other medical issues (Ok, BP is creeping up a tiny bit, no meds, though).
FWIW, no one in my family has/had Prostate Cancer, though my grandmother died from Liver Cancer in '75, my mother from Adrenal Gland Cancer in '02, my Dad from Lung Cancer in '14, both brothers from Lung Cancer in '15 (the last 3 inveterate smokers; I quit in '79, at 22.5
). We referred to the maternal genetics as "The Bad Genetic Juju"
!
Russ
Post Edited By Moderator (Tudpock18) : 12/31/2016 5:06:02 AM (GMT-7)