I need your help

Today I found out that a very close friend of our family has PCa. He found out today himself in Bologna, Italy. He's 52 and extremely fit and otherwise healthy.

The Italian urologist/surgeon he saw today put undue pressure and urgency on him and wanted to schedule him for surgery in 5 days!!! He just had his biopsy a week ago!

They found 1 of 16 cores with 15% involvement and graded it as 3+3.

hi P2PSA was 10,22
PHI 40,96
PSA 3.7
PSA FREE 0.48
PSA FREE/PSA TOTAL 12.97

I don't know what this means but they lead him to believe this meant an aggressive cancer that required immediate treatment.

I spoke to him for an hour and reassured him about our disease. I told he would do fine, to absolutely not rush into this based on the bullcrap the Italian urologist mentioned. He already told me he saw euro signs all over that guy and wouldn't follow his advice.

I told him he could be a candidate for AS. I told him that many think there is such a thing as indolent cancer, I told him about surgery, my experience and success with it and put him in touch with my surgeon. I also told him about Brachy and Radiation.

As of now he says he is firmly intending to have surgery. However, although i told him that my experience with it was textbook perfect, I thought he would benefit from learning about AS and Brachy.If for nothing else, to learn that he does not have an imminent death sentence resulting fro this news.

So here is where I need you. I have all the resources, references and experience in the world with robotic surgery, but I don't have two excellent sources that discuss and explain AS and Brachy. Could you please provide me with these so I can pass them along.

He's Italian but he can read English. I am trying to convince him to do this in America regardless of his choice. Not because Europe is bad, but because Italy can be for such things and frankly, although I am a proud flag waving native Italian, when it comes to medical matters I trust America more.

I haven't been around much lately. Been working like crazy and heading over to England for work. While In England i'm going to see three premiership soccer games in 3 days and a rock concert (Black Keys). I love "working" trips.

David

David,

Send him to the link for the booklet from Australia - it has a chapter that covers the various treatments. This is the "Let Sleeping Dogs" doc that there was so much rucus about here in the past. Regardless of the reason/focus, it had some good basics.

http://purl.library.usyd.edu.au/sup/9781920899684

DavidG,

Which matches are you going to?

Mike

I was told that several weeks had to elapse between biopsy and surgery to allow the bowel and prostate to heal and recover from what the biopsy had done to them so that it was possible to see clearly where to cut and sew.
Don't understand the rush at all. Even my friends who have had really serious fast growing cancers have not had to have surgery within a week of their biopses.
Alf

DavidG - I just sent an e-mail to you with a few studies and articles that I had purchased and/or downloaded during my search for treatment options.

Without knowing his PSA history, DRE results and staging I don't want to go too far with my opinion, but given what you've shared there's no doubt his Uro is seeing $$Euro$$ signs - pretty pathetic, maybe to the point of malpractice.

I hope the e-mail/attachments are helpful. Best of luck in this. Let us know what else we can do.

davidg:

Here is a link to a webpage with links to info you & your friend may find informative about CaP.

http://members.triton.net/vandenbe/CAP/CaPArticles_AUAGuidlines.htm

I would RUN, not walk, out of that guys office. Your friend has months, not weeks to make a decision.

Good luck to your friend

Great stuff, thanks guys.

My friend is reading up. His brother in law, who is a practicing doctor in Italy also told him to come to America for this. This is not a knock on other European countires (well most of them...) Just a knock on the Italy we know and love.

So far my friend has scheduled a video conference with Dr. Samadi and since he will be in LA in January considering going to see Scholz. I told him that can't hurt even though he seems to not consider himself a good candidate for AS also because being ACTIVE in Italy would not be as practical as being ACTIVE in America whereas with surgery he can do it and then get on with his life just doing PSA tests there.

I just hope he's catching his breath. We've all been there and he was shell shocked yesterday and the bull**** his urology told him was horrible. I told him that he and his wife will never get back those few hours of agony and stress following their visit with him.

JNF - I took the family for a work visit back in February. Stayed at a service hotel with apts in Mayfair which was a perfect location for them while I was in the office. Going solo this time and not staying in Mayfair. Plan a little Christmas shopping wed morning though around there. I'll pass on the Indian though, specially on a business trip. Have a weak tummy and that stuff seems to produce napalm in my digestive system.

Sorry to hear about your friend. Glad you are helping him.
Now- about LONDON...
I AM SO JEALOUS! We used to go to Europe - especially the UK and ESPECIALLY London- twice a year. Then my mother-in-law started having serious medical problems and I became her primary care giver. I miss London. Throw a kiss to whole city for me. And remember to Mind The Gap!!!!! LOL

davidg last logged in to HW in 2014.