Puzzled

Just goes to show that if you wait long enough views change over time. In 2008 when I first joined this forum surgery was the only acceptable treatment unless you were over 75. Anyone even considering AS was signing their death warrant. More than several people were kicked off the forum because of their heated views.
This is how the human brain works. It is very unusual to change ones views in the short term because the neural networks in your brain have been established. Over a long period of time these networks can change with new information being continually fed to them. You can clearly see this at work in the way we now accept social norms that decades ago were not tolerated.
Most decisions we make are formed in the emotional part of the brain and not the logical part. This is why logic rarely makes one change his mind and people react emotionally not logically when their decisions are challenged.

JNF said...
The poster who Rob cited was one core G6. It looks like he was not advised of AS or other less invasive treatment methods. I want to hear again all the great reasons for surgery with that diagnosis.

I am not that poster but I could have been. My uro advised I have surgery within 2 months of my diagnosis. Thank God (quite literally) that I found this forum. Here I am 3 years later with an intact prostate, no life altering SEs, and a very low PSA. Life is good.

And I am also in violent disagreement with any doc that recommends radical treatment for patients with my stats.

I don't know if there is an anti-surgery bias, but it does seem to me that the pro radiation people are more anti surgery than the pro surgery people are anti RT. Maybe it's because us surgery people know we may also receive RT down the line.

I was disappointed that the "surgery vs RT" thread was locked, because somebody had cited an old study and I thought it might be useful to point out some reasons not to put too much stock in it. Maybe next time.

Nobody--not a PCa forum member or a physician or anyone else--can force anyone into a treatment choice.

I wish that more doctors and heath systems worked the way mine did when I was diagnosed. When my doctor noted a rising PSA and other risk factors I was sent to a URO who recommended a biopsy. When the diagnoses came in that URO passed me on to the cancer clinic for a "Multi-disciplinary" meeting.

At the clinic I was given a short tour by one of the supervising RNs. Then I met a surgeon and an RO on the same day. This was followed by a meeting with educational RN whose job it was to make sure I had all the information I needed about my cancer and my choices (she took notes and got answers to questions I had). I went into the meeting with a written list of questions and when the RO noticed I was having trouble keeping up asked to see my questions and then proceeded to annotate the pathology report and assorted literature they had given me to answer those questions.

They ended the meeting with recommended books to read, the URLs to their on-line PC information, doctor's email addresses, and told me that I could take a few weeks to decided what I wanted to do. There was no pressure, no sales talk - just an effort to make sure I understood what was happening with my PC and what my options where. On the recommendation of the RO and surgeon, I selected IMRT at the local clinic. I was offered brachy, but my health plan would have required me to travel to another city 3 hours away and I didn't want to do that.

I felt I was treated well and given control over my treatment. I find it difficult to believe that other doctors and healthcare systems don't provide this level of care to their patients. Mind boggling to me.

When newcomers land here, I want to encourage them to get a well rounded stack of information before they chose a treatment method.

Andrew

Paxton said...
I may be splitting hairs here, and if I am, moderators feel free to delete this post, but I actually find this site more balanced when it comes to treatment experiences shared and advice given than the first PCa site I found via Google search. That "other" site (won't name it, not sure if forum rules prohibit doing so, but many do prohibit naming competing sites) seems to ONLY recommend surgery, with some very disparaging comments made about any form of RT. Even worse, they still quote Dr. Walsh's book (3rd edition) where he shares his feelings that treatments like SBRT should only be used in clinical trials as there isn't enough historical data available to evaluate them. To me, that is a more serious bias than any that may be present here.

Paxton, That "other" site is one that I frequently visit. And, while I agree that many members tilt towards surgery, I have seen a significant shift towards a "fair and balanced" tone on radiation. Even the moderator, who I originally considered very pro-surgery, has changed to where he almost always advises newbies to consult with both a surgeon and a RO. Also, AS is broadly accepted, even recommended, for low risk men.

The times have been a changin'

Randy chose surgery because it was recommended to us by 2 different docs. Both were convinced that the PCa was contained and that surgery was our best chance for a "cure". Had we known then what we know now, we might have made a different choice. I admit that we had some of the "get it out now" panic that often comes with hearing the word "cancer".

We can't go back. We can't make different choices. We have to find peace in knowing that we made choices based on the information we had at the time.

Donna