Got my Biopsy results/ What a day

Jmurph your stats and mine are almost identical. If you read my previous posts you will see my descision making process. Im only a few months ahead of you on the journey. I AM NOT SAYING TO DO WHAT I DID.

Iwill say that my uro said the same as yours AFTER I signed for surgery. That my young age meant there is a good chance of progression down the line. I went on AS for 3 days. Im a worrier. I wanted to deal with my PCa now and get my PCa staged now when Im as fit and healthy with the best chance of recovery I will ever have.

Its very scary that decision mainly for fear of side effects. If there were zero side effects even more men would choose surgery. I accepted the risk knowing that at my age the stats show a significantly better outcome than older men. BUT I always prepare for the worst and I went in with my eyes wide open. The risks between AS and surgery are dfferent for a man aged 43 and a man aged 73. There are chances and risks in any decision. It really does depend on whats right for you and what you can deal with. You have lots of low risk time on AS with treatment down the line if needed. I was not the boy for AS and my surgery outcomes have been excellent and way surpassed my hopes.

I know where you are at right now Jmurph. Your in the eye of the storm buddy. You've, all of a sudden got big life decisions to make. Whatever you decide try and see the overall outcome stats for any option as a guide. They are both the same for AS and surgery. But remember these are percentages and you do need to factor in your specific stats when interpreting them.

Dharma, if you want to share an email address please do it via your profile so it will show up in the little box under your name rather than in the body of a post where every spammer in the world will see it.

Alternatively, Murph you could do the same so Dharma could email you.

Jim

Im seeing Dr Gettman on May 29th.

Ive got a lot of decisions to make thats for sure. Ive got my family wanting it out. My wife is torn knowing the side effects. Im taking my time and processing and going to make a decision after talking to Dr Gettman and his team.

Im keeping my mind open to all of it.

THIS FORUM HAS BEEN A BLESSING...

I might have had a meltdown without it

I have a list of questions that Ive got from this board... IM SO GRATEFUL.... Im going in armed with info/questions...

Hopefully my 2nd read of my slides will be complete then... Actually 3rd read. I sent them to Mayo and Johns Hopkins but I need to call today and make they sent them there...

Tudpock18 said...

Jmurph said...
and going to make a decision after talking to Dr Gettman and his team.

/quote]

Murph, I know you're anxious to make a decision but...please keep in mind that the good doc is a urologist specializing in RALP. If you decide to go with active treatment, please take the time to consult with specialists in other treatments so you are fully educated and have a clear view of your options.

Jim

jmurph......you are getting caught up in the same thing I did when I was first dx....You read all this stuff about all these natural remedies stopping cancer in a lab....you will even read about this working in "SOME" people....in the 10 years I have been reading about cancer none have ever been proven to work....

Some cancers spread and some don't and nobody knows why...just educated guesses...

But, the fact that does hold true over time is that the PCa you have is very un-agressive......and time has proven that with all the long term studies out....

If you want to private message me and give me your email I will send you all the literature I have collected over the year about G6 and how it never kills anyone....

I have a 30 year study from Walsh at J.H. of all his surgical patients he treated over the 30 years he practiced....all the way back to the 1980's....and NONE of his organ confined G6 patients died of PCa....Not 1.

It's very easy to get caught up in all these articles of the great healing power of plants and all the other stuff....after time you will that nothing ever comes of any of these studies....

You should be more concerned with exercise and not dying of a heart attack or the flu....both of those are still at the top of the list as far as your mortality is concerned over PCa.....

It will take time, but you will begin to understand it..

my email is under my username and I would love to see more info..
THank YOu

ChrisR said...
jmurph......you are getting caught up in the same thing I did when I was first dx....You read all this stuff about all these natural remedies stopping cancer in a lab....you will even read about this working in "SOME" people....in the 10 years I have been reading about cancer none have ever been proven to work....

Some cancers spread and some don't and nobody knows why...just educated guesses...

But, the fact that does hold true over time is that the PCa you have is very un-agressive......and time has proven that with all the long term studies out....

If you want to private message me and give me your email I will send you all the literature I have collected over the year about G6 and how it never kills anyone....

I have a 30 year study from Walsh at J.H. of all his surgical patients he treated over the 30 years he practiced....all the way back to the 1980's....and NONE of his organ confined G6 patients died of PCa....Not 1.

It's very easy to get caught up in all these articles of the great healing power of plants and all the other stuff....after time you will that nothing ever comes of any of these studies....

You should be more concerned with exercise and not dying of a heart attack or the flu....both of those are still at the top of the list as far as your mortality is concerned over PCa.....

It will take time, but you will begin to understand it..

The PSA tests are to make sure there are no cancerous prostate cells left behind, which can happen if the cancer had moved beyond the prostate or if you have "positive margins," which means the cancer was on the edge in which the surgeon cut. Most guys are undetectable after a surgery, but a small amount of PSA can indicate something was left behind. Best case is there's some cancer left in the prostate bed that can be taken care of by local radiation. Worst case is something beyond the prostate bed.

Jmurph said...
Ive been looking for a answer to this question.

Why do they test your PSA Post-Op after having your prostate removed??? Maybe Im dumb but once the prostate is removed how would your PSA increase and still have Prostate Cancer?

I keep going through threads on this forums with Post-Op patients still having PSA screenings and some still showing a PSA??

JMurph, It's because it's the only way to know that the surgery was successful in eliminating the cancer. Most docs follow a plan like this: Every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months for up to 5 years, then annually after that.

You're right, the surgery SHOULD eliminate the cancer--and, with G6/G7 cases, it most often does. However, there is always a chance that they missed something..and continuing with PSA testing is the only way to be sure.

ChrisR said...
I will send you an email later this morning with all the docs I have on G6.....hope you are relaxing this weekend.....

Chris,

I have a pesky G6 and I would also like to get a copy of your G6 docs...

Thank You

pasayten

Met with surgeon today and was a bit overwhelmed. Basically gave me 2 options. Surgery and Radiation. Said at my age Radiation was NOT a good idea. I told him I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the side effects from surgery and the idea of rolling through life with it. I asked my questions got answers. I felt due to my work I was rushed into having the surgery, next thing I know its set for June 18th. Then all kinds of Preop appts. My wife and I went to breakfast. She knew something was up. I kind of teared up and said "i dont feel good about this decision and felt rushed".. She agreed and said a rushed decision is never a good decision. She asked me what I wanted to do and I told her go home and cancel and think about stuff. She said lets go home.. THANK GOD FOR her. So we canceled all the appts. I called the Dr.. We are doing a MRI on tuesday and then probably AS....

Thanks to this forum I basically said F my job and what they prefer I need to do what I feel good about whether its in 6 months for 5 years...

MRI i got the impression to just have abetter picture of it..

I agree with PDL17: you need a new urologist.
There are some well-established AS programs around the country. Could you get to one of them?

Murph, good move. You will figure this out and make a decision you feel comfortable about. I get how some urologists can rush you into a decision. I met with one for a another opinion on my case. Simply presented my numbers to him. He did no DRE, took a cursory look at my numbers and promptly escorted me to his surgery scheduler telling me that he thought he had an opening "right away" and I should get this taken care of quickly. What I did quickly was exit his practice never to return.

Continue to learn and consider your options. You have time and obviously a good partner to help you through this. We will help as well.

Jim