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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 5/28/2018 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am 58. PSA quickly took off last year, going from 3 to 8, which got me a referral to urologist but still many months to get an appt. in Jan when psa went to 16. That high meant I could get an mri fusion biopsy, which unsurprisingly came in at G8, aggressive, like the one that killed my father, who had been talked into watchful waiting, till he got Mets. Older brother dx two years ago.

We also found I had unrelated (?) bladder cancer, caught early. Had a TURBT for two tumors in my bladder 22 MAR 2018. Had to wait for that to heal, then had a DaVinci 14 May 2018 at university of Michigan, Dr David C. Miller. Pathology upgrade to a true G9, but came back pT2 N0. Nothing in the 7 lymph nodes or SV’s but I did have lymphovascular invasion. So, given the aggressive nature of the cancer, And the LVI, I am aware it can return, just like the bladder cancer, even though both are “so far so good” following surgery. No other treatment planned until something warrants it.

Recovery going well.
Posted 5/28/2018 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome. My, you sure have been through a lot so far. Best of luck to you ahead
Posted 5/28/2018 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, welcome and sorry you need to be here. With your G9 I would expect you to be on Lupron and then radiation.
Posted 5/28/2018 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Sheesh - two cancers at the same time? That's just plain unfair.

There is a fairly inexpensive ($250) germline saliva test that they can do to see if you have inherited risk factors warranting some special therapies:

/pcnrv.blogspot.com/2018/02/inexpensive-screening-for-germline.html

There is also a fairly expensive ($3000-$4000) test called Decipher that they can do on your tumor tissue that will tell you the probability of metastases in the next 10 years:

/pcnrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/genomic-classifier-can-help-identify.html
Posted 5/28/2018 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to our club...and it sounds like you're on a so-far, so-good path. And, as another who has a long history of PC in the family, including a father who was taken by it, I know where you're coming from.

For now, your task is to recover from the surgeries, and keep us posted about how it goes. In a few months, you'll have a PSA test, and (hopefully) you'll be non-detectable--and if you are, it's PARTY time. Even if not, your prognosis is good.

Hang in there.
Posted 5/28/2018 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
The easy part is over. Now comes the fun stuff. Still, even if I didn’t have any prostate cancer yet, i’d Want it out, done by a good surgeon either way. My mother and brother tested positive for BRCA2, though my sister tested negative. IAE, I think probably mine needed to go. Clear margins, but they were close. Nerve spared on one side. I wouldn’t be bothered by even 100% urinary incontinence nor by 100% ED, so that gave me some luxury of choice.

But yes, radiation and chemo are likely in my future, ...., only question is what and when. And constant monitoring forever. Like I said, what’s done is the easy part. Now comes the part where I need to be tough, on my game, and well-informed and organized.
Posted 5/29/2018 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry you’re here. Take Halbert’s counsel about Job #1, and you may want to follow (just in case) the ART/SRT threads, which have helped me deal with persistent psa.
Posted 5/29/2018 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
Recovery is going very well, faster than I expected but still something that has to be respected, I luckily have a job where I could take a month off. And, of course, there's good days and bad days but mostly good. I credit the surgeon's skill for a lot of that. I was very happy to have him specifically be the one to perform the operation and so far I am not disappointed. He was as good as I had expected and hoped, perhaps better than I'll ever know. Of course, we won't know for a while. But, so far so good, eh?
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