Last week I had my third PSA post adjuvant RT and all have been 0.0 (Medicare dictates Quest lab according to the tech). Also last week I "celebrated" the two year anniversary on July 5th of getting that call from my (then 2nd) Urologist informing me that I had cancer... a word my first Uro never mentioned in four years of steadily rising PSA's and negative or "normal" tests.
Today I had my follow-up with my (now 4th) Uro and we discussed a few issues, such as the AUS and complications surrounding that. Basically, life with it is better than life without it. BTW I am trying
really hard to not dwell too much on the past.
He told me that studies show that high risk guys like me (SVI with no margins) who opted for surgery but undergo HT+RT afterwards are the
least likely to experience recurrence. Of course it was not just some easy decision at the time, but a number of coinciding factors that determined the course.
Where there are stats... like 50% of T3b's who undergo surgery never need RT... or 1 in 20 who are left incontinent, or 1 in 4 AUS recipients that will require revision... or the "small possibility" of bowel damage from RT... yup, I'm the guy who ended up in that "small" group.
Anywho, of course I am elated about
the three consecutive zero PSA's. Now we move on to six month PSA tests, and he said there probably won't be much that's changed by then given my testosterone level of nine. And it's a tremendous relief to have finally won one battle.
Not that there is any time for R&R... yesterday I started prednisone 60mg/day and going for H&N CT tomorrow, see the ENT on Friday for a three month followup to April's surgery and back to the oculoplastic surgeon on Monday. It never ends.