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Posted 7/18/2019 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
Couldn't find my old thread, but basically I had surgery 10 years ago, radiation last summer, and then my PSA went down from 0.5 to 0.2, but then back up to 0.3. That was in Feb 2019. I feared the worst. But my doc said to wait, and the next test was back down to 0.2, and today it is 0.1! So hope is on the rise.
Posted 7/18/2019 4:43 AM (GMT 0)
YAY!!! Congratulations.

Here's to many more low numbers.
Andrew
Posted 7/18/2019 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Andrew!
Posted 7/18/2019 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
Excellent news. Happy for you!!
Posted 7/18/2019 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
Great news. The trend is your friend
Posted 7/18/2019 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
👍👍👍👍
Posted 7/18/2019 2:26 PM (GMT 0)
Good on you! Thanks for the news. My brother just finished up 7 weeks of salvage he will be I terested in your story.
Our best to you
Hero
Posted 7/18/2019 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
DJBearGuy,

Great news! I am similar to you and your journey intrigues me. I was Dx about your age. I was 54.

I just had a post RP SRT consult at Fox Chase on Monday ( I will post later about that). I am at .055 (4+3), a little over 3 plus years out from RP. I see by your signature, that at about 2 years post op, you were at about .1. But you waited until you reached about .5 to initiate SRT. That is a nice 10+ year run without any treatment. Was that your preferred choice to wait, or do you receive guidance from an RO? By the way, did you receive ADT during your SRT?

I was thinking about waiting for my SRT, but got pounded out here on HW about wanting to wait. I figure that if my trend of .04 rise/year continued (no guarantee that it does), I would not reach .5 until about 10 years from now. That, to me, would be worth it, since I am only 57 now and long term (not short term) RT SE's worry me. If I was 10 years older, I would not think twice and would be laying on the table today getting zapped! lol

Anyway, nice news to hear. I hope this gets you the next treatment-free 10+ years.

J
Posted 7/18/2019 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your kind thoughts!

Jay, I actually decided to go forward with treatment when I hit 0.4. That's another story that is on the board here somewhere. Briefly, I got second and third opinions. But with all the scheduling and testing that needed to be done, by the time treatment started, I was up to 0.5. Bummer.

Regarding ADT, I didn't know I was a candidate for that too, until the RO mentioned it at the last minute. The GF and I did some frantic research, and it looked like I was in a range where it was unknown benefit. There may be more research now, even just a year later.

I seem to have somewhat more side effects than many people. Basically digestion, a little worse, started sooner and lasting longer than average. Strangely, I don't tolerate vegetables very well any more, but I do better with meat. So I've been eating more meat. Probably bad for the cardiovascular system in the long term, but the vegetable tolerance is very gradually coming back. Didn't think it would take over a year! I also wasn't able to keep up my exercise routine due to the fatigue. Even now, a year after treatment ended, and regular workouts, I'm still not in the shape I was 15 months ago.
Posted 7/19/2019 8:32 AM (GMT 0)
Fantastic news Mr BearGuy! Love your work!!! Really great to hear.
Posted 7/19/2019 2:49 PM (GMT 0)
Just to be clear, I wound up not doing the ADT. I was leaning against it, since it wasn't clear that it would be helpful, none of my doctors was pushing for it, only offering it, and I was worried about the side effects.
Posted 11/7/2019 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
I had doubts at some points. But today's result is finally <0.1!
Which is as good as it gets at Kaiser, since they don't do the more sensitive test.

It's been over a year. Still having digestive problems. Started steroid suppositories. These seem to help, but I'm still not back to where I was. Well, I guess if I never get to eat from a salad bar again, I can live with that. Though I do miss vegetables. Just like I used to miss eating meat. It's funny.
Posted 11/7/2019 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations!
Posted 11/7/2019 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
YAY!
Posted 11/7/2019 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you!
Posted 11/8/2019 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
DJ - Have you had a colonoscopy since your RT? I had CyberKnife as primary treatment in 2016, and had a lot of digestive distress after. Finally ended up with some "scary" rectal bleeding. Toilet bowl looked like a slasher movie!

I had a colonoscopy, and the Gastro found some areas of irritation and inflammation caused by the RT. He treated with his magic laser, and since then, my innards have been much happier. No bleeding, and I can eat more of the things I like. Not perfect, but much better.
Posted 11/8/2019 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
<smiley face> <thumbs up>
Posted 11/8/2019 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Paxton, that's interesting. I had a colonoscopy shortly before RT. But although my bowels have been uncomfortable, there's been hardly any bleeding. None at all in the past couple months. Just weirdly shaped feces and leaking liquids. I can have 6 or more good days in a row, but I never know when a leak might occur (like today!), so I wear pads every day.
Posted 11/8/2019 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Great news DJ
Posted 11/8/2019 4:57 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you SP and Prato!
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