no more bad news was great news today....what a huge relief to hear that bone scan and CT were both negative
.
my doctor, an
open RP surgeon, strongly recommends a combination of hormone and radiation therapies because he feels that there's a 50% chance that any RP surgery would have to be followed by radiation because of microscopic spread of cancer.
my prostate is not enlarged but 12 of 12 cores are positive for cancer, three of which have a gleason of 3+4 and the rest are 3+3.
so the plan is lupron, seeds and then IMRT for five weeks. the doctor says with my numbers he has never seen a return of cancer after this treatment. he also said that if he were in my shoes he would undergo the exact same treatment without hesitation. the doctor was upbeat and optimistic, and believe me he's not one to blow smoke just to make you feel better.
four of us attended the consultation and we are all sold on this course of treatment.
the next step is the radiation oncologist. I feel that 90% of the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders even tho treatment has not yet begun.
thank you all for the support. i will keep you posted.
ed r.