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Update 2.5 years after surgery

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 5/14/2010 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Latest PSA remains <0.1 - undetectable. My uro will probably allow me to start yearly tests as opposed to every 6 months when I meet with him next week. The odd 2.5 year switch in test frequency stems from my desire to synchronize PSA testing with some other medical calendar events. For my "low risk" situation, I am still happy that I made the switch from the ultra-sensitive test to the standard variety, though I still had some anxiety as this latest test approached.

I remain incredibly thankful that I had a recovery free of any side-effects. Although I don't post as much as I used to, I extend my best wishes to everyone here.

CaPCa
Posted 5/15/2010 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
Great to hear.

There are, proportionally, more people who post here who have ongoing problems, and I'm concerned that newcomers get the impression that these problems are typical. Your case is more like the typical, and we need to keep reminding ourselves and others of that fact.  Many of the others like you have "moved on" and are getting on with their lives...so it's good of you to come back and give this update.  Celebrate your success with a glass of heart-healthy red wine!

best wishes...
Posted 5/15/2010 2:07 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to hear of the continuing zero's. Wishing you a lifetime of them. smilewinkgrin
Posted 5/15/2010 10:55 PM (GMT 0)
"There are, proportionally, more people who post here who have ongoing problems, and I'm concerned that newcomers get the impression that these problems are typical."

Thanks for this reminder!

I have been a lurker for a while and sometimes get a bit rattled reading how some of you guys are dealing with ongoing issues.

My robotic surgery is in a couple of weeks and this discussion board's info is very useful. I am comfortable with my choice of treatment.

I am hoping for the best but am knowledgeable about possible problems. I have two friends with PC, who used the same surgeon I am using, who are no longer incontinent, regained erections and are back to pretty normal lives with PSAs at zero or close to it, so this offers some comfort.

Here are some of my stats:
Age:54
Father diagnosed with PC at age 72 - wasn't contained to prostate when found in 1992.
PSA rose from 3.2 to 5.1 over the course of 1.5 years with Free PSA at 25% for the last two tests.
DRE showed no evidence of tumor but Uro thought my prostate was a little large for someone my age
PC Diagnosed 4/6/10 after biopsy on 4/1/10
1 out of 12 biopsy samples was positive with 5%
Gleason 3+4
Posted 5/15/2010 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
CaPca: Thanks so much for posting. As April6th mentioned, so may of the posters have on going problems. It should be noted that many guys are like you and doing GREAT after surgery. I do consider myself very luck with you results at 20 months. I still battle a bit with the ED stuff but for today I am not fighting PSA or leaking and I have made wonderful friends on HW.

I am here keeping in touch with them and offering each and every one of them hope.

Cajun Jeff
Posted 5/15/2010 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
April, welcome to the forums.

It's good that people like CaPCa return and let us know how they are doing. We need to keep an idea of the scale here. The number of regular posters on this (world-wide) forum is perhaps a few hundreds. The number of surgeries is in the hundreds of thousands (my guess).

The large majority of surgeries are uneventful and most patients afterwards see no need to post in forums like these. There is every chance that you too will be one of those -- good luck with the surgery.
Posted 5/17/2010 1:43 PM (GMT 0)
Seriously, thanks for letting us know of the good results. My surgery is this Wed, so it's good to hear from those who are doing well.

Bill

Posted 5/18/2010 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all of the positive feedback. I have also felt that the good outcomes are generally underweighted here for the same natural reasons.

For the guys who are about to go through surgery, I wish you a terrific outcome.

CaPCa
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