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Posted 8/5/2010 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
For those that are interested I went to see my Urologist on August 3rd and although he said the latest PSA rise was not overly concerning he did feel the time was right to get a follow up biopsy to see if there is any change in the cancer grade / volume. I am now scheduled for September 1st. I have to say over the last year and a hald I have been pretty relaxed about being on AS but the pending biopsy has me worrying again like I did when I was first diagnosed. I will know the results mid September and will post the outcome.
Posted 8/5/2010 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
To me - that's the downside of AS...You know you have cancer - you just don't know how bad...
Posted 8/5/2010 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Optimist. You have cancer. You are 56 years old..The cancer is not going to go away by itself. It can only get worse. Why wait until a very treatable, very curable condition turns into something really ugly?? AS works GREAT for Gleason 6 guys who are 70 but you are too young to make it another 20 years without treatment. IMO, the sooner you start it the better...
Posted 8/5/2010 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Optimist.
Your psa doubling time looks OK. As long as it stays greater than 3 years it is a good sign. Your stats are on the upper end of AS, but you still have an excellent chance of remaining on the protocol. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that only 30% of low risk PC will progress and that if it does the cure rate is similar to be treated immediately.
Surgery has a 21% to 30% reoccurrance rate, about the same as AS, yet those telling you that AS is dangerous won't hesitate to have surgery. The worse thing that can happen is that you will be treated somewhere down the road.
JT
Posted 8/5/2010 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the comments. I agree with John T that statistically I am taking a path that is not unreasonable assuming the next biopsy confirms I am still a Gleeson 6 with low volume cancer. Any progression and I will go for treatment. I will update with biopsy results in mid September - hopefully to say I am continuing on AS.
Posted 8/5/2010 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Optimist,

I don't see any reason that you can't safely wait till that next biopsy. How many cores will it be, if you know? The results of this next one should indicate if you can still safely follow your AS plan. The whole point of AS, is not to get psyched into a panic mode to rush into something, and sounds like that is not the case with you. Yes, you have PC, but you already knew that before you started AS. You have already bought some time that some of the guys here wished they may still have had. I am sure when/if the stats change badly, if they do, you will still have time to plan out a treatment.

I didn't have your choice of AS, so I like to watch cases like yours where its a possibility.

Good continued luck

David in SC
Posted 8/5/2010 4:59 PM (GMT 0)

Dear Optimist:

I certainly agree with JT and David and believe you are following a logical path.  Those who try to panic you into treatment are not doing you a service, IMHO.  Yes, you MAY need treatment at some point in time but maybe not...in the meantime, since you are following a good plan, your chances of having a "bigger problem" are minimal.

And, if you read this forum much, you can see that even those who have had surgery or radiation still have anxiety when it's time for their PSA testing.  So, treatment does not eliminate worry.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Tudpock (Jim)

Posted 8/5/2010 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
Optimistic PCa brothern- My brother is doing A.S. for 5 yrs., but has lesser stats that are within the indolent PCa definition, so far appears sane. But, your stats are little different, I was diagnosed late into high risk land because of urinary total blockage (gee a real clue??-age 52 then 2002). So never saw the luxury of waiting at all.

I suggest you read page 39 of Dr. Strums book- A Primer on Prostate Cancer (2nd edition) mid page about the correlation of non-confined PCa and fPsa levels....something to think about or consult with PCa specialist about. Just trying to keep you in a heads up in your decision making, never easy enough decisions in this stuff. You got my support anyway in whatever you decide.
You might want to contact Terry H. co-founder of www.yananow.net on their forum board and ask his advice, he has done this(for awhile) and has seen many other scenarios having done this...tell him all your stats and see what he may say, he will give an informed likely unbiased opinion for free as educated layperson if you want another perspective to look at. 

Post Edited (zufus) : 8/6/2010 7:25:46 AM (GMT-6)

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