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Posted 11/21/2011 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
 Hi I was just diagnosed October 3. I had two positive cores out of 12. Both under 10% and Gleeson of 7, 4 in one 3 in the other. My PSA is very low 0.74.  The pathology report and the doctor's best guess is that it is contained. I have elected for surgery which will be in January. I am staying in good shape running four or five times a week and weight training twice a week. I just find the wait and staying positive a little hard the past couple days. I am anxious about surgery,  recovery and getting back to work as soon as I can.

'I know others have managed I guess i want to hear from you 

Posted 11/21/2011 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
warrentor,

You may be anxious now and as surgery approaches but I found after surgery its just a relief its done and to have had a successful procedure. Once the surgery is over you tend to accept what has happened, hopefuuly have a positive attitude and move on with your life. I'm 18 months out from surgery and consider myself a cancer survivor but to be honest it feels like I never had PCa in the first place. I still have a bit of a leakage issue but I'll sort that out with time.

Positive thoughts seem to go a long way with this disease, the recovery from surgery takes some time...don't rush it.

r

Posted 11/21/2011 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
warren,

welcome to hw. sorry you had the need to find us, but glad you are here.

am i reading your post right, you were diagnosed with a Gleason 7 with a PSA of only .74? Did you mean 7.4?

if the .74 is correct, i think that is the lowest PC diagnosis and PSA combination I have ever heard of.

good luck in any event

david in sc
Posted 11/21/2011 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Your psa of .74 is extremely low. What triggered a biopsy? Just to be on the safe side I would send my slides to Bostwich Labs for a 2nd opinion and also for a ploidy analysis. A low psa with prostate cancer is indicative of a serious varient and to be on the safe side you should get it verified.

JohnT

Posted 11/21/2011 10:07 PM (GMT 0)
The PSA was only 0.74. A DRE by my GP prompted the referal to the urologist. He repeated the PSA and got the same result but he scheduled the biopsy before he got his results. He said PSA are useful but he did not trust them alone when anything can be felt. He also praised the GP because he said he may not have felt it without him giving an idea where to feel. I do feel very lucky that this may be a very early find. 
Posted 11/21/2011 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
Get a second opinion. I'm new at this also, but that's a very low PSA. And to already decide on surgery so quickly when there or other options less evasive. Been doing lots of reading since I was dianosed and I think some doctors concider prostate cancer as their "cash cow". Hope I'm wrong. Good luck!
Posted 11/22/2011 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
Do a search on this site for "low psa tumor" and you will find a series of threads that describe this condition. With a palatable tumor and confirmed G4 cells you should get a 2nd opinion from a medical oncologist that specializes in PC or at least post your stats on "prostate pointers p2p" as some very good doctors answer posts on that site. At the very least you should get your biopsy slides analyzied for tumor markers from a lab such a Bostick or Epstein at Hopkins.
It is not normal for a tumor to generate no psa and in these cases surgery is not normally curative. You have a large red flag that needs to be investigated more throughly by a specialist who is familiar with varients.
JT
Posted 11/22/2011 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Well said John T. By the way great numbers!!!
Posted 11/22/2011 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
warrenton , To bad you have to be a menber on this sight,but you will find that you are not along.lots of people are being dx everyday and making quick decisions on treatment choices.When i found my way to this sight i was a mess.The best advise i got was not to rush into anything, and to take the time to educate myself.I posted almost the same type of thread after my surgery just a few day ago.Im anxious about the path report to come back,its been very stressful and all that was on my mind.Someone posted back and said that the waiting game never stops.That is so write when i stoped to think about it.Ive waited for Psa readings,biopsy,blood work,Dr appt. path report after biopsy,and now path after surgery.Im trying to stay busy with the things im most happy with and trying to be patient because the waiting game never stop.Take care HW brother and i hope you find what you are looking for.
Posted 11/22/2011 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
 

Thanks for all the replies. I will consider the advice. I went back to my doctor to check the PSA score. My baseline before being diagnosed was 0.55 when I was  age 48. I was diagnosed at 53 in Oct.  with the two positive cores and the PSA was 1.29 which is low but much more than before.  I also went over the pathology report again. The first  core had  15% tissue with mainly Gleeson 3 and less than 5% Gleeson 4. The second core had 5% tissue all Gleeson 3. I was assigned an overall Gleeson 7.

Posted 11/23/2011 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
My brother with PCa (I have 2 brothers), his was 1.0 with diagnosis of 1 positive core ,5% PCa found, positive guess on the DRE by doc....been 7-8 yrs. now on A.S./W.W., his psa last tested has not moved and appears the waiting is not ridiculous. He kind of fit the John Hopkins indolent PCa parameters.

My other brother had a psa of .9 (both are older than me), no biopsies, appears safe, according to the doc at that time.
Posted 11/23/2011 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Warrentor, do you see the word "neuroendocrine" in the bx path report? If the tumor type is adenocarcinoma the chance for favorable treatment with positive outcome is good. With a neuroendocrine tumor, prognosis is not as good.

be well...
Posted 11/24/2011 3:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi DanO

On the pathology report it states adenocarcinoma

 

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