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Posted 3/8/2013 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
Received PC diagnosis last week. Now is decision time! How do I get started in forum? Just signed onto HW and am totally new to chat rooms, blogs, etc.
Posted 3/8/2013 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome catchafish, sorry you've had to find us, but glad you did and I think you will be too.  Many others will be here to help - but before we can please provide us with more details.  You can look to my "signature" at the bottom of this post to see the type of information we'd like to see to help.  So then that is what I would suggest to get you started.
Posted 3/8/2013 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Catchafish, first off, could you provide some information about your diagnosis. Gleason score? Number of samples taken? PSA at diagnosis? Hopefully you have a copy of the biopsy pathology...if not, strongly suggest you request it from your doctor.

Creating a signature with all your "stats" is a good way to get started. This way, as members respond, they will have the information they need to help you through this process.

Have you met with the doctor yet to discuss treatment options? If you have, that information would help us as well.
Posted 3/8/2013 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome here, friend.

David
Posted 3/8/2013 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Catchafish,
As mentioned above, it will help us to help you if you can tell us more about your diagnosis.
Try to stay calm and get ready to learn a LOT about PCa.
Susan
x
Posted 3/8/2013 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Catchafish,

Welcome to the forum.

you said...
Received PC diagnosis last week. Now is decision time!

Hmmm. Not quite right. Now is the time to calm down, take a breath, get a bit of perspective and then start to think about making an informed decision. Prostate cancer is not a fast moving disease. There is almost always time to get your feet on the ground before you take your next step.

You won't get any medical advice here. For one thing that's legally and officially true. Nobody here is acting as a doctor and giving medical advice here would be legally problematic. But it's also simply and plainly true. We are just a bunch of guys who have been where you are, or wives of those guys, or children or friends.

Do get back to us with some more information if you have it (or ask your doctor for a copy of your biopsy report and we'll help you understand it.) We'll want to know your Gleason score. It's a number that is shown with two parts added up. Mine is Gleason 9(4+5) most guys have a 6(3+3) and lots of other scores are possible. We will also want to know how many cores in your biopsy were positive and what percent of cancer was found.
Posted 3/8/2013 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Catchafish! I posted almost the exact same posting last October...I knew I wanted to get started, but didn't know how. The advice I received was (and continues to be) incredibly helpful in terms of both my treatment decisions and how I mentally approached my diagnosis.

As suggested above, post your stats so we can offer thoughts more closely related to your situation. After a PC diagnosis you almost always have some time to get oriented, so take a deep breath and learn as much as you can so you can approach this in a thoughtful way.

Good luck!
Posted 3/8/2013 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
You might wish to pick up a copy of Dr. Walsh's book "Guide to surviving prostate cancer" third edition...It's "The Bible" of prostate cancer and it will educate you as to what your are dealing with and how to deal with it...
Posted 3/8/2013 5:04 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to our corner of the world, sorry you need to be talking to us. Don't let anyone rush you into a decision. You've got time to make an informed decision. Don't take months doing that but you can take a couple of weeks to think it through.

Now's the time to ask questions. That's the best way to start.
Andrew
Posted 3/8/2013 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
welcome catchafish....as many others here will tell you, the best thing to do is stay calm and figure out the details...ie; PSA, Gleason, pathology report, and stage and start researching. This is one good place for advice and another site I'd recommend is the yana site. Its great for comparing your numbers to others and how they were treated and the results. Its basically a story about each patient from the day they were diagnosed to current.....some very detailed and some not so much. Its a very user friendly site as well. The link is below. Biggest thing is to find out all you can before you make a decisions on treatment or care...its ultimately your decision as the Dr. can only recommend. Good luck, chris

http://www.yananow.org
Posted 3/10/2013 3:30 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Catch ! Welcome, you will learn a lot here.


Don
Posted 3/10/2013 6:03 PM (GMT 0)
Catchafish,

Until we see your signature with more specifics, I will just offer one piece of advice now. You will run across this acronym here on HealingWell...GFMPH. It stands for Good For Men's Prostate Health.

It turns out that fishing is GFMPH! Be sure to make some time to keep fishing while you are doing your research on the way to making a treatment decision. Regards,

Joe

(Pier fished last Friday - caught trout, whiting and a skate. Got bit by a pelican who tried to take a trout out of my hand!)
Posted 3/11/2013 11:12 AM (GMT 0)
Don't know much abut your situation yet, but with a handle like 'catchafish', I feel like we are brothers already.
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