What I have learned

Six weeks ago my PSA came in higher than usual. The first five since my RP in March 2014 were all <.04. The most recent one came in at .08. Since my pathology post-surgery was clean, my urologist felt that the ,08 might be an anomaly for a variety of reasons and ordered another PSA. Despite his encouraging words, my anxiety level was off the charts. This led me not only to this website but to the various writings and videos available to anyone wanting a better understanding of this disease. I had done very little research post-surgery and operated within a bubble. That won't happen again.

What I have learned...

We share the disease but there are as many scenarios as there are men.

There are common denominators to every study, paper and personal experience. These are guides, not rules.

Your medical team will be the most important collection of people in your life. Choose wisely.

Advocate for yourself. They know what they know but you should have all your questions and concerns fully addressed even at the risk of repeating yourself. (I often wonder if my doctors think that I am hearing-impaired because of the repetition of some of my questions.)

Advice about nutrition, exercise and taking care of oneself in general may not alter the outcome but it can't hurt.

Try not to get ahead of oneself. (Easier said than done.) The last six weeks were worse than waiting for
surgery. I had my share of mental meltdowns.

As with most things in life, no one does it alone.

Today's PSA was <.02. I fell apart.

Thank you for what you share and for your feedback to my original post. In no way do I consider today's result the end of it. I take it three months at a time. But I am grateful and I will never take this disease for granted. The lessons keep coming no matter how old we get.

You learn very good lesson, grasshopper. .
Thank you for sharing. As I read your post, I realized that I have also learned those things and some other stuff, too. But those are the important lessons!

Good post Sessanta, and great result on the <.02.
That lesson about not getting ahead of oneself.... I've been working on that since I was diagnosed, one year ago next week. If you can describe how you figured that one out, let me know! 😀👍

I generally agree with the std test being the better in most cases, due to anxiety. But there is a time and place for the ultra. That time and place is usually known by the person involved.