test results?

hi kurt and courtney

talk to your surgeon--he is the one to answer your question with certainty for your situation.only until the surgery is started, you cannot necessarily second guess what is going to be found. i don't think it is a reason not to proceed with the surgery. it is only through surgery that you can really get a fix on the real stage of cancer. there was another recent discussion about lymph nodes that you may have seen.

if you go ahead with surgery, you will want to discuss with your surgeon whether or not he removes the lymph nodes. many surgeons do not do this and at a later date, some PC patients have a recurrence of the cancer and the PSA starts to rise. the best bet is usually to have all of the lymph nodes removed to play it safe. removing those lymph nodes apparently does not have any impact as far as one's health is concerned according to what i have read.

i hope that some members here may have had a lymph node situation like yours so that they can comment about their experiences. all the best.

Dave

Hey Kurt and Courtney,

Wow, you are having a run. It will smooth out though. Everything seems like a crisis during the time between diagnosis and treatment. You kind of feel like you are sleeping with an elephant and you don't know when he is going to roll over.

Take heart in the fact you have made a good decision on treatment. The cancer will be gone in about a month and you will be on the road to recovery. Plan for those days. Remember that the only things you can take into the OR are a great attitude and your anethitized(sp?) body.....

Jim

Dr did DRE first week of Jan and said Neg. But he also told us T2 for stage. PSA jumped from 2.6 to 4.1 in less than 6 months so don't know if that has anything to do with stage. He dropped us when we said we were getting second opinion and needed copies of records. From what we know, biopsy was done due to rise in PSA. However, 2nd opinion dr and onocologist (3rd opinion) all said stage T2. We feel confident in both the 2nd dr and onocologist. I guess we need to call 2nd dr, now #1 dr, and ask his opinion. The more I research, the more confident I am that the nodes are swollen due to infection and not cancer. Thank you Tamu and Biker90 for the info provided. We due plan on heading into the OR with the VERY best attitude. My husband is doing this exercises throughout the day. I guess I just wanted to hear (as we all do) All tests Negative!!! We will survive!!!!

Hi Courtney,
If your first doctor dropped you because you wanted a second opinion, when this is all done and Kurt is well, you should report him to your state medical board. What you are going through is something everyone should get a second opinion on. My original Dr said he was surprised at the fact as many as 50% take his diagnosis of PC without secondary consultation. He provided me a list of specialists across the country. He gave me copies of the pathology reports, the PSA results, and pamplets, on the same day he gave me the diagnosis, and without me asking for any of it. He told me what he recommended, how he would do it, if I chose to go with him, and what the treatments side effects were. Your first doctor does not need to face another PC patient if he is concerned about being second guessed. My first urologist was very good and had great bedside manner. When I told him I was going to the City of Hope, he wished me the best and stated he thought that was a great choice. He said he would still be there if I needed him for anything, follow up, consultation, or just plain someone to talk to. He is in his upper 30's and is going to be one of the finest doctors you could ever have. I chose CoH because of the comfort factor of knowing that the doctor was simply reknowned for this treatment.

On the T2 stuff. I too was DRE negative, but had biopsy show both sides. My first doctor stated that is was possible that the needle penetration caught a bit or the cancer from the other side (the one right core was 20% involved, while three cores from the left were 70, 80, 80), so he did not eliminate the possibility of a lesser grade, but cautioned that the clinical staging was not the important staging, but rather the surgical staging. It was because the two sides were likely involved, PSA13.5, Gleason 7, and my young age that he was recommending prostatectomy.

Tony

Keep up the good work on researching. You are WAY doing the right things. Thank you for your comments tonite on my surgery tomorrow. I had a nice dinner with my mom and dad, and my wonderful wife. Soon I'll be contacting you with my progress.

Post Edited (TC-LasVegas) : 2/15/2007 9:44:33 PM (GMT-7)

Courtney - Wishing you good luck with your continuing journey. You must feel very in control now that you've requested the second opinion. I can't even imagine someone with an attitude like #1 doctor being trusted to operate on my obdy.

Our #1 doctor was very good but only put one option in front of us. It was only because we'd heard of this surgery being done laproscopically that we requested a second opinion, but it was #1 doctor that referred us to his colleague that he knew was one of the few in our city that performed it.

Keep us posted! We're all pulling for you and your hubby.

;o) Linda & Bob

Another Okie here. Good Luck. KW