KMC51 personal history and link to his previous threads

I hadn't included the personal history info with my previous entries. It seems as though those become permanently attached to our names when we post messages. I'm not sure how to do that part, but here's the info: Age: 56 PSA: 10.2 according to one lab, 6.4 and 6.7 according to another lab (two separate occasions) Gleason 6 Da Vinci robotic prostatectomy 9/20/07 Continence seems to have come out pretty well. At this point I have some dry days but usually not more than 3-4 leaks a day. I was told the nerve bundles were largely embedded in the enlarged prostate, so I lost the great majority of them on both sides. There seems to be some blood getting down there, some response at times during stimulation, some very partial night time erections, nowhere near usable. I've ordered a pump and don't know really what to expect from it, considering the nerve loss. Great support from my wife. We've been able to enjoy sex. I'm grateful to still have desire, and orgasms. I'm frequently knocked over by the sense of loss, which I'm sure is not a unique experience. Post edited to add title to thread… Post Edited By Moderator (bluebird) : 2/13/2008 12:16:28 PM (GMT-7)

Tony, Thanks for the directions. It sounds as if you had an advanced case for someone so young. What is HT? So your PSA dropped after surgery but you still needed all the followup treatments? If your PSA is undetectable, do the doctors think you're pretty much out of the woods?

Hi KMC,
Unfortunately, this disease is not discriminant about age. I have late stage III disease. It is considered advanced prostate cancer. If I do nothing, I bear a 92% probability of relapse, depending on which nomagrams you look at, but there is no chance I won't fight it. For that reason we added the adjuvant therapies to swing the odds back to a more reasonable 50-50. For my case, and others like me we are not truly out of the woods for years, if ever. I am doing well and have already shown signs of a durable remission. While I have an undetectable PSA, the best sign of things is that it doesn't really bother me and I am living a normal life. HT is Hormonal Therapy. We are basically removing the male hormone testosterone and trying to starve any cancer that was not removed by surgery. An undetectable PSA is not to say there are no more cancer cells, but rather there are not enough to detect. When my prostate was removed the margins where they cut it out were positive for carcinoma and local metastasis. Which does mean that cancer was on the other side of the knife and still in my body. All stage III (T3a or T3b) many members here have a similar issue. T3b is evidence that the disease may be stage IV but there is no proof yet. What makes mine a high risk is the grade 4 disease (Gleason 4+3) and the high PSA before surgery 19.8 and the staging. But again, I am well and very much interested to help others in any way I can. By being here at HealingWell I have encountered all stages and people with prostate cancer. I have learned that the guys who are more advanced than I are just like us all and most are leading very productive lives. That was very important for me to see and it is very inspiring. I kinda grew up with this disease and I consider these people my dear friends. While I'm sorry to meet you here, it's still a pleasure to do so. You appear to be doing well. My mantra is diet, exercise, and a positive attitude.  Good luck to you!  And may God Bless you as well.

Tony

Thanks to Bluebird for navigating the technical challenges. I feel kind of speechless at some of these entries, like Tony's. People face these situations with such bravery.