Went to my surgeon today. Surprising visit. After 7 years of 0.1, my PSA went to 0.2 six months ago, then to 0.3 two weeks ago. My expectation was that he would refer me to a radiation oncologist....
Bobby Mac: Appreciate the info. Yours tracks pretty close to mine. Question....how long was your hormone therapy? Any side effects? Thanks, Tony...
Purg: Wow - I've been away for 5 years. Back then, I appreciated your counsel and support. I'm really bummed out to hear of your struggles. Don't know what to say. Well, I'm back again. After 5 years...
Thanks, Bololidat. See my signature for post op pathology....
Good to hear from you again, Robert. From your signature, it seems you're doing well. Glad to hear. I'll check out linac - thanks. Tony...
After 5 blissful years of 0.1, 6 months ago I went to 0.2, I freaked out but both docs said it could be an anomaly so let's do another in 6 months. That came back 0.3 so it's time for intervention....
TC 90's and humid - bring your trunks. Tony...
Back. What was said here was confirmed by my doc. He said that the tumor was out of the capsule but he cut a wider margin to assure he got it all - thus the negative margins and EPE. As is typical,...
Thanks all. I'm off to see the wizard... Tony...
An interesting development. As some of you guys may recall, I had my surgery (robotic) on 4/23. As a matter of fact, my cath comes out tomorrow, 5/4. A few days after the procedure, my doc called...
Jon: Paul's suggestion is excellent. My email link is active and I would be more than happy to bore you with my PCa research and experiences. Good luck, Tony...
Jake: Congrats on your path results. I guess 4/23 was a good day because my pathology came back clean, also. I'm jealous that your cath is out already - mine doesn't come out until Monday morning....
Jon: I just had my surgery a week ago after 3 months of researching, worrying and waiting. A few early suggestions for you. First, start a file and ask for copies of everything. Next, visit here...
Steph: He had his patients broken down by pre-op age, Gleason and stage. He "aged" the stats, first 200 patients, next 200, last 200, etc. He reported blood loss, hospital stay, post-op margin...
Hi all: I had my robotic surgery last Thursday 4/23/09 at Sarasota Memorial. It was more difficult than anyone expected, lasting over 4 hours. Hospital recovery was 4 days. I've been home since...
Steph: Great question. First off, where are you? You'll get plenty of recommendations from those in your area when you post your location. As you can see from my signature, I was going to travel to...
Dana: I had my open surgery at Sloan Kettering canceled and found a robotic surgeon in Sarasota, Fl who does 200 a year for 5 years. I waited over a month for the new appointment. I had the surgery...
David: While you were in St. Pete, I was in Sarasota Memorial having my surgery. It was a bit more difficult then I expected but it turned out just fine, per the surgeon. I was in surgery for over 4...
Jake, Congratulations. Mine wasn't as quick, stayed in for three nights. My surgeon took a lot of frozen samples (He was worried about the bladder neck and seminal vesticles). Not a pain free trip...
Jake: I wrote on your thread - good luck tomorrow. If I'm awake and lucid, I'll be thinking good thoughts.... Tony...
Jake: We'll have to stay in touch - I go for my daVinci tomorrow, 2/23, also. I'm having it in Sarasota, FL. Your numbers aren't too bad so I'm sure you'll do fine. Having the clear liquid diet...
Here we are. Tomorrow at 11:30 AM Mr. daVinci takes on Mr. Prostate. It's been a long journey and we're hoping that Mr. daVinci wins by a knockout. Strange, but other than the pathology results, the...
Happy anniversary, David. You have certainly traveled a bumpy road. My wish for you and your wife is for another 35 years, this time with absolutely no health issues. My saga continues as you'll see...
cvc: I chose the open after interviewing Dr Patel in Orlando about robotic. My doc is James Eastham, the Chief of Surgery, Urology at Sloan Kettering. He felt that my best chance in getting it all...
David: Here's a quote from a web site... "If an endorectal coil is to be used during the exam, a nurse or physician will place a disposable cover over the coil, lubricate the assembly and insert the...
Well, the days dwindle down to a precious few. I leave for NY a week from Sunday for open RRP on 3/10 at MSK. Today's little present was the news that the day before surgery, I will be getting an...
I agree with David (Purgatory). I'm choosing open surgery because, in my case, it gives me the best chance at a cure. If not, I still have radiation to fall back on. In addition, I want the bugger...
Here's mine. Tony...
Thanks for the note, Diane. Hope you and Pete are doing well. Tz...
David: I'm concerned, too. I'm scheduled for open RRP on 3/10 at MSK by their Urology Chief of Surgery, James Eastham. I was musing the other day, wondering if Gleason scores degraded over time, thus...
May be a dumb question but does anyone know if Gleason grades worsen the longer PCa goes undiagnosed? For instance, currently I'm a 4+3. When my cancer first started, was I a 2+2, then a 3+2, etc.?...
David: I agree with you. This one gets returned to the blogosphere under the heading "Coincidence, not cause". Thanks for the interesting post, though. Tony...
I agree with Tony, MSK truly is a great cancer research and treatment facility. Personally, I will go to a robotic specialist, not MSK, if I choose robotic over open. The skill of the surgeon, the...
Hi cvc. I've been speaking with James Eastham, MD, the Urology Chief of MSK for the past few weeks. I'm trying to decide whether to have my surgery up there. What about Sloan do you want to know? My...
Oncas: I'm a new member of the PCa club also having received the news a month ago. My stats, as you can see, are not quite as serious as yours but enough to keep me and my wife up at night....
Kris: Congratulations. Your undetectables give us all hope. Keep 'em coming. Tony...
David: Dr Patel still thinks the robotic surgery gives me "a shot at a cure", in his words. If not, we still have radiation to fall back on. Thanks to you and Dale for the notes. Tony...
Hi all. Today I had my appointment with Dr Patel in Orlando. For those who are considering him, he is top shelf. The operation there at Celebration Health is state of the art and very professional....
David: Thinking about you today - glad to see that the first number was a big fat zero. We have our first of two appointments with robotic guys on Wednesday. Already have my "open" guy in NYC at MSK....
I've just about decided to have open RP at Sloan-Kettering, a 3 hour plane ride. Our preference would be to get home as soon as possible post-op. My local Urologist is fine with following up. The...
Had my telephone consultation with Dr. Eastham of Sloan-Kettering on Saturday morning. Nice guy. He does both robotic and open surgery. His take - considering my weight, retroperitoneal fibrosis, 4+3...
Diane: Thank you for taking the time to write and for being so candid. My wife Kathy and I are so sorry that you and Pete are having to go through this. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Tony...
Thanks to Diane and David. Diane, during your long and difficult journey, have you and Pete developed a "Monday morning quarterback" preference of one treatment over the others? Tony...
The hits just keep on coming. In the hopes of getting a downgrade of my Gleason, I had my biopsy slides re-reviewed at Sloan-Kettering (Venice, FL is not exactly the healthcare capital of the world)....
Thanks Sephie. I'm an ex-New Yorker and my daughter-in-law is a urologic nurse at Sloan-Kettering. I've not ruled out going to MSK so your input is helpful. Tony...
Confusion: I'm in Venice, FL. Going to see Dr. Patel in Orlando (Florida Hospital) next week. He's done thousands of robotic RPs. Also going to Moffitt/Tampa to see Dr Pow-Sang, also well known and...
All: Thanks for the feedback. As usual, it's very helpful and knowlegable. The Sloan study cited is a comparison between LAP and Open RP and doesn't seem to include robotic LAP. The Henry Ford study...
Sloan-Kettering apprarently has data which shows that open RP yields somewhat better results than manual LAP and much better results than robotic LAP when it comes to urinary and ED post surgical...
Chris: Congratulations on being cath-free. Glad to hear everything is progressing well. Tony...
Sephie: Your note nails it. Those are exactly my reasons for wanting surgery. What were his PCa pre-op stats? Age, weight? Where did he have his done? How long was the cath in? Any urinary or ED...