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prostate cancer

S

snave58

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 9, 2011
254
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66
Colorado
went in today for my 2 year check up after my prostate cancer surgery.
PSA score was 0 as in zero!
I put up a lengthy post last year about my whole ordeal with the cancer and tryed to educate you guys out there who have not had your PSA checked yearly, and or dont think it will happen to you.
wake up guys! for those of you who read my post and said yeah maybe I should do it. well its a year later and how many of you have got with the program.

it can be beat like I did, but only if you are checked every year.
JUST SAYING GUYS!!!!
 
Re: prostate cancer

Three years and counting for me since my prostate radiation and hormone treatment. This is the first year that I actually feel good though from the side effects of those treatments. I have an appointment Monday so we'll see where my PSA is at too. The last time, a year ago, it was very low, can't remember the number for sure though but I think it was .6.
 
Re: prostate cancer

I read.....

Got my test booked!

Lost my Mum last month and have been informed I also need a Liver test as there may be problems in her blood line.

It never rains, less it.......
 
Re: prostate cancer

Glad you are finally feeling better and I will pray for a Low PSA number for you.
I went with the removal of my prostate as to not have to deal with the radiation aspect. every one is different and the options fit people differently also. good luck brother!
 
Re: prostate cancer

with the exception of a very few cancers like Pancreatic Cancer, most are cureable or managable, but only with early detection. if you know of cancers that run in your blood line or family history, you must be getting testing yearly and eary on in your life. if you dont! then you have seen in your family what will happen. Colon cancer is another biggie that people overlook. if you are scared as a full grown man to have probes stuck up your butt for testing. just wait until you come down with Prostate and or Colon cancer and see what goes up your ass then. you will wish you had the anual test at that point.
 
Re: prostate cancer

Congratulations! Always good to hear about a survivor. October 11 will be 11 years since my cancer dx.
 
Re: prostate cancer

new to the sight and working on being about a 3 month out survivor...thanks for the posts and encouragement that comes from reading them.
 
Re: prostate cancer

great news Vaughn! keep a good attitude and take care of your health. as humans most people take their health for granted. not a good idea. glad your doing well!
 
Re: prostate cancer

Got my PSA results back today from my Monday appt. The last one (Nov 2011) was .13, not .6 as I had thought. This time it was .23 so the trend seems be on a slow rise. My lowest was .04, which was in May 2010 when I was still on the Zoladex treatment.
 
Re: prostate cancer

VWHUGGER, those numbers are awesome, no worries with that. the ticket is that you are paying attention and getting it checked. then if it starts to really go up you have all the options open to you for treatment. My PSA was 4.1 when I started the whole ordeal, went to 3.8 in the retest, then 6.9 6 months later and then 4.6 when I took action. the large jumps of 75% are a big flag. the threashold for real concern was 4.0 or a large increase in from your base nimbers. thoughts are to lower the threashold down because they are seeing cancer in younger guys now with lower PSA numbers. I was 52 when I found mine.
 
Re: prostate cancer

I'm one year post surgery for colon cancer. I'm 47 now and had no history or symptoms. I wasn't due for a colonoscopy for 4 years, but a fecal occult test came back positive. The colonoscopy found a large polyp. I had 1/3 of my colon removed, but didn't require any chemo or radiation. I see my oncologist every six months and so far everything has been good.

I'm so lucky I found it when I did. If I had waited till I was 50, it probably been too late for me to have a good outcome.

If you are near the age or having any problems please go get screened.
 
Re: prostate cancer

wow Mitch,
you are very lucky, if you waited you would be much worse off or dead. I had no symptoms either, well thats wrong, my symptom was the high PSA. lots of talk about PSA testing not being needed. I would highly argue with that. it saved my life...
 
Re: prostate cancer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kimmel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">VWHUGGER, those numbers are awesome, no worries with that. the ticket is that you are paying attention and getting it checked. then if it starts to really go up you have all the options open to you for treatment. My PSA was 4.1 when I started the whole ordeal, went to 3.8 in the retest, then 6.9 6 months later and then 4.6 when I took action. the large jumps of 75% are a big flag. the threashold for real concern was 4.0 or a large increase in from your base nimbers. thoughts are to lower the threashold down because they are seeing cancer in younger guys now with lower PSA numbers. I was 52 when I found mine. </div></div>

My first indication was in April 2009 and the test said 6.11. I was a bit taken aback but not too worried. It's not going to happen to me. Right? They sent me to MPLS to see the Urologist there and I made them take another test as I was hoping there was some mistake in the first one. This one was 6.89. Then the biopsy. No fun at all and I won't get into the dirty details. Anyway, that confirmed it and then the shock and disbelief and all the various emotions set in and then run their course. LOL

Anywhoo, here I am 3 1/2 years later. They did tell me there's a high probability of getting skin cancer from the radiation down the line. They gave me 10 years for that to happen.
 
Re: prostate cancer

Some of the thinking about PSA and intervention is changing, and some of the changes are pretty radicle. Basically, many men have far worse problems from the surgeries than if they had left it alone, and that in slow moving cancers, the man will probably die of something else before the prostate kills him.
I suggest doing some reading about this subject as the changes and new data are coming in pretty fast.
As to colonoscopies, be sure the doctor actually pushes the scope past the Ileo-cecal Valve. Up to now, most stopped in the area around the appendix, which is actually pretty far down (up) the tube. However some rare cancers (Carcinoid) were being missed since they occur in the last part of the SMALL intestine. Guys were walking out of the clinic with a clean bull of health, only to find out later that they had a smoldering cancer in that area not even viewed.
My colonoscopy was done by a civilian doc who was doing a study with the VA patients as his "cohort". He has done thousands, and the study included going past the ileo-cecal valve, to look at the distal small intestine.
He saved my life.
do some reading, these are very important issues, and there are a lot of things to consider. Especially with the PSA numbers.
From Harvard: http://www.harvardprostateknowledge.org/using-psa-to-determine-prognosis
 
Re: prostate cancer

there surly is alot of mixed emotions about PSA testing. it comes down to the fact that it is so easily done with as simple as having your blood drawn and the lab does the rest. there is no confusion on PSA, it has it own idenity marker and is not confused with anything else. by far the simplest test you can have and not expensive. if you find it going up and you catch it early then you have all the options to act on it if you like. it is very slow growing, 12-15 years. in my case it was exactly 12 years from the time I got my first test until it was high enough to show its ugly head. so in 12 years mine grew to that level of cancer. I was 52 then. way to young so I would have died from the cancer for sure. if you find it at 72 then you will probably out live it. my best hunting buddys dad never was tested and found out at 62 when he went in beacuse he did not feel good and was told he had prostate cancer. he died 18 months later.
it saved my life for sure and I had my prostate completely removed, I didnt want any radiation at all, and that was my choice and only had all the choices therte are because I found it early by PSA testing. my advise is to get it checked every year. it is too easy to do, let the doctors fight it out over if and when. give your self the best options. radiation kills other cells also and causes problems you dont need, like skin cancer.
pay attention guys!
 
Re: prostate cancer

My 2 cents---- Consider the importance of your diet, before treatment and after treatment in most cases there should be a change. Don't feed the disease! Eat to defeat.
 
Re: prostate cancer

that advise is worth alot more than 2 cents! it is priceless, Prostate cancer is 90 percent driven by diet. all the junk you put in your mount goes thru your prostate in the chemical form. refined sugers and flours, high frutcose corn syurp, fatty meats and sauages, alachol. lots of bad things. you can make a huge difference in your PSA numbers and your prostate health with proper diet.
 
Re: prostate cancer

January 2011 my PSA was 4.0 and I had a biopsy the first of February. When I met with the doctor about my results, I was floored when he said that I had advanced Prostate Cancer (Stage 4 with a Gleason score of 9). In May of 2011, I had a radical Prostatectomy they took the seminal vessels, both nerve bundles and lymph nodes. The doctor said that I had had this cancer for 7 to 10 years.
I was only 54 years old at the time. I went to the doctor twice a year and my PSA was always within normal range. The doctor always said the prostate was enlarged but nothing to worry about. I felt like crap the year leading up to my diagnosis, so the doctor said I had low T (testosterone) and put my on Testosterone treatments. Bad call, I’ve been told Testosterone causes prostate cancer to go crazy.
Now, the doctor wants to do radiation on me which has a host of side effects. From what I have read this radiation could cause bladder or colon cancer. Just what I need since I have every side effect that comes with the radical Prostatectomy surgery. Just venting - Thanks
 
Re: prostate cancer

holy shit Rosta!
that really sucks, Gleason score of 9 with 4.0 PSA is not good as you are seeing. putting you on Testosterone is a huge mistake as cancer cells will thrive on that. Dude I feel sick to my stomach for you, I think you got a bum deal of a doctor, I dont know the guy, but some of the symptoms you describe, he should of know different. first thing I did over a 6 month period was find the best prostate doctor in the country, he happens to work right here in Boulder, Colorado where I live. dude there are so many side effects with radiation, Im sure you are hesitent about the radiation. I would be glad to give you his info if you want another opinion about your mess. pm me if you like.
im sorry for you brother, and i will pray for you!
 
Re: prostate cancer

hey Guys,
september is Prostate Cancer awareness month. some facts
1 in 6 men will be struck with prostate cancer...
1 in 30 will die from it...
Routine PSA testing has increased the survival rate by 40 percent...
do not think you are too healthy to get it or it couldnt happen to you! you are wrong...you must get tested yearly!
Be as Passionate about your health as you are your Guns.
 
Re: prostate cancer

PSA test now in = 0.2

Still no return on liver test yet. I asked a Sorebones if they used the word "Practice" within their title as they hadn't got it right yet!!!.... He was somewhat unreceptive!!! ;-)
 
Re: prostate cancer

perfect brother! stay on top of it yearly and feel good about it...cheers!
 
Re: prostate cancer

I'm glad I read this I'm calling my doctor as I'm writing .Yep I went in yesterday for 6 month follow up and he wanted PSA levels .
 
hey guys,
another year already...
those of you paying attention...please get your psa checked..
 
The VA will kill you if they get a chance. I'm supposed to have bloodwork done for testosterone therapy, and checking PST at least yearly is part of that (I haven't been checked yet in almost 2 years now). But I lost my doc so now I see someone different each time until I get a new one. One before last didn't want to order a lot of labs for me. Said her husband took it too and all he got was the free testosterone level checked! Well, I'm not her husband... You're supposed to check for that and a lot other stuff, including estrogen and PSA.

So the last doc I saw, I told him of this and he cancelled that lab and ordered new ones for me that include all of the above, plus liver, kidney, diabetes as well as others. So I'll be getting mine done in a week or so when I can get down there for the test before my next shot.

If you have to go through the VA for this stuff, sometimes you have to get a little demanding or they'll leave you hanging. It's no skin off their asses for taking an extra vial of blood and running it through the works considering you're gonna be at the lab anyway. Oh, and even if you do get them to do the bloodwork, make sure you pull your records and test results, online or at the hospital, and check it over yourself. They missed my T level for 6 years --no wonder I felt like shit. So you could get tested for PSA, and actually have an increased level, say borderline, and them not tell you about it.

So if you go to VA for this, do your due diligence.

To those guys above that beat it, awesome, keep up the good work. That's just really great, it really is.
 
Having worked in oncology for over a decade now, first as a bench research scientist and now in other capacities...as well as walking the prostate cancer trail with a close family member over the last few years....

IMHO the whole backlash against screening for breast (self-exam) and prostate cancers (PSA) is totally misguided. They highlight the potential harm of false-positives. IMHO they under-value the impact of the cancers which are caught early; ie, they put the population averages in front of the individual impacts.

The patient needs to educate themselves and evaluate the factors involved -- their age, overall health, other health issues, Gleason score, etc, and decide whether they are more likely to die from the prostate cancer or other issues. Gleason score X means something totally different to a 50-year-old in good health and an 80-year-old with 3 heart attacks on their charts. One needs to evaluate their personal situation and decide whether treatment is worth the risks.

Also -- for God's sake -- if you get your diagnosis from a urologist, get a second opinion from a university hospital or other non-urologist (preferably both a surgeon and an oncologist) not affiliated with your urologist. Standard-of-care treatment for early-stage prostate cancer...either surgery or radiation, both are pretty much equivalent with different trade-offs...take you out of the urologists' treatment and so it costs them money if they refer you out for that. My family members' urologist pressured him VERY hard to take non-standard-of-care therapy (cryotherapy) to try and keep the profits within his practice. I actually had to threaten filing a HIPAA lawsuit against his practice to get my family member's records to take to another physician for another opinion. It's cancer, get to an oncologist for an opinion sooner rather than later.
 
4 1/2 years for me. 6 months more and my Doc will call me cancer free. I also had a Gleason score of 9, and went with removal. The biopsy showed the cancer to be right at the edge of the prostate, and another year without treatment could have been fatal. My family doc checked PSA starting at 50, and I had it removed at 55.
 
going in next week for my 4 year check up. expecting nothing less than a .00 PSA score. you guys keep paying attention.
 
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