Blood Drawn Today

David in SC

3rd Biopsy Sept 08: Positive 7 of 7 cores, 40-90%, Gleason 7, 4+3

Open RP surgery 11/14/8, Right nerves spared, 4 days hospital, staples out 11/24/8, 5th cath out on 1/19/9

Post-surgery Pathlogy Report:Gleason 3+4=7, pT2c, 42 grm, tumor 20%, Contained in capsular, clear margins, clear lymph nodes 

First PSA Post Surgery   2/9 .05, 6 month on 5/9

psa at dx 4.3

got the bad news 1/29/07

open surgery Duke Medical Center 5-29-07

never more than 2 pads

Tossed the pads this spring

ED still a problem

Got a shot last week and it was great

A year an a half of zero's

Age 49

occupation accountant

PSA increased from 2.6 to 3.5 in one year

biopsy march 2008 - cancer present gleason 7

Robotic Surgery May 9, 2008 - houston, tx

Pathology report -gleason 8, clear margins

12 month  PSA <.04 (low as the machine will go)

continent at 10 weeks (no pads!)

ED is still an issue but getting better

Good Luck Purg, I follow your posting daily, and for that I thank you for regularly contributing to this site.  Alot of what you have to say, makes alot of sense to me, and I often liken my stats to yours.  Will be going for my six month psa shortly, will hopfully post another zero also.

Cheers..............Nothard (still)

DX 11/11/08

6 out of 8 cores positive 3 X 60% / 3 X 10%

PSA 4

Gleason 3+4=7

Stage T1c

Robotic Surgery 24/12/08

Upgrade Gleason 4+3=7

Stage T2c

Three small foci total volume 10%

Neg Margins and Nodes

Nil - Extraprostatic Extentions

Dry less than 1 week (unbelievable)

ED- taking Meds/ No result yet

PSA 28/1/09 0.03

PSA 24/2/09 0.03

"Everyday in Everyway I get better"

Good morning Guys,

One thing we all do and continue to do is look at the numbers and statistics. If it is any comfort to you for the weekend, statistically speaking, the probabilities are heavily in your favor. Deep breath. Walk in the Spring air, listen to the birds.

Best wishes while we all wait for your report.

TeddyG

Age 55, two teens, very fit cyclist (avg 2000+ miles per year) and weight, diet, etc. consistent with good habits. Stressful job as attorney; very supporting wife who is helping me through every stage of this war.

Stats:

2006 PSA - 1.5

2007 PSA - 2.3

2008 PSA - 5.3 (18 mos.)

2009 Jan. 20 - Biopsy 12 samples

        Feb 3 Dx 2/12 samples positive, low volume  (5% and 7-10%)

Gleason 3+4, later downgraded by second opinion at Johns-Hopkins to 3+3, but "it's still PCa" as my Doc said.

Laproscopic surgery April 9,  University of KY Medical Center, Lexington, 3 days in hospital, catheter removal April 21.

Pathology: clear margins, no cancer in prostate: told that this is very rare and Doc has only seen it in 3 out of over 1400 cases; I rearched the concept of "vanishing cancer" and found a tumor classification of tP0 and asked Doc if it applied to me. He said that it was unlikely because if a pathologist had done a much more detailed analysis of the tissue, he would likely find more foci somewhere, and biopsy found "needle in the haystack as opposed to the tip of the iceberg"; Nevertheless, it is a blessing;

Regardless of the science, my family says "miracle."

Now working w/ post-surgery issues....

Fingers crossed for ya..Hope it goes well.

I had blood drawn Wednesday for my 12 month'er...Get to wait till Thursday for the results.

Overall Heath Condition - Good

PSA - July 2007 & Jan 2008 -> 1.3

Biopsy - 03/04/08 -> Gleason 6 

06/25/08 - Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy

Catheter in for five weeks.

Dry after 3 months.

10/03/08 - 1st Quarter PSA -> less then .01

01/16/09 - 2nd Quarter PSA -> less then .01

Surgeon - Keith A. Waguespack, M.D.

3rd Biopsy Sept 08: Positive 7 of 7 cores, 40-90%, Gleason 7, 4+3

Open RP surgery 11/14/8, Right nerves spared, 4 days hospital, staples out 11/24/8, 5th cath out on 1/19/9

Post-surgery Pathlogy Report:Gleason 3+4=7, pT2c, 42 grm, tumor 20%, Contained in capsular, clear margins, clear lymph nodes 

First PSA Post Surgery   2/9 .05, 6 month on 5/9

Greetings, David.  I have confidence you will get that zero that we all wish for.  One other reason that I really like my doc - he says prostate cancer is enough to deal with without the anxiety of waiting on a blood test.  I go in, they draw the blood, and 20 minutes later I have the results.  Only have to see him every other time but still get the blood work every 90 days.  I am blessed to have him and his partners as my doc's and am grateful for their sensitivity.

David, you and I have exchanged messages several times over these past months and I'm grateful for all that you do to stay active and share your experiences on this board.  You have definitely helped me along the way.  While I have a great wife, loving children and grandchildren, good friends and co-workers, and probably most importantly an abiding and enduring faith, I still get down and in something of a funk from time to time.  I think this disease - maybe any disease - does that to us.  I think prostate cancer may be worse than some others because of the sexuality and "manhood" issues that get tied up in our recovery.  Even when things are going well like it seems to be for both of us, there are still issues that you have to work around.  It is only natural to get down every once in awhile.  Then you throw in being without a job for an extended period while you are fighting this disease and it multiplies the issues you are dealing with.  As much as we don't like it, I think it's only natural to have days when you think about it more than others.

Hang in there, my friend.  Don't let it get you down.  You are a winner and a survivor.  It's okay to get down sometimes but get right back up and knock this disease down where it belongs.  I know you won't let it get the best of you.  Keep us posted on how things go.  David

Diagnosed Dec 2007 during annual routine physical

PSA doubled from previous year from 1.5 to 3.2

12 biopsies - 2 positive with 2 marginal

Gleason 3 + 3 = 6

RRP 4 Feb 08

Both nerves spared

Good pathology - no margins - all encapsulated - Gleason 4 + 3 = 7

Catheter out Feb 13 - wore pad for couple of days - pad free Feb 16

Great wife and family who take very good care of me

I, too, have had to deal with PSA anxiety issues. I am also a math and numbers person, and I keep going back to the statistics to help me out. Your good pathology means that the odds are very much in your favor. Here's another thing to think about: now that your prostate has been removed, I bet that the odds of you having prostate cancer are far less than the average guy walking down the street. Yet, here you, I and others worry, mostly needlessly, about a bad test result that will probably never come to pass.

CaPCa

Father diagnosed and cured at age 52.

08/21/07: Diagnosed with T1c cancer

1 of 12 biopsy cores positive; 10% tissue

Gleason score: 3+3=6

PSA level prior to biopsy: 4.3 (velocity < 0.4ng/ml)

10/19/07: da Vinci prostatectomy by Dr. Vipul Patel

              Difficult surgery due to prostate inflammation.

              Both nerve bundles spared.

              Spongy erections began within 24hrs of surgery!

10/24/07: Catheter out; down to 1 Serenity pad/day next day.

              Final pathology: neg margins, no capsular penetration,

              Gleason 3+3=6, 5% tumor involvement, multi-focal.

11/04/07  First usable erection with Cialis

11/22/07  Thanksgiving - Bye-bye, pads

01/17/08  First post-surgery PSA result: < 0.008 ng/ml

03/17/08  Erection quality mostly back to pre-surgery levels with Cialis;

              have not tried without meds yet.

04/23/08  Second post-surgery PSA result: < 0.008 ng/ml

07/30/08  Third PSA: 0.01 ng/ml

11/04/08  One year PSA: 0.01

              Still taking 10mg Cialis every other day - enjoying the results

              too much to stop yet.

02/07/09  Taking 5mg Cialis every other day - having too much fun to try

              to stop for now.

03/23/09  PSA: 0.02