Chris, this is reality for some. Agressive cancers do as they please. Dale's posting of losing a deal friend of this horrible cancer is very appropriate and needed here. It's not all sunshine and happy endings. PC still claims nearly 30,000 lives a year in this country alone.
While its good to here good news and good reports and encouraging developments with the treatments and the cures, this cancer is still affecting so many lives, and still takes too many good men with it. It's better now than it use to be, but still way too many die.
So I don't think it baloney at all. Dying of PC is not rare, its way too common in the cancer deaths of men. That's why I am all about early testing, and appropriate treatments, and public awareness. Too many people are lulled into thinking PC is the "easy" cancer, the "good" cancer, the "slow moving cancer". While it often is, it's not always the case.
David in SC
Age: 57, 56 dx, PSA: 7/07 5.8, 7/08 12.3, 9/08 14.5, 10/08 16.3
3rd Biopsy: 9/08 - 7/7 Positive, 40-90% Cancer, Gleason 4+3
Open RP: 11/08, Rht nerves saved, 4 days in hospt, on catheters for 63 days, 5th one out 1/09
Path Rpt: Gleason 3+4, pT2c, 42g, 20% cancer, 1 pos margin
Incontinence: 1 Month ED: Non issue at any point post surgery
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12
Latest: 7/9 met 2 rad. oncl, 7/9 cath #6 - blockage, 8/9 2nd corr surgery, 8/9 cath #7 out 38 days, 9/9 - met 3rd rad. oncl., mapped 9/9, 10/1 - 3rd corr. surgery - SP cath/hard dialation, 10/5 - 11/27 IMRT SRT 39 sess/72 gys ,cath #8 33 days, Cath #9 35 days, 12/7 - Cath #10 43 days, 1/10 - Corrective Surgery #4, and Caths #11 and #12 in at the same time