While I do agree that many indolent cancers in men and women are treated unnecessarily, on an individual basis it can be a different story. Before my husband was diagnosed with PCa, when he had a borderline high PSA, I found HW and did additional internet research on the disease. I read some books. At that point I barely knew what a prostate was, and knew nothing about
PCa. I was very influenced by the idea that PCa was OD and OT. I was convinced that my husband probably had an indolent cancer that would be overtreated. In my ignorance, I thought that getting a PSA would start this process.
My husband did not share my concerns. He wanted a PSA test. When he finally had one done (his third) his PSA had gone up to 5.2. I was very surprised that it had gone up, and my husband had an immediate biopsy. I was shocked to find that he had a high volume of cancer, and realized how wrong I had been about
PSA testing. By the time my husband had surgery, his cancer had escaped the prostate (clear margins though).
I am an example of a person who was misguided by what I read on the internet, and misinterpreted it. I now believe that all the talk about
how PCa is OD and OT can be dangerous to someone just learning about
PCa. I have seen tremendous progress in NY in not overtreating patients. Most of the guys that my husband knows who were diagnosed with PCa in the last few years, had very low levels of cancer and are on some form of AS. The guys that he knows who were treated are glad that their cancer was detected and treated.
7/12 PSA 5.2
8/12 Biopsy, 7 out of 12 cores positive, 5% to 70%, 6 cores G6 and 1 core G7 (3+4)
Age 60, diagnosed and treated at age 59
RALP October 2012, Gleason 3+4, negative margins
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Post Edited (bluebird123) : 8/2/2013 10:07:37 AM (GMT-6)