Hi guys -
Haven't written in a while. I just got my 2 year zero today. One or two more 6-monthers and then we go to annuals.
Life is good. With the help of viagra the old soldier can stand up and salute pretty well - just not quite as well as he used to, primarily because of my Peronies. (Yes, I am doubly lucky.) I still wear one light pad a day and probably will for the rest of my life - no biggie.
I am coaching two soccer teams in this - my 29th season of rec league soccer. Gee, I thought "NAVY" meant "never again volunteer yourself." See what happens when you disobey orders? I've got a team of mostly disinterested "too cool for school" HS seniors, and team of enthusiastic, energized 8th graders. They're fun.
My oldest daughter graduated from college a couple weeks ago, and my youngest daughter graduates from HS next month. Amazing. The wife keeps reminding me that the doctor said I only had about 30% chance of walking away when this adventure started. I don't remember that. I only remember him saying, "Don't worry about anything until something bad happens. Then we'll weigh our options." So, nothing bad has happened, so I have not been worried.
So that's what I would recommend to everybody - don't worry about what might happen. Face the decisions in front of you, make the best educated decision that feels right for you, and take it one step at a time. I wish you all the best.
kcragman
Age: 53; 52 at DX
March 2006: PSA 2.5
Dec 2007: PSA taken for insurance application. I did not see the results until late
Jan '08 - after I was rejected. Their lab said PSA 4.5.
Feb 2008: PSA 3.7.
March 2008: Biopsy. Gleason 7 (4+3) 12 cores taken. 5 on the left side were
cancerous and the 6th was suspect.
May 5, 2008: Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy at GW Hospital, Washington DC. Doctor: Jason Engel
Post op: Gleason 9 (4+5). 15% of prostate involved. Stage: pT3a. Negative margins. Lymph node and nerve samples taken, and appeared to be cancer free.
July 2008 - Nov 2009: PSA testing. Undetectable thru 18 months.
CONGRATS on the Zero Club membership - and all the words of encouragement - hope is all around us if we can see it and want it ...
-continued success and joy and long life !
hugs
BRONSON
.................
Age: 54 - gay - with common-law spouse of 13 years, Steve - 60
PSA: 04/2007- 1.68 - 08/2009 - 3.46 - 10/2009 - 3.86
Confirmation of Prostate Cancer: October 16, 2009 - 6 of 12 cancerous samples , Gleason 7 (4+3)
Doctor: Dr. Mohamed Elharram -Urologist / Surgeon - Peterborough Regional Health Centre
Radical Prostatectomy Operation: November 18, 2009 , home - November 21, 2009
Post Surgery Biopsy: pT3a- gleason 7 - extraprostatic extension - perineural invasion - prostate weight - 34.1gm -
ED Prescription: Jan 8/2010 - started daily 5mg cialis - girth back to normal -but not much length - will go for trimix in April when I see doc
Incontinence: Feb 2010- 3-5 pads/1-2 clothes changes/day- March 3, 2010 - week 14 after surgery -finally seeing improvement - March 29- incontinence better - 1-2 pads a day - one pad at night
location: Peteborough, Ontario, Canada
Post Surgery-PSA: - April 8, 2010 - 0.05 - I am in the ZERO CLUB - hooorah!
Next PSA - October 8, 2010 - TBA -
............
-continued success and joy and long life !
hugs
BRONSON
.................
Age: 54 - gay - with common-law spouse of 13 years, Steve - 60
PSA: 04/2007- 1.68 - 08/2009 - 3.46 - 10/2009 - 3.86
Confirmation of Prostate Cancer: October 16, 2009 - 6 of 12 cancerous samples , Gleason 7 (4+3)
Doctor: Dr. Mohamed Elharram -Urologist / Surgeon - Peterborough Regional Health Centre
Radical Prostatectomy Operation: November 18, 2009 , home - November 21, 2009
Post Surgery Biopsy: pT3a- gleason 7 - extraprostatic extension - perineural invasion - prostate weight - 34.1gm -
ED Prescription: Jan 8/2010 - started daily 5mg cialis - girth back to normal -but not much length - will go for trimix in April when I see doc
Incontinence: Feb 2010- 3-5 pads/1-2 clothes changes/day- March 3, 2010 - week 14 after surgery -finally seeing improvement - March 29- incontinence better - 1-2 pads a day - one pad at night
location: Peteborough, Ontario, Canada
Post Surgery-PSA: - April 8, 2010 - 0.05 - I am in the ZERO CLUB - hooorah!
Next PSA - October 8, 2010 - TBA -
............
Great report. Congrats on that all important 2 year mark.
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
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, no problem post SRT
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12, 4/8 .04, next one: July
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, 1/19 - Corr Surgery #4, Caths #11 and #12 same time, 2/8-Cath #11 out - 21 days, 3/2- Cath #12 out - 41 days, 3/2- Corr Surgery #5, 3/6 Cath #13 out - 4 days, Cath #14- 27 days, Cath #15 - 26 days, Cath #16 - 4/23 put in
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, 1/19 - Corr Surgery #4, Caths #11 and #12 same time, 2/8-Cath #11 out - 21 days, 3/2- Cath #12 out - 41 days, 3/2- Corr Surgery #5, 3/6 Cath #13 out - 4 days, Cath #14- 27 days, Cath #15 - 26 days, Cath #16 - 4/23 put in
A toast (of red wine) to your "undetectable"
And congratulations on the girls' graduations!
Curious, your doctor said you "...only had about 30% chance of walking away when this adventure started"? I'm baffled about this. I don't see anything in your pre-ops stats which would come close to indicating this. Even you post-op results; while your Gleason was aggressive, you had no surgical margins and absolutely nothing posted here to indicate anything but "organ-confined disease" (OCD).
Oh well. Another toast!
Great news. The soccer keeps you young!
Age 48 at diagnosis
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
22 month PSA <.04
continent at 10 weeks (no pads!)
ED is still an issue
Great News.
Age 55 - 5'11" 215lbs
Overall Heath Condition - Good
PSA - July 2007 & Jan 2008 -> 1.3
Biopsy - 03/04/08 -> Gleason 6
06/25/08 - Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy
05/14/09 - 4th Quarter PSA -> less then .01
11/20/09 - 18 Month PSA -> less then .01
05/18/10 - 24 Month PSA -> less then .01
Surgeon - Keith A. Waguespack, M.D.
Thanks, guys.
Casey59 - My wife is a physical therapist with a PhD in anatomy and a medical research background. She has taught pathophysiology for years, and knows every freakin' medical stat there is to know. She is also, in my opinion, prone to exaggerate. So, when I said, "the doctor said" I actually meant "my wife said." (Even tho' she'll sit there and say, "Didn't you hear the doctor say...?") I don't think any doctor would tell you to your face that you have a 30% chance of surviving - at least in the case of prostate cancer, where all the stats seem to be a little squishy and outcomes can be so dramatically different. She probably picked up a stat somewhere along the way that said something like 70% of Gleason 9's have a recurrence of cancer. My doctor (Jason Engel) says his Gleason 9's are doing well - at a statistically significant higher rate than the norm.
So my write-up was not exactly accurate. It just came out that way. (A little over dramatization.) What he ACTUALLY said was the part about not worrying until something happens. If it hasn't happened, don't worry about it.
Be well,
kcragman
Age: 53; 52 at DX
March 2006: PSA 2.5
Dec 2007: PSA taken for insurance application. I did not see the results until late
Jan '08 - after I was rejected. Their lab said PSA 4.5.
Feb 2008: PSA 3.7.
March 2008: Biopsy. Gleason 7 (4+3) 12 cores taken. 5 on the left side were
cancerous and the 6th was suspect.
May 5, 2008: Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy at GW Hospital, Washington DC. Doctor: Jason Engel
Post op: Gleason 9 (4+5). 15% of prostate involved. Stage: pT3a. Negative margins. Lymph node and nerve samples taken, and appeared to be cancer free.
July 2008 - Nov 2009: PSA testing. Undetectable thru 18 months.
Casey59 - My wife is a physical therapist with a PhD in anatomy and a medical research background. She has taught pathophysiology for years, and knows every freakin' medical stat there is to know. She is also, in my opinion, prone to exaggerate. So, when I said, "the doctor said" I actually meant "my wife said." (Even tho' she'll sit there and say, "Didn't you hear the doctor say...?") I don't think any doctor would tell you to your face that you have a 30% chance of surviving - at least in the case of prostate cancer, where all the stats seem to be a little squishy and outcomes can be so dramatically different. She probably picked up a stat somewhere along the way that said something like 70% of Gleason 9's have a recurrence of cancer. My doctor (Jason Engel) says his Gleason 9's are doing well - at a statistically significant higher rate than the norm.
So my write-up was not exactly accurate. It just came out that way. (A little over dramatization.) What he ACTUALLY said was the part about not worrying until something happens. If it hasn't happened, don't worry about it.
Be well,
kcragman
Age: 53; 52 at DX
March 2006: PSA 2.5
Dec 2007: PSA taken for insurance application. I did not see the results until late
Jan '08 - after I was rejected. Their lab said PSA 4.5.
Feb 2008: PSA 3.7.
March 2008: Biopsy. Gleason 7 (4+3) 12 cores taken. 5 on the left side were
cancerous and the 6th was suspect.
May 5, 2008: Da Vinci robotic laparoscopy at GW Hospital, Washington DC. Doctor: Jason Engel
Post op: Gleason 9 (4+5). 15% of prostate involved. Stage: pT3a. Negative margins. Lymph node and nerve samples taken, and appeared to be cancer free.
July 2008 - Nov 2009: PSA testing. Undetectable thru 18 months.
Congrats on the good news, and I like that attitude. Sounds like your wife might adjust it for you on occasion. Keep on enjoying life!
Michael
Dx with PCA 12/08 2 out of 12 cores positive 4.5 psa
Dx with PCA 12/08 2 out of 12 cores positive 4.5 psa
59 yo when diagnosed, 61 yo 2010
Robotic surgery 5/09 Atlanta, Ga
Catheter out after 10 days
Gleason upgraded to 3+5, volume less than 10%
2 pads per day, 1 depends but getting better,
started ED tx 7/17, slow go
Post op dx of neuropathy
T2C left lateral and left posterior margins involved
3 months psa.01, 6 month psa.4, 6 1/2 month psa.5 on 11/28/10
Starting IMRT on 1/18/10, Completed 39 tx at 70 gys on 3/12/10
6 week Post IMRT PSA .44 a drop from .5 but maybe more
Great family and friends
Michael