prostate cancer

[Universe369]

My doctor says that at this stage close  watch is the only thing they do ( doing PSA tests, MRIs and Biopsies)

I was very upset and devastated with the news however  I am trying to get on with my life.I just want to ask anyone out there if anyone has gone through the same kind of thing I am experiencing , and how dangerous and bad this is etc

What other options I have etc.

I thank you for reading my message and please give me some suggestions, advice, if you can

My heartfelt grattitude

Sus

[Journeyman]

Hi there,

Prostate cancer is not the end of the world. I was only 52 when I was finally diagnosed, after a couple of years of higher than average PSA results and three biopsies. After that, my PSA got to 10.6 which is still a small number compared to some people, but this was a sharp increase from the previous test so I had my prostate removed then. That was 5 1/2 years ago. Life has been pretty much normal since then. Sure, there have been some changes to lifestyle but nothing has hindered my ability to get on with my life. I am still working full time in a physical job.

A trend has developed with my PSA tests over the past 2 years; my PSA is rising again but it is still too low to do anything about yet. My next appointment with my oncologist is next month, if my PSA hits the trigger of 0.2 then maybe a scan will be done and I might be getting put on some sort of hormone treatment after that.

None of this scares me. Over the whole journey I have always felt normal.

Cheers!

[Universe369]

Dear Journeyman

Thank you so much for your encouraging words .It means so much to me.As a normal human being, we always get so distressed, upset , sad and "WHY ME" kind of feelings and emotions when something like that happens

My Cancer is grade 1 (or Gleason score 6 , 3+3=6 ) .My specialist says Watchful waiting , and I  spoke to some other people in Medical field and got some suggestions from some You Tubers as well etc,Most of them say  this type of Cancer grow so slowly and it could take long time  before  for them to consider something to do..

What I am confused is should I suggest my Specialist that  ,I want to get  Prostate removed as I have enlarged prostate issue as well, and it could serve both purposes (cancer and enlarged Prostate )

Thank you once again for your encouraging words.My heartfelt gratitude

Warm regards

[Journeyman]

No probs mate.

I waited for over 5 months, between the time I was diagnosed and the time I had surgery. I would have been happy to wait even longer but it was the spike in my PSA that decided things for me.

The reason I was happy to wait is because I realised that I probably already had the cancer for a couple of years before I was actually diagnosed, my PSA was only rising gradually, and I had absolutely no symptoms. But, just maybe, if I did get my prostate removed as soon as I was diagnosed, then I wouldn't have the recurrence now. We will never know. I don't regret my choices however.

It is a very personal choice when to decide to go ahead with surgery, about the only other thing I can suggest is to do as much research as you can, to get your head around it. In a way it is similar for me, as I previously said I might be looking at hormone treatment in the months ahead and I have become so familiar with the different 'families' of drugs available, which work in different ways, that I even have a preferred strategy and medication in mind...and I haven't even discussed it with my oncologist yet! At least when I do have that discussion with him, I will feel confident that I can make an informed decision straight away.