Making the right decision!

After having a borderline PSA score, but a rising trend, I was biopsied in Nov '20. The biopsy resulted in some high Gleason scores (one was a 9) I was told I was not a candidate for surveillance or the easy stuff, but need to get 2nd opinions on surgery or radiation. I clearly remember the shock , fear, and confusion at that time - my heart goes out to you both. Please know you are not alone and there is a lot of sharing / caring people here, and additional resources to help you. If you are comfortable in doing so - please let us know how it is going.

Thanks for your words of kindness. I hope you’re doing well.

Hi . Sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. Your concerns are certainly understandable, although it is good that it sounds like your husband's cancer is lower Gleason (since he was on active surveillance). This opens up various treatment options. You mention radiation. Has your husband chosen a kind, such as Cyberknife or proton therapy? There is also cryotherapy, which has advanced quite a bit and shown good results for early stage prostate cancer (see: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cryotherapy-for-prostate-cancer/about/pac-20384740). Please don't hesitate to ask questions about options and to seek different opinions (it is human nature for doctors to focus on their specialty). Your husband is lucky to have you as an advocate on his behalf. Wishing both of you the best and please feel free, if you like, to keep us posted. Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)

Hey, Heidi. The c word can be scary, especially if other tests have large numbers. Do your research diligently. Do you know what a Gleason score is & what it is, do you know the difference between Gleason 3+4 and 4+3? What’s his PSA? What does PSA mean? Prostate cancer doesn’t have to be the end of everything. My Gleason was 3+4, a favorable intermediate risk but an MRI showed an encapsulated mass. We had been actively watching until my PSA went from 6 to 7 to 8, 10, 12, then 14. A trip to the urologist convinced me to get that MRI. Then the biopsy while asleep. I chose IMRT/IGRT radiation with 6 months hormone therapy. The radiation doesn’t involve radioactive anything, rather a beam of basically an x- ray focused & shaped on the cancer tumor. It’s usually 44 treatments of 10 minutes over 44 consecutive days. My insurance cut it to 28 days with stronger radiation in January 2021. A year later I’ve had two PSA tests, each at 0.1 so I’m pretty happy. Exhaustion was a factor during treatments but I’m improving, but a lack of libido and ED continues to be a side effect of the lupron therapy. It’s only scary if you let it be scary.