Newly diagnosed
A couple months ago after a complete physical, my family doctor urged me to see a urologist as my PSA was around 17.. she said that number was alarming…. Had a prostrate exam and was told my prostrate was hard as a rock… then had a biopsy.. the results came back the other day… in each of the 10 samples the cancer levels were 96%, 92%, 94% and so on….a PET scan has been ordered for next week….. my urologist said with %’s that elevated, there is little doubt that the cancer has metastasized…. I’ve been having unexplained lower back pain for about 6 months now and I am concerned that the cancer has spread to my spine… My Dr. used words like…advanced…aggressive….. And I am literally terrified…. After doing some research on my own, I read that prostrate cancer that has spread to the bone in men have a life expectancy of 21 months on average. 14 months for cancer that invaded the liver…..that’s when I found this site…. I don’t know what to do or how to feel….If I’m going to be dead in 21 months, I’d just as soon go now and save my family the horrors of watching me get really I’ll. And there is NO way I will have me testicles removed… from what I have read and seen about Chemo-therapy, I think I’d rather avoid all that…. If I decide to forgo any treatment, can anyone tell me what a death from prostrate cancer entails and how long before the cancer starts to make me ill ??? I’m 64 with no history of cancer in my family….. Any comments will be greatly appreciated…
A PSMA PET SCAN is a must. This scan will help to inform your doctor on what treatment will be appropriate.
My PSA was 55 at diagnosis but the scan ruled out metastatic disease. How your urologist can state that your cancer has metastasised just by psa alone is very questionable.
I eventually had a prostatectomy in October 2021 based on my scan and biopsy results.
Currently undetectable at < 0.01.
One step at a time. Second opinions may also be appropriate.It wasn’t just my PSA numbers. They did a biopsy also and and all 10 samples were riddled with cancer. He said RARLEY has he seen percentages that high in every sample where it had not matastisized…. PET scan is Tuesday…. And that will tell where the cancer has spread…. He said he would be working with Oncology to determine the best treatment plan…. Sentra RMH has a brand new state of the art Cancer center, but I will be seeking a second opinion from UVA in Charlottesville….. thanks for the reply Chris…
I will just say that i have read some accounts of guys reporting their stories like.. oh, my PSA was 1000 (one guy was in the 3 thousand range), and then they say that was 10 years ago, and they are still chugging away.
(Go eat a nice crabcake for me, from balto, now in Az...)
