What Treatment Did You Have for Prostate Cancer?
Hello, my PSA was 6 when I got had my biopsy done, came back 3+4=7. Just starting to look at treatment options for prostate cancer. I would like to hear from others with similar biopsy results on what treatments they had and what the results where. Thanks
Hi,
. We posted your question to our Facebook page and it sparked quite the discussion. Please see the post for feedback from other community members. We hope these responses help you in your treatment journey. We are here for you!
Best,
Amylyn (ProstateCancer.net Team Member)
I'm just starting my journey with Gleason = 7, Stage 2, moderately aggressive (whatever that means). My urologist recommended radiation therapy for 5 to 6 weeks, with the placement of 3 fiducial markers and spaceOAR. That happens on October 1st, followed by a meeting with a Radiation Oncologist on October 8th. My wife and I hope that is a good plan for me. I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind. You mentioned "the shot" in your post. What does that refer to? You also said that it takes a couple of years for your body "to get back to more normal progression." can you expand on that for me, please?
I really appreciate your time, and congratulate you on your 5 year success!
I love ironside and Dana-Farber
I had same pathology and chose HDRBT. I am 3 years post treatment and no side effects and my PSA is 0.4.
First diagnosed in late 2017 with low risk. Went a little over a year on active surveillance and had moved to intermediate risk category with PSA of 13 (3+4). Made decision to go with radiation therapy (5 week version) with no ADT in 2019. After 6 months PSA had dropped to 6, after 12 months it was down to 2, and will soon be going into my 18 month appt. hoping to see even lower numbers which radiation oncologist highly believed would happen. PSA dropped slower in my case in part due to not taking ADT according to oncologist. I know ADT is recommended most often with intermediate risk category but had talked to a couple of men who did take ADT along with the radiation who discouraged it based on their experience. I've had very few side effects and most occurred shortly into the treatment itself......some burning while urinating, lower flow rate, and higher frequency. Currently have been taking Flomax generic for quite awhile as it helped the flow issue. May not even need it now but I keep using anyway. Pretty normal life thus far with little interruption with sex life as well.........which was one of the drivers in my decision making. I will soon be 72 which is also one of those things that should go into the decision making. If you are one that likes to dive into the data before making a decision (myself) I would recommend reading Patrick Walsh book on Surviving Prostate Cancer. I consider myself blessed so far and understand there are no guarantees and that every case can be different.
Sorry you’re going through this. Your PSA is pretty high but your Gleason score is good. I’m not a doc but have been through Focal laser ablation for a 4+3. At the time, 10 years ago, I had a 3+3=6 tumor as well. It is cancer but probable just needs to be watched closely. I didn’t do anything until it turned into a 4+3=7. I had that ablated as well. If I get another tumor, I will have it ablated as well.
My best advice is take a deep breath and continue to research. If your urologist is pushing for surgery, fire him/her and find someone else. Get second and third opinions. I got 4 or 5 and talked to maybe 15 survivors and then joined a support group. Lotus of first hand info there.
Best of luck.Bill, I too have pc that is 3+4, favorable intermediate. With a little more pattern 4 on the one year biopsy but the doc thought he oversampled that area. The lesion has not grown in 2.5 years. But, now a new small lesion on the opposite side that will be biopsied in January. I’m 63, so perhaps a longer horizon. But I’m asking the same questions. Why treat. My PSA has gone up about .08 per year since 2018. The doc say it is high unlike to move outside the prostate. The doc kinda says you could treat; you could be okay. He’s highly recognized prostate cancer doc. He doesn’t know either. What concerns me now is the PSA Density. Per his colleague, Dr. Peter Carroll, has indicators for progression and eventual treatment: PSAD is a indicator of progression, PIRADS 4-5 v. 1-3, under the age of 65 when diagnosed, % of cores positive, negative biopsy cores - Yes/No. One decider for me (and doc) was a very low Decipher score. Another issue with taking action is everyone is selling their treatment and don’t seem to know, or are willing to express, what would work best. I hope this helps.
same Gleason. PSA went to 8.0. decided on RARP. PSA day of surgery 8.8. A yr and a half later PSA rising when it reached 2.0 decided to go with salvage external beam radiation therapy-39 sessions. PSA has been less than .06 (negligible) for 2+yrs. 71 yrs old overall healthy, active. urinary incontinence creates a need for pad (AM only-sometimes) ED a fact of life (not a concern for me)
Only side effect not anticipated was radiation cystitis-bleeding bladder. this side effect was minimized when I was researching.
Presently doing very well. 6 month PSAs and follow up urologist visit.
in retrospect I would choose RARP.
ADVICE: GET SECOND OPINIONS BEFORE MAKING FINAL DECISIONSLast July had a 4+5 = 9 Chose 27 radiation treatments and 18 months of hormone treatment. Last 5 PSA tests showed non detectable starting in Dec. Of last year.
