My one year anniversary
So one year ago today my urologist decided the results of my 6 month PSA coming in at 5.5 (2nd consecutive increase) warranted a biopsy. I was 63 at the time.
The biopsy
Biopsy was scheduled right after the holidays. Then in January when arriving home from the biopsy I joked that the term biopsy was a lie because it should be stated as plural - after all, they took 14 samples!
The results
My mood changed several days later when I learned my biopsy results. My worst-case Gleason's scores were several cores at 4+4 = 8, another 4+5 = 9, only one core came back clean. The urologist felt I was a good candidate for robotic prostatectomy at my community hospital or perhaps undergo radiation. He also strongly recommended I get a 2nd opinion. Quite the shock & no more joking around.
Taking action
I then went into "google-research" mode and decided to get several 2nd opinions beginning with a Urologic Oncologist. This led to lots of google searches & studying. I live in northern Illinois and chose to get a 2nd opinion from a National Cancer Institute Hospital. After consulting with a very experienced and highly regarded surgeon AND a radiation oncologist - I chose to undergo surgery. The Da Vinci robotic surgery occurred in March of this year at the same NCI hospital, and for the most part, my recovery went quite well.
I will pause this first chapter (for now) by stressing the importance of 2nd opinion. More later!
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