Newly diagnosed

By Dcdaddy

1 min read

Within the last year, my PSA went from 4.1 to 4.5 to 7.5. A biopsy confirmed prostate cancer with all the samples on the left side having cancer. My Gleason score was 4+3 and 3+4. Decision now is surgery or radiation. I’m 57 with two small boys and would like to be around for a while to see them grow up.

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Dennis E. Golden Moderator & Contributor
It is my understanding that Gleason score of 7 is on the edge of aggressive. In my case the score was a 9 ... so I chose surgery as my option and in the event it came back I had a second shot at it stopping it with radiation - It did come back and so far my PSA is 0.02 ...In the end the choice of A or B is a personal one
Dcdaddy Member
Thanks for the information. I’m thinking surgery is my best option with radiation as a back up if needed later.
1. Dennis E. Golden Moderator & Contributor
 It is my understanding that some 70% of men never see a return of their Prostate Cancer after treatment . My business partner was diagnosed with a G7 and had surgery 15 years ago - he never had a relapse. A guy in my support group was diagnosed with a Gleason 9 and was operated on the same year I was - he never experienced a relapse while I did - you just do not know Good luck and keep us up to date as you can. ... Dennis (ProstateCancer.net TEAM)
Richard Faust Community Admin
Hi <inline-mention username="Dcdaddy" user-id="4226924"/>. Sorry to hear about the diagnosis, but glad you have sought out a place you can get information and support. I hate to make things more complicated for you, but the good news is that with a relatively low grade of 7 there are a lot of treatment options open to you. For example: there is Cyberknife, Proton therapy, Cryotherapy, and prostatectomy, just to name a few. This article from our editorial team gives an overview of treatment options, with links to more specifics: <a href='https://prostatecancer.net/treatment' target='_blank'>https://prostatecancer.net/treatment</a>. Your doctors should be able to provide additional information. Wishing you the best and know that this community is here for you. Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)
don-e Member
I'd suggest doing some research on your own. Many posts to forums like this one are men describing what treatment and results they did/had. Problem is - every case of Prostate Cancer (aka PCa) is different, and what works for one guy may be exactly the wrong thing for another. In some cases - although well-intentioned - there is some rather obvious confirmation-bias in these responses, men confirming they did the right thing by recommending it to others. Where to do the research? There are lots of forums/websites worth viewing and Facebook groups. One I've found very good is the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website: <a href='https://pcri.org/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://pcri.org/</a> - Dr. Mark Scholtz is head cheese there - and he provides well reasoned and understandable talks on many topics. In your case - https://youtu.be/Pya8N78bR7s (Surgery vs Radiation) might be worthwhile. Dr. Scholtz has no horse in this race - he's a medical oncologist, not a urologist (surgeon) or radiation oncologist. He explains why the surgeon's argument of "you can't do surgery after radiation" is mostly a bogus boogeyman sort of claim. Another one I'd suggest from Scholtz is: https://youtu.be/P81hl4reVkY - What does Gleason-7 mean? The Prostate Cancer Foundation is also excellent <a href='https://www.pcf.org/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.pcf.org/</a> - take a look at their patient resources page: <a href='https://www.pcf.org/patient-resources/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://www.pcf.org/patient-resources/</a> - lots of useful info there. And ZeroCancer <a href='https://zerocancer.org/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>https://zerocancer.org/</a> - they fund innovative research on PCa treatments - treatments not always funded by pharma funding sources. They also have a patient resources area: https://zerocancer.org/get-support/patient-support-programs/ If you check with your local hospital's cancer center - I'm sure they can suggest some local support groups that you can make contact with. They may or may not be something for you - but they often can give you some inside/experienced based info on what local MD's are good and which ones to avoid. Finally - books to read. Most of these are on Amazon for around $15 (seems to be the usual PCa book price from Amazon): "The Decision" Dr. John C. McHugh - written by urologist who has PCa. Worthwhile insights into treatment options. "The Key to Prostate Cancer" - Mark Scholz MD - a calming and understandable discussion of PCa, the stages viewed a bit differently and the treatment choices for each stage. 30 experts explain 15 stages of PCa. "Surviving Prostate Cancer" Dr. Patrick Walsh. You want the latest edition since treatment options change frequently - and this is one of the few books on the topic that is updated regularly to reflect new treatment results and options. So - that's my recommendation. After you do your research if you want to know what treatment I had - send me a message and I'll fill you in. Right now I don't want my decision to influence yours until you have the background to understand why I chose the treatment I did. Good luck and good health!
Will Jones Moderator
<inline-mention username="Dcdaddy" user-id="4226924"/> Many good comments and suggestions in the previous replies. Good luck with your ongoing research and with whichever treatment you end up choosing. The good news is that you discovered the cancer now and consequently will very likely see those boys grow into young adulthood and beyond!