Cancer is a serious disease and statistically the odds are against you for waiting too long to act (The Prostate Cancer Foundation) has a great source of information on its website. I lost a dear friend to prostate cancer and it was not a pleasant experience for his friends and family and he wished he had been treated sooner. As well as my family has an extensive history of prostate cancer.
I was diagnosed (I was 53 then) with this disease just three months after his death. I had been tested for PSA a year prior to this and the results were 2.3 at that time. I was issued supplements and told to watch it. I had also have been very active in exercise and stayed true to a vegetarian diet. My PSA climbed to 5.8 over the next 8 months. Bathroom stops were frequent and I was getting up 6-8 times a night. I was exhausted from lack of sleep. My libido dropped to nothing. I was concerned and scheduled a date with my Urologist. I ended up getting a biopsy and the results were T1C Gleason 6 5.8 PSA at 53.
At the rate my PSA was climbing and my family history of cancer I was convinced I would have full blown systematic cancer soon. I got treated by Proton at LLUMC ASAP and here’s my story on that
Even at this stage of being treated, statistically I have an 83% chance of survival based on my Oncologist and current posted mortality rates for PC. 100% would be nice but that is the facts. My current PSA is .8 nadir. This is good but I probably won’t see .05 which is preferable but at least I did something and I am doing great. No constant bathroom stops and my libido are back.
For those of you doing watchful waiting you owe it to yourself and read this group postings. Some have serious PSA climbs and have very aggressive treatment considerations.
Remember cancer begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control. There are many kinds of cancer, but they all start because of this out-of-control growth of abnormal cells. When cancer cells get into the bloodstream or lymph vessels, they can travel to other parts of the body. There they begin to grow and form new tumors that replace normal tissue. This process is called metastasis and this is what you want to prevent. Get as aggressive as you can early.
Thank you for reading my post and good luck to you all.
