So I got it. Small Gleason score. According to the doc, very small score. One biopsy core out of twelve cores had cancer cells, and only 2% of the cells in that single core were cancerous. The other eleven cores were clear. Doc says another MRI in 6 mos. and we'll go from there. His opinion is that any kind of treatment at this time is not advised because of the minor finding, and that such treatment if it were done now would introduce possible complications that would exceed any small risk incurred by waiting until the next MRI given these minor test results. PSA right now is 1.2 from around 1.0 about two years ago.

The reason for the biopsy is because my Father and 1st cousin on my Father's side have inoperable prostate cancer that has spread, both have been on Androgen therapy for many years.

The advice I value most regarding prostate cancer, more than any doctor as skilled as he or she may be, are from those who have delt with it personally.

ANY advice greatly appreciated.

How old are you and are you generally healthy otherwise?
I had a similar situation about 10 years ago and was in my late 50’s at the time.

62, not particularly healthy, though thru no fault of my own. 47 years type 1 diabetes, lung disease (never smoked), bunch of other medium serious follow on diseases, etc. I'd need to make a list to remember them all. But I'm still working full time and fairly active around the house and four older family cars I maintain as a hobby. Sole bread winner is a little scary, but I can't control that.

PSA 1.2? Generally, anything below 4.0 is "let's just keep an eye on it."

Twelve years ago, I was hospitalized for something entirely unrelated. Routine lab work while in the hospital came up with PSA of 27

Due to age (73 at the time), surgery was not the first choice, so I had eight or nine weeks of daily radiation zaps. PSA went down, close to zero.

During the past twelve years, PSA has slowly crept up. Every six months or so, a shot of (can't remember the name of the stuff right now) knocks it back down again.

Doc says that if I live long enough, it will probably come back and kill me, but it's almost certain that I'll die of other causes long before the prostate cancer has a chance to do any real harm.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
So I got it. Small Gleason score. According to the doc, very small score. One biopsy core out of twelve cores had cancer cells, and only 2% of the cells in that single core were cancerous. The other eleven cores were clear. Doc says another MRI in 6 mos. and we'll go from there. His opinion is that any kind of treatment at this time is not advised because of the minor finding, and that such treatment if it were done now would introduce possible complications that would exceed any small risk incurred by waiting until the next MRI given these minor test results. PSA right now is 1.2 from around 1.0 about two years ago.

The reason for the biopsy is because my Father and 1st cousin on my Father's side have inoperable prostate cancer that has spread, both have been on Androgen therapy for many years.

The advice I value most regarding prostate cancer, more than any doctor as skilled as he or she may be, are from those who have delt with it personally.

ANY advice greatly appreciated.

Sorry to hear your news. I had prostate cancer several years ago. Somehow (don't remember exactly how) we came up with the name of a lady doctor who treated prostate cancer. We had seen several doctors none of whom had much good to say about the odds.

The name of this lady came up and we drove 35 miles to talk to her. Seems she used a different type of "radiation" treatment. It was just standard X-Ray. I signed up and the treatments started. 39 of them. 5 days a week. I got tired of all the driving in busy traffic, but had no negative reaction to the actual treatment. I can heartily recommend that treatment. I cannot tell you how to get in touch with the doctor as she moved out to California some time ago. I don't even recall her name and neither does my wife. I will do a search for the treatment style and see what pops up. Will let you know if I find anything.

I would suggest that you do an online search for cancer treatment using X-rays. Good luck!!

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/...cancer/treating.html

I found this site which has a lot of different sources/methods of treatments. I did not find the specific doctor listed anywhere. At least it is a starting point. You might do a search on "Xray treatment of prostate cancer" and see what your search turns up.

Good luck!!

Back in October, after a PSA score of 8.1, I had a biopsy done and found to have prostate cancer.

While doing tests for prostate surgery, they found something near my heart and after that biopsy, I found out I have a rare thymic carcinoma.

I started immunotherapy for the thymic in December and it dropped my PSA to 6. However, the thymic carcinoma takes precedence over the prostate, but I am having a follow up with my urologist this month.

I’ll be 62 in February.

My grandfather had it. When it was found, the doc told him he had a 50:50 chance of surviving the surgery….this was in the 80’s…he was in his 70s

He decided against it. Died at age 89 of “old age”in 2001, in his sleep. Cancer was not the issue, neither was the heavy drinking since WWII.

I get a colonoscopy when my doc says to.

I’m sorry you have it, but it’s not a death sentence. Explore your options, follow the docs advise.

This Dr did my surgery 15 years ago and I have been cancer free since.

He is arguably the #1 guy in the country for this cancer.

https://drcatalona.com/

Not a doctor, but I am very surprised to hear they did a biopsy with such a low PSA. I guess the family history overrode the low score.

I had a biopsy 2 weeks ago with a PSA of 4.4 and no family history. Had been rising from 1.5 over the past 18 months or so.

Just found out Wed that no cancer was detected. The two weeks waiting was brutal and I was expecting the worse so I was very relieved when I got the results.

Best of luck with your decision on how to proceed, but I would trust the doc and would be comfortable with a MRI in 6 months to keep an eye on things. I would imagine another biopsy down the road as well to see how fast the cancer is growing, along with regular PSA tests.

The good news is that it looks like you have a wide variety of options and no real rush to decide how to proceed.
I'd continue to learn as much as you can and also talk to other doctors that offer different options to hear their opinion.

I was diagnosed shortly after turning 65. There were no symptoms prior, but the PSA was 8.4 with a Gleason Score of 7 (3+4). Did the radical prostatectomy in late 2020 and the postop pathology did not find malignant cells in the prostate margin or the lymph nodes. The latest PSA this January was <0.01.

They say you usually die WITH prostate CA rather than OF it.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
So I got it. Small Gleason score. According to the doc, very small score. One biopsy core out of twelve cores had cancer cells, and only 2% of the cells in that single core were cancerous. The other eleven cores were clear. Doc says another MRI in 6 mos. and we'll go from there. His opinion is that any kind of treatment at this time is not advised because of the minor finding, and that such treatment if it were done now would introduce possible complications that would exceed any small risk incurred by waiting until the next MRI given these minor test results. PSA right now is 1.2 from around 1.0 about two years ago.

The reason for the biopsy is because my Father and 1st cousin on my Father's side have inoperable prostate cancer that has spread, both have been on Androgen therapy for many years.

The advice I value most regarding prostate cancer, more than any doctor as skilled as he or she may be, are from those who have delt with it personally.

ANY advice greatly appreciated.

This scares the hell out of me. I am in a somewhat similar situation. Questions for the original poster:

1) Did the doctor repeat the PSA test? Just a note - you may already be aware - your PSA score rises immediately following ejaculation, and stays elevated for up to 4 days following. Then it goes back to its baseline level. If you had sex within 4 days of your PSA test, your PSA may be naturally elevated. This is moot for you, since you already had a biopsy. But I encourage other men reading this to take note.

2) Are you experiencing any symptoms? Do you have BPH?

3) Is there anything else besides family history and a slight rise in PSA that led your doctor to conduct the biopsy?

4) How old are you?

5) How painful/uncomfortable was the biopsy?

I have a long history of prostate issues, including BPH, plus my father had prostate cancer as well. But cancer has never been seriously considered for me because the highest my PSA has ever been is 1.3, and all DREs have been negative. I am shocked that you had a positive biopsy with a PSA of only 1.2.

It makes me wonder if I should ask my doctor to conduct a biopsy.

I guess the one positive in your situation is that it appears this was caught so early in your case, that you will likely have many options for treatment other than prostate removal.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:

5) How painful/uncomfortable was the biopsy?

This question was not addressed to me, but I'll throw my two cents in. I have been through the biopsy routine twice.

The level of discomfort for me was maybe like a fairly mild bee sting, with no after-effects. Sting for just an instant and it's over. Repeat a dozen times. Less discomfort overall than a typical session with a dentist for a filling.

V-tail, the shot is called a Lupron-depot injection. I had my 2nd one about a month ago and they are saying it should be my last. PSA went from .2 6 months ago to .3 a month ago and I see my doc on Tuesday. That freakin' Lupron shot will kick your ass, won't it? Side effects are a bitch!

My biopsy pain was more the mental anticipation than physical pain. The needle to numb the area wasn't any better and also a bit intimidating.
Not really a big deal.

I ended up having mine removed, even though it was only 2% in two samples and the original guy wanted to do the less aggressive ongoing treatment route. Remember, the biopsy is 12 random spots and it still doesn't mean there weren't others that just didn't get picked.

The idea of watching and waiting with dealing with various issues along the way and the possibility that I'd be one of the unlucky ones sent me to that choice. Seeing others with any type of cancer made me realize your best chance of a complete cure is at the first chance.

I had robotic by a guy that had done over a thousand and that was very smooth and had minimal side effects since it was only the prostate itself.

That was about 11 years ago and so far so good. Due to no prostate and the age issues it can cause, I can empty my bladder in seconds like a young kid and no drugs and PSA is below detectable levels if there is any at all.

I had prostate cancer with a Gleason Score of 6(3+3). I looked at the treatment options and chose surgery. I wanted it out and in a pan so I could get on with my life. I had a radical prostatectomy via the Da Vinci(robot) procedure. The pathology showed zero spread. My recovery went well. That was 11 years ago and my PSA is less then 0.01. I made the correct choice FOR ME.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GT-40DOC,

My father was diagnosed with it at 70 or so. His doctor told him that they would monitor it & that something else would be his cause of death. Many years later, he died peacefully in his sleep. No action was ever taken for the prostate and was not the cause of death.

Your mileage may vary so you need to make an educated decision for yourself and your circumstances.

quote:

Originally posted by btanchors:
5) How painful/uncomfortable was the biopsy?

The biopsy tool is sometimes referred to as "Vlad the Impaler".
 
Seriously, though, not too bad at all, and I wasn't numbed before either. The anticipation of each "strike" is worse than the actual hit.

I thought vlad was a staple gun going off in my ass hole.
I0 had the robotic removal with no issues until I reached my 2 year anniversary—I started having sweats several times a day. Testing revealed I had two abscess in my groin. Two unsuccessful needle extraction procedures rounds of antibiotics that just pissed off the stuff resulted in a pick line and six weeks of three times a day hour long sessions with my medicine balls.