Gettin' Personal

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Good luck to you JD. I'll say a prayer.

Barbee, what did your results show?
 
slotto said:
Good luck to you JD. I'll say a prayer.

Barbee, what did your results show?
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got the results fri. basically, there was some cancer cells found, Gleason score was 6 ( low), stage was listed as 2a, ( not a 1 , ) only because he actually felt a nodule ( I still say he might have felt my adam's apple).... he explained it all, and said most of the info will go in one side of my head and out the other ( implying an emply space!).. 2 pages of numbers and info.!
he recommends watching, having the PSA tested in 4 months, and biopsy in 1-2 years, AND having a " molecular test" on the biopsy to see how aggressive it is. seems that test is not covered by medicare or Humana, so I would pay, $200-300. they will contact me, and I will find out the " costs". ( I have learned the docs sometime don't keep up with suck!!)... second choice was surgery, they do the "robotic" surgery which is supposed to be less invasive......
he also gave me 2 books to read for more info.

I don't mind talking about all this, I appreciate those having an interest in my well being, and I do respect the original poster for being a brave soul, and bringing his situation to our attention! NONE of us guys want to think about any of this, BUT, an early diagnosis of Prostate Cancer is so important.

so again, I will say, guys have a good physical exam, in a timely manner, according to your age and recommendation of your doc!
 
Barbee, I was the original poster. You have much to think about. My gleason was a 6 stage 1a. After surgery, the pathology report showed it was now a 7. Make sure to bring your wife with you to all of the appointments. They tend to remember things. I had a test that supposed to show if the cancer was outside of the prostate. They never told me that it may not be covered by my insurance. Guess what? It wasn't. Now I have a $4000 bill. My fault, I should have asked. I was scared and didn't know any better.

I had the robotic surgery and was back on my feet that evening. I had surgery in May and my urinary incontinence is under control -as long as I stay away from coffee.

If you can, find a local support group. I did via google. It was less than 10 mins from home. Those guys are great and will be able to answer all of your questions.

I don't know exactly why the good Lord has allowed me to go thru this other than to be an advocate to others.

Hang in there my friend. It's not the end of the world. If I can help or you have questions you can pm me.
 
Steve, thank you for offering a prayer for me and others. I also want to thank you for starting this thread. Lots of good info here that we as men, may or may not be comfortable talking about face to face with other men. I do know a few guys that are my age that have had theirs removed, and plan on looking them up to talk. For some reason, prostate cancer seems to be worse for black men, and my friend Mike is an African American guy who went thru this in his 40's. I'm white and 57, but Mike and I are the same age. We've talked about it a little before, and he's VERY happy to be alive, but at the same time he gets frustrated that he can't do certain things for his wife like he used to. I'd be fibbing if I said that wasn't a big concern for me too. If it gets down to surgery, I will for sure be seeking out a local support group like you did. Thanks again for making us aware. :prayer:
 
the Doc never mentioned a test to see if outside the prostrate. I see him again in about 4 weeks. I am waiting to hear back from the pathology people that will test to see how aggressive the stuff is. seems like they called it a ?? proton test????
i'm an old fart so I have medicare, some sort of advantage HMO plan. I called them today to see what my costs would be if I do the surgery. waiting to hear back.
how can anyone stay away from coffee!!!!!!!!!
 
Well, they postponed my biopsy procedure today. They never sent me a list of meds to stop x number of days before the procedure, even though I asked twice. I take Meloxicam for arthritis, and I should have stopped it 10 days ago! Doc said it would probably be alright, but would prefer if we waited to be on the safe side. Gotta go back on 8/25. As a side note, the piddly little prep thing you gotta do 2 hours before your appointment is a piece of cake compared to colonoscopy prep! :prayer:
 
JDMopar said:
Well, they postponed my biopsy procedure today. They never sent me a list of meds to stop x number of days before the procedure, even though I asked twice. I take Meloxicam for arthritis, and I should have stopped it 10 days ago! Doc said it would probably be alright, but would prefer if we waited to be on the safe side. Gotta go back on 8/25. As a side note, the piddly little prep thing you gotta do 2 hours before your appointment is a piece of cake compared to colonoscopy prep! :prayer:
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they had me take prescription antibiotic day before day of and day after I think it was. they wanted to be sure I was not taking any kind of blood thinner week before procedure.
I didn't see this thread other day. hope it wasn't too bad.
 
Well it's been 3 months since my surgery. My incontinence is under control and I'm sleeping thru the night as long as I don't have anything to drink after 7pm. If I have caffeine, there’s a good chance I'll leak.

In other news, there has been a breakthru in the bedroom. The soldier got up off of his duffel bags and stood at attention for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. The nerve bundles were indeed spared. These 3 months were very frustrating. My doctor said that I shouldn't see any advancement in this department for 6-9 months.

Onward and upward!
 
Well, I had my biopsy today. I have to say that it was just uncomfortable, but not unbearable or painful. I didn't bleed much during the procedure, and have peed twice since with no blood. They took 16 samples, and I counted every one of them as they went along! They told me what to expect, and that I would hear a CLICK each time. It sounded like a staple gun, but it never did hurt. Only thing I felt was the hammer dropping on whatever it was that was making the CLICK sound. Doc measured my prostate, and said it was not enlarged at all. I'm hoping that's a good sign! Now comes the waiting. They said they should have the results by the end of the week. :evil3:
 
click heck!!!! more like rifle shot!!! BIG RIFLE!!!! glad it wasn't too bad for you. like you said, not a pleasant experience, but not terribly unbearable. no real pain. maybe the doc had the bad part looking up mu A--!?????
 
I had an entire audience...lol. Doctor, nurse, student nurse, and my wife. The student nurse was a nice, polite young lady. She asked me if I minded if she was present in the room while the doctor did the biopsy. I told her it was fine....and then my wife told her "Honey, lots of women have seen his butt....no reason you should be excluded!" They got a big laugh out of it....but what the heck, it lightened my sour mood up a great deal and kind of took my mind of things. I do hope the results come back quickly, cause the waiting will drive me nuts!
 
I had my 4th biopsy, yesterday, last three were negative. Must be a doctor thing. Just a little unconfortable, but not bad. My PSA has been high for several years. Last test was 15.2. My brother had his prostate removed at age 70, (I'm 73,) his PSA was only 3.something. Someone posted about wanting to be knocked out for the biopsy. It can be done in a surgical center, under a general anisthisa, which puts you in a "twilight" state. I had one doctor that wanted to do 2nd one that way, but my copay would have been over $400.00. Having it done under a local, in the doctors office, has a copay of less then $100.00. Since I had had it done before under a local, that's what I opted for.
PS: I found out that doctor owned the surgical center.
 
I thought the local did the trick, no pain. just that sound of the gun going off makes me a little "jumpy"! i'm still waiting on the results of some test that tells how aggresive it might be. I really think they failed to do it before!!???

it was just me and the doc and his assistant ( male). I figure anyone t that wants to look at my butt, just go ahead. i''m sure it ain't pretty!
 
Charrlie S
You have that high of a PSA number, and have had previous biopsie's done to you, and they haven't detected any cancers?
You must be one of the few males to have high psa readings, without being diagnosed, and consider yourself pretty fortunate.

When my psa got up to 6.1, the docs said time for the biopsy, and they found it to be confined to the gland, and if i remember correctly, they gave it a Gleason score of 3 or 4, after the results.

The biopsy done to me, i blacked out, after snip #4, and didn't know what went on from #5 to #12.
Feels like your whole guts are being pushed aside when they do each "snip'

Not a pleasant "procedure" to have to go through.
 
hemi71x said:
Charrlie S
You have that high of a PSA number, and have had previous biopsie's done to you, and they haven't detected any cancers?
You must be one of the few males to have high psa readings, without being diagnosed, and consider yourself pretty fortunate.
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I hope that is the case. I am fairly healthy, just don't have the energy, I used to have, I'm 73. Only take a pill for my cholesterol, which is OK,now. blood pressure is 100-110 over 62-70. weight is ok for my height and build.

The biopsy done to me, i blacked out, after snip #4, and didn't know what went on from #5 to #12.
Feels like your whole guts are being pushed aside when they do each "snip'

Not a pleasant "procedure" to have to go through.
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If you are having that much of an issue, I would talk to the doctor about it, or find another doctor. I had no issues with any of mine. but yes, it is uncomfortable. I'll post the results, when I get them.
 
If you are having that much of an issue, I would talk to the doctor about it, or find another doctor. I had no issues with any of mine. but yes, it is uncomfortable. I'll post the results, when I get them.
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Biopsies are over and done with, October, last year.
Don't want to ever have any more, knowing now what they are like. :thumbdow:
 
the secret to it all is a big Margurita lunch before the procedure!!?? when they say light breakfast, I figured they mean a spicy chichen enchilota and 3 big Marguritas ( o k so I cant spell).
 
:blob: Well, I got the results from the biopsy today....and I am VERY relieved! They took 16 chunks out of my prostate, and all 16 were cancer free and completely normal. I have to go back in 6 months to get my PSA checked again, but the doc told me to quit worrying and get on with life. I appreciate the prayers, well wishes and PM's offering encouragement. :prayer: I offer the same to my brothers here that are experiencing this same thing.
 
JDMopar said:
:blob: Well, I got the results from the biopsy today....and I am VERY relieved! They took 16 chunks out of my prostate, and all 16 were cancer free and completely normal. I have to go back in 6 months to get my PSA checked again, but the doc told me to quit worrying and get on with life. I appreciate the prayers, well wishes and PM's offering encouragement. :prayer: I offer the same to my brothers here that are experiencing this same thing.
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that is great news!!!! listen to the doc, get on with life and don't worry!!!!!
 
That's awesome news JD!
With that many snips, your first load is gonna look like black lava.

My first PSA since the operation 3 months ago showed < 0.1 - Cancer Free!
 
glad you guys are getting good news! I finally heard back on the test that is supposed to show if the cancer is aggressive. they said, not enough cancer cells to do the test. either good news or they lost the samples in the suffle!!??? Ha
so I go back in dec for another psa test.
 
Got my biopsy results, today. 3 out of 12 were positive. That's all I know at this point. Will be getting another appointment.
 
I/m sorry to hear that Charrlie. I guess at the next appointment they will be giving you your options.
 
Charrlie_S said:
Got my biopsy results, today. 3 out of 12 were positive. That's all I know at this point. Will be getting another appointment.
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one thing the urologist told me was that they went from "undertreating" to "overtreating", and hopefully now they have finetuned the whole thing.

when I got diagnosed I wondered if my "lack of energy" was related to the cancer, till I read the thread a bout the statins, which I started taking a few months ago!!!!!

keep us informed. and stay positive.
 
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