prostate cancer- it's my turn

[rfuerst911sc]

Yep on Monday of this week the doctor called me with the results of the biopsy..........cancer . They took 12 samples and 9 were clean but three were not . The three that were not one had a Gleason score of six the other two had a score of 7 . My PSA was at 6.0 . I am 57 years old will be 58 in January. I have a follow up visit with the doctor this Monday to discuss treatment options. The doctor stated all indications are it has been found early. So for those of you in the know or for those of you that have gone through this what types of questions should I be asking the doctor ? I know there is robotic surgery, chemo or radiation plus a few others including do nothing at all. I'm not the type of guy that needs a pity party my attitude is I will get through this with the strength of my wife and family. I sure am glad I have stuck to a regiment of yearly physicals !!! My wife knows about it and today I told my brother but I haven't told my two sons yet. Not sure when the right time is I don't want them to worry about me. But they deserve to know maybe after I talk to the doctor on Monday. I'm off to mow the lawn will check back later

[Racerbvd]

Good luck, sadly cancer has hit my family very hard, will be praying for you, sadly, I know the feeling.

[porsche4life]

Cancer sucks! Call your boys and tell them, trust me they will want to know ASAP. Sounds like you caught it early.

Let us know if you need anything. Pelicans are here for you.

[930addict]

I don't have any personal experience so can't help with what to ask but wanted to share that my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer at about the same age and lived well into his 90's. It's very curable if caught in time. Wishing you well and a speedy recovery.

Edit: also tell your kids. My dad had colon cancer and called a family meeting so everyone heard it from the horses mouth. He did, however, wait until he knew the game plan so he could answer questions.

Also, don't go blowing all of your money. LOL. My dad was well to do until the cancer. After his recovery he went on a 10 year spending spree and us kids had to bail him out. LOL. My dad is cancer free 15 years now. ;-)

[wdfifteen]

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Fortunately there are many more options for treatment than there were even a few years ago. I have a 70 year old friend who had major prostate surgery about a year ago. He had pee control problems for a while, but he's back to normal now.

You know yourself and your boys better an anyone. When you tell them is up to you. My instinct is to keep quiet until I have substantial information to share. YMMV

[gacook]

Glad it got caught early; hope the road to recovery is a smooth one.

[impactbumper]

It is curable, and manageable. Stay positive. Your physician will advise you the best course of action.

[Racerbvd]

You should really should check into hemp oil, it literally saved my sisters life, here is some info.

The Rick Simpson Hemp Oil Protocol For Cancer - Alternative Treatment

And there must be a reason the US Government has had a patent on the medical use since 1972.

Feds patented medical pot… while fighting it
By John CrudeleSeptember 11, 2013 | 9:21pm


Hey, Federal Reserve, it's time to boost interest rates
Dear John: Let’s turn up the ring of truth
July jobs number sets up September interest-rate hike
Don't be fooled by the Fed's 'solid' job gains rhetoric
On Oct. 7, 2003, the US government issued Patent No. 6,630,507.
Actor Michael J. Fox and many millions of other Americans — my dear late wife, Tricia, included — could have gotten very excited about this development back then.
But it was, apparently, not the sort of thing Washington wanted advertised.
Patent No. 6,630,507, you see, is for cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. Most people would simply refer to this as medical marijuana.
Who got that patent? The US government gave this patent to itself.
Just so you understand me, this is the same US government that has been fighting the use of marijuana as a drug. Yet its own scientists were claiming a decade ago that marijuana had been effective against a number of diseases.
Here’s what three scientists from the Department of Health and Human Services said in the abstract — or summary — of their findings submitted with the patent application: “The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroproectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke or trauma, or the treatment of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”
Fox has had Parkinson’s for many years. My wife suffered for nearly a decade from Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological disease, before she died nearly two years ago.
I don’t know if Fox is secretly using marijuana to ease his pain, but in a minute I’ll tell you why finding out about Patent No. 6,630,507 this week angers me.
Just last week Attorney General Eric Holder said the Federal government will not attempt to challenge state laws that allow for medical and recreational use of pot. His directive will affect 20 states that now allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes, as well as Colorado and Washington, where marijuana can be used for recreational purposes.
The new guidelines do not change marijuana’s classification as an illegal drug. The issue of marijuana’s effectiveness as a pharmaceutical, as far as I know, has never been mentioned by Washington.
Marijuana plants contain a lot of different chemicals. Tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC — is considered the most active of them. Civilizations have known for thousands of years that marijuana had special properties. In a Hindu text the weed is referred to as “sacred grass.”
Despite a track record of thousands of years, Americans are still debating whether we should allow sick people to relieve symptoms of nausea and pain with pot because marijuana may sometimes end up in the wrong hands.
This past week, for instance, New Jersey changed medical marijuana legislation — again. If Govs. Jon Corzine and Chris Christie hadn’t been so pigheaded over the past few years, my wife and others might have suffered a lot less.
Jersey’s medical pot law was passed years ago but hasn’t even gone into effect yet. A revision in the law will permit licensed dispensaries to grow and sell more than three varieties of the weed and provide an edible version for children.
Christie now gets a chance to drag his feet some more before he signs the revised bill. But don’t feel too sorry for New Jersey residents. New York doesn’t even have a medical marijuana law in the works.
Usually I don’t talk about my own life in this column — unless it’s something strange, odd or funny.
My experience with medical marijuana was none of those, but I’ll tell it anyway.
Tricia had been diagnosed with MS in 1992. It wasn’t until around 2002 that she became truly helpless. MS is an inflammatory disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged.
Tricia was on so many drugs — pain killers, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, etc. — I lost count
The idea of using marijuana to ease Tricia’s severe spasms — which could last 30 minutes or more — came up frequently. But the law was a problem.
New Jersey hadn’t implemented its medical marijuana law, so I would need to acquire the drug the old-fashioned way — on the street.
I knew that if I got caught buying pot illegally I could have been fired from my job and lose my medical coverage. That would have taken me several steps backwards.
Another one of Tricia’s many doctors had us try a synthetic form of THC — the marijuana chemical — but we had to pretend that my wife was suffering through weeping spells because that’s what the drug was intended for.
She wasn’t weeping. In fact Tricia was about as happy as anyone could be under those circumstances, but we played along.
Knowing what I do now, I regret not taking the risk of getting pot on the street.
Experts say that the potential for marijuana as a drug is endless. Dr. Gerry Crabtree, chief executive officer of drug firm Nuvilex, says it has even proven in tests to be effective against cancer.
“There’s enough literature in respectable scientific journals to justify examining cannabis as a possible treatment of cancer,” Crabtree told me this week.
You won’t really appreciate what I’m talking about until someone you love might be helped by medical marijuana. But you will probably never understand just how angry I am after finding out about Patent No. 6,630,507.
Feds patented medical pot… while fighting it | New York Post

[dennis in se pa]

Sorry to hear. I have read that depending on the particular cancer, it is likely old age will get you before the cancer. I have a friend going through this right now. He is doing nothing.

[Evans, Marv]

I hope things work out the best for you. I agree with what Dennis says about some types of prostate cancer. They are very slow growth. I have two fairly close friends who went through this. One opted for surgery. He's doing OK now, but had to use things to help with urination problems, etc. for awhile. I don't know if he still does of not. Another friend opted for proton therapy at Loma Linda Center and was very positive about the outcome. Just an FYI. He shopped around the country regarding cost. According to him it ranged from $39K at Loma Linda (at the time) to over $300K at a center in Boston and all levels of cost in between at other places.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

Sorry to hear. I have read that depending on the particular cancer, it is likely old age will get you before the cancer. I have a friend going through this right now. He is doing nothing.

^^^^This!!! Look into this carefully.

Also - skip any sort of potential treatment that uses the terms "alternative", "integrative" or "complementary". Those are buzzwords for "this doesn't actually work, but will certainly lighten your wallet and potentially shorten your life".

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Another friend opted for proton therapy at Loma Linda Center and was very positive about the outcome.

FWIW, there is a proton therapy center here in Knoxville, also.

http://provisionproton.com/

[dennis in se pa]

"it ranged from $39K at Loma Linda (at the time) to over $300K "
This is where the outrage should be. I am sure a lot went into finding and developing effective therapies. But even worse than the billionaires controlling the country is the cost of healthcare. We can send billions overseas but cannot subsidize healthcare for our own people? (OK we are now) And what profit margin is acceptable in these cases? Your local "not for profit" hospital is making tens of millions of dollars in profit every year and not paying a dime of taxes on it, or paying any school or property taxes.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by 930addict

my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer at about the same age and lived well into his 90's. It's very curable if caught in time. Wishing you well and a speedy recovery.

I second that - my g'fer made it to 95 years old. He had surgery to deal with it. Remember this was over 30 years ago--I think they were using rocks and chisels back then.

Best wishes to you!

[recycled sixtie]

My bro in law passed away from prostate cancer because diagnosis was too late. He lasted 6 miserable years after first diagnosis. Died at 69. When first diagnosed 7 years ago it had spread already to his bladder. Not trying to scare you but as long as you have an early diagnosis it helps.
He let his brother know and he had a high psa count so that bro elected to have his prostate out. The latter is functioning pretty well and if I was the latter that would be the road I would take. Now their father lasted till 98 years old and had very slow growth of prostate cancer for about 20 years. So everybody is different.

Recently had a turp op for enlarged prostate and had no cancer. Recommend prompt treatment but none of this off the wall stuff. PM me if you want more opinions but not a med prof.
Treatment in this area has come a long way. All the best to you.
Guy

[Jolly Amaranto]

My brother's type of prostate cancer was treatable with the radioactive "seeds" that they implanted. That was 8 years ago and he is still in remission. I tease him when we go back packing that his pee still glows in the dark.

[bpu699]

Sorry to hear...

But there is a silver lining. Out of all the cancers one could have, prostate cancer is the one thats most treatable... (perhaps only second to basal cell skin cancer)... Unlike most other cancers, early prostate cancer never (almost never?) metastasizes. So, caught early, you are golden. You should be happy you were smart enough to go get checked out.

Go, be thankful that you went. This is a GOOD day, not a bad day. If you had waited 5 more years, it would be a different story.

Lots of treatment options, no right or wrong answers. Yes, its suks to have. But, done right, should have minimal impact on your life and longevity.

Bo

[berettafan]

Sorry to hear this.

My neighbor was diagnosed a couple years ago. Couple surgeries, treatments, etc have not been the easiest road for him but you wouldn't know he was sick now. Looks good as ever!

[rfuerst911sc]

Thanks guys I appreciate the words of wisdom and encouragement. I'll be OK and will keep on trucking !

[jyl]

Everyone I know who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, died. Of something unrelated. Many, many, many years later.