YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

BRONZE

Eric Cordingley and Tom live in Oregon, USA. He was 51 when he was diagnosed on March 26, 2010. His initial PSA was 3.8 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6 and although he does not know his staging it seems clear that he was staged T1c. He is undecided as to his choice of treatment. Here is his story.

In October, 2009, my employer got a new health policy through Providence Health Services. I did the initial intake and physical exam in October which included a PSA. I am 51 and the PSA test was recommended by my provider. The test came back at 3.1 and I was asked to come back a month later for another test, which I did and the score came back 3.8, at which point I was referred to a urologist.

Of course, the urologist recommended a biopsy, which I went through on March 22. The biopsy went fine and I had very little discomfort aside from wine-colored pee for a few days. On March 26th, I was told that one of the samples showed cancer.

I see my urologist again on Thursday to discuss my options.

 

UPDATED

September 2010

 

 

The biopsy revealed a very small area of cancer. Upon his suggestion, the biopsy slides were send to Axiom labs, who, using a new method, determined the the likelihood of my cancer becoming aggressive was very low - 4%. [I am not aware of this method of determining aggressiveness of prostate cancer and cannot find any references. I have asked Eric if he can give me any further information.]

Given that result, my doctor recommended watchful waiting and a PSA every 6 months. If the PSA enters the "4" category then we'll do another biopsy. If the biopsy shows a change in the cancer, then we'll talk about treatment options.

Eric's e-mail address is: cecordingley@gmail.com