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YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

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Woody I lives in Georgia, USA. He was 55 when he was diagnosed in April, 2010. His initial PSA was 26.50 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7, and he was staged T1c. His initial treatment choice was Brachytherapy (Seed Implant with EB and ADT) and his current treatment choice is None. Here is his story.

THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2014 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

Woody went to see his GP for sinus problems, and being that he does not get annual physicals, she ordered a full workup which included PSA. Thank goodness for conscientious doctors, his PSA was 26.5. Biopsy was positive in 4 of 6 cores from 40-80% with PNI (Peri Neural Invasion) involvement. While telling his family about the news, Woody's sister told him that their father who died at age 55 (Woody was 5 years old), died from prostate cancer. This was in 1959 when treatment options were limited and reportedly, he simply refused treatment. Had we known this history, Woody would have been much more inclined to have those regular screenings.

Urologist offered surgery with radiation or just radiation as treatment options, but after researching, Woody felt there was only slim chance that PC was contained (6% according to Partin Tables) [It is not clear where this percentage comes from. Using the data posted by Susan and assuming that the Gleason Score was 4+3=7 then the tables show a range of 25% - 36% of the disease being contained in the gland] and opted for radiation.

Radiation oncologist suggested five weeks EBRT and two HDR Brachytherapy treatments would be best to treat any PCa outside the prostate while minimizing damage to other organs. He also started Woody on hormone therapy (Lupron) 6 weeks prior to treatment to shrink prostate and has been fairly insistent that he try to stay on it for two years.

He is now two months into hormone treatment with five radiation treatments unde his belt (literally) and other than major hot flashes is doing well.

UPDATED

January 2011

Woody made it through EBRT and HDR without incident and is two months into his 2nd four month Lupron shot. He had extreme fatigue toward the end of radiation with difficulty walking even a block. This is getting better but he is a long way from his prior self. There appears to be a decrease in mental clarity associated with the hormone therapy. His urologist says this is not a symptom of Lupron but I know my husband and something has changed.

He has also gained about 20 pounds and is very unhappy with his new body image. Keeping the weight down is a real struggle due to significant pain and numbness in his right leg. His GP tells him this is not prostate cancer related but is due to nerve damage in his low back. He had a similar episode about nine months before being diagnosed with Pca and so I try not to worry, still there is still that little twinge in the back of my brain that makes me want to cry every time I see him bent over limping along.

He is happy with his treatment choice and committed to staying on hormone therapy for the recommended two years. We are looking forward to a good outcome and long life together. Hoping the same for all who visit this site. Take care.

UPDATED

May 2012

Woody had his last dose of Lupron in July 2011 and things are slowly getting back to normal. His PSA is now at .02 and we are obviously pleased with this. The extreme fatigue that began during radiation continues and we are not sure why. After this school year he will reduce his work schedule to two and a half days a week and hopefully this will help. Other than that, life has been very good to us and we hope to roll along with it for many a year. Peace to all who visit this site.

UPDATED

June 2013

Woody was unable to tolerate the side effects (mental fatigue, low energy, hot flashes, weight gain, and development of diabetes) of the Lupron for the full 2 years recommended by his urologist and had his last 3 month shot in July, 2011. His PSA reached a nadair of .02 in January 2012 and has slowly increased as his testerone level returns to normal. Since discontinuing the Lupron his health has greatly improved and he is happy with his treatment choices. He did go from full-time to part-time employment in June 2012 due to low energy levels and although he feels much better this year, we've discovered we can live quite well without his income and he will fully retire the end of this June. At this point he says he will not go back on Lupron if the PSA continues to increase but hopefully we can defer that decision for a very long time. Until then, life is good and we are living it to the fullest.

PSA and testerone levels are as follows: Jan 2012 PSA.02/T.8; Apr 2012 PSA .04/T 101.5; Oct 2012 PSA .11/T 204.86; Apr 2013 PSA .15/T 299.4.

Woody's e-mail address is: ironssus AT gmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")

NOTE: Woody has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.


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