THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2014 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
Routine blood test in October 2004 showed PSA of 14.6. No outward symptoms of any trouble whatsoever (peeing etc quite normal), but prostate biopsy in February 2005 revealed presence of aggressive tumour. Gleason score 3+3.
By March 2005, PSA had risen to 16.9. Operation ("traditional" open prostatectomy with "nerve sparing") carried out here in Italy in April 2005. Histology report was pT3bN0Mx G7.
Operation was followed by urinary incontinence, which went (for good and all) following a three week course of daily electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles. Sexual function returned fully about a year after the op.
A month after the operation, PSA had fallen to 0.05 It then fell further, to less than 0.10 ng/ml.
Slow resurgence of PSA began in the summer of 2007 - by September 2011 it had reached 1.18 - slightly in excess of the limit (1.0 ng/mL) beyond which intervention had been deemed necessary by the urologist.
In November 2011, I began a course of intermittent hormone therapy (IHT) based on depot injections of Enantone 11.25 - what in Britain is called Prostap. A second injection was administered in February 2012. The hospital will monitor my PSA throughout, and if by early May 2012 the PSA has fallen back to the 0.1 - 0.2 level, I will be left alone until such time as the PSA climbs back to 1.0 again. So far so good, but it's early days yet........
In November 2011, I began a course of intermittent hormone therapy (IHT) based on depot injections of Enantone 11.25 - what in Britain and America is called (I think) Prostap. A second injection was administered February 2012. The hospital will monitor my PSA throughout, and if by May 2012 the PSA has fallen back to the 0.1 - 0.2 level, I will be left alone until such time as the PSA climbs back to 1.0 again. So far so good, but it's early days yet........
Latest news: PSA on 30 April 2012 was 0.19 - an impressive decline from the 1.18 recorded in September 2011. The urologist and I have decided to give the Prostap treatment an extra three months, just to see if we can really flatten the blighterr. Next Prostap injection will be on 9 May; next PSA test will be in August.
Late July: well the intention of flattening the enemy didn't quite come off - the reading on 24 July was 0.19 ng/mL - identical to the reading on 30 April (yes, I know, we asked, and they checked, and it really was 0.19 ng/mL - I suggested that they should try the national lottery next time round).
Anyway the urologist has decided to give me a holiday, so no more Prostap until such time as we head back to >1.0 ng/mL territory. Next PSA test in October, and if it's 0.19 ng/mL again, I shall assume that God is trying to tell me something but what, exactly, Lord knows.......
Since starting the Prostap course, my weight has gone up slightly (or could it be the vino?) and libido has become a distant memory. But I'm still alive, still busy, and still enjoying myself, despite the austerity-induced gloom that surrounds us all.
Latest PSA reading, on 20 November 2012, was 0.301 (yes, folks, THREE decimal points!). Urologist is delighted that the rise has been so slow, and recommends no further action for the next six months. If the total then exceeds 1.0. we'll start the Prostap therapy again.
Stop press: in December 2012, I fell victim to infective endocarditis (not good at all - in my case it involved a stay of 42 days in hospital) and in March 2013 the PSA was measured as a matter of routine with lots of other things. The reading, I'm happy to say, came in at 0.30.
Penrithian's e-mail address is: sargent AT alice.it (replace "AT" with "@")
NOTE: Penrithian has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.
