Posted on 12/03/2018 7:07:37 AM PST by fwdude
I have mentioned previously that my rising PSA levels necessitated several biopsies in the past several years. The latest result has been that my "grade" has gone from Gleason Score of 6 (3+3) to a 7 (4+3). I'm soliciting advice and experience wisdom from other FReepers who've been through this, as I am navigating unknown waters.
Surgeon is recommending surgery (radical prostatectomy) but radiation is also an option.
Lot's of questions and concerns. I'm soliciting advice from all quarters on this. Thanks.
Hubby had 4+3 also as well as family history. Had MRI guided cryotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Highly recommend.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer eight years ago at age 65. I was offered four options, removal of my prostate, external radiation treatment, radioactive seed implanting directly in the prostate, or do nothing and live another 20 years. After consulting with my urologist, I had the seed implantation done by the surgeon who pioneered the procedure. He implanted 103 seeds in my prostate during a procedure that last approximately an hour under general anesthesia. Eight years later my PSA is 0. I have it checked annually as a follow up.
I have a friend that had is prostate removed, and his PSA is climbing again. Another friend who missed his annual appointment, and the following year was discovered to have his prostate cancer having metastasized into his spinal column. They managed to cure it, but it was long slow painful process. Cancer is cancer and should not be messed with.
I simply wanted it out of my body, without losing body parts in the process.
Good Luck and God Bless!
Gunner
I have an associate of my brother who had the surgery, although he is only 2 months from that point. I’m planning to talk to him as well as others who are years out.
To answer your question where it comes from when you don’t consume it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis
...and interesting reading about how this could pertain to this discussion:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2364268/
I'm a moderator on the following forum, and you may find the information useful...please consider checking it out.
I will, thanks.
Your body can keep glucose stable even when you are not eating carbs. It MAKES about 80 grams of glucose per day.
Six months ago I was borderline diabetic. I went very low/no carb, mostly carnivore diet.
I did a three day fast a few weeks ago, my glucose went from 102 down to 84.
If the cancer shows up on a PET scan, then a very low carb diet can help. A PET scan shows where the cells are that are using the most glucose.
Dr. Dominic D’Agastino says cancer cells use up to 200 times the amount of glucose than normal cells. Get into ketosis. Cancer cannot use ketones as fuel, but normal cells can.
My wife has stage 4 breast cancer, so I have done a lot of research the last several months.
I’ll do that. Thanks.
I’m a retired Army officer, 62 years old, in perfect health (not overweight, no medications, great BP, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) aside from the fact that I have prostate cancer.
Two months ago, I had a physical and my PSA level was 9.4. Had a second PSA test, which came in at 8.5, followed by a biopsy. My Gleason score was 7, but a 3+4 seven, which is an indication that it’s less aggressive and less likely to grow. A 4+3 Gleason score indicates that your cancer - and yes, it is cancer - is more aggressive and more likely to grow, but it’s thankfully not an 8, 9 or 10.
Two weeks ago today, I had a radical prostatectomy using the DaVinci laparscopic robot, which is much less invasive than the traditional, “gut you like a deer” prostate surgery. I looked at it this way: It’s cancer, it’s in me and I want it out.
I have a friend from church who is older than me, had prostate cancer, followed his doctor’s recommendation to monitor it and he’s now dying of prostate cancer, which, althought pretty rare these days, is a helluva way to go. By contrast, my best friend, who’s three years older than me, had the DaVinci surgery at Johns Hopkins 11 years ago (I had mine at Allegheny General in Pittsburgh) and is having no difficulty aside from the occasional urine leakage and limited tolerance for hard chairs, bleachers, etc.
One subject that always comes up is erectile dysfunction/impotence. I’m on a “therapy” program that involves the use of ED drugs to promote recovery. DaVinci surgery rarely damages the nerves like traditional surgery and has a much shorter recovery period than traditional surgery, but it’s still surgery. There are a number of things you’ll need to be prepared for, some of which are just inconvenient and others a pain in the ass - figuratively and literally.
Prayers for you.
Great to hear your story. I’ll be PM-ing you later for more discussion. I need all the advice I can get.
Thank you. I’ll need them.
Following my kid's advice, I did not have sex, carried nothing heavy, used stairs minimally and slow, did not do any strenuous exercise, running, or hiking, didn't try to "hold it" when I had to go, didn't ride a bike...and etc.. In otherwords, I tried to not do anything which would stress the muscles in my groin area for 3 days before my blood test. My PSA went back to around one. I've continued to follow that advice and all of my tests have been between 1 and 2 since.
Go for it; I’m at home recovering.
I don’t know THAT much about prostate, as a) I’m a woman and b) it’s been a few years since my relatives went through things and I never visited the doc’s to understand what their grading means, etc.
I will say this - my uncle had something probably low-grade years ago, and he had the radiation seeds put in. Don’t know if he ever needed surgery (this was c.2003). He was already elder and lived on for another 10 years.
His brother, my father (youngest) was diagnosed back in 2010 and he just got straight radiation. I took him to treatment, along with my toddler son, many times during his 9 weeks or so. In fact, his grandson is why he chose the treatments instead of seeds - he wanted to be able to hold him on his lap, which he couldn’t do if he had constant radiation coming out.
Either way, both treatments worked out well for them.
Oops, don’t know how I pinged #51 and not you. Please see my #96.
Yes, but if you drop your carbs down to 25 or 30 per day, it will put your body into ketosis, and it will begin to use fat as it’s fuel. You can eat green leafy vegetables and berries, and still keep your carbs low. And you must eat a lot of fat, even if trying to lose weight, and moderate amounts of protein. Everything we eat, except fats, eventually break down into glucose, studies have been done, and anecdotal evidence is huge. My doctor is on board. I don’t have cancer, but I am an overweight type two diabetic.
I was diagnosed in 2009 with early stage prostate cancer with similar Gleason scores. Chose removal since it was more certain than either radiation or hormone treatment. Surgeons used “nerve sparing” surgical technique and, while they could promise nothing until they actually examined the gland and it’s surroundings, they were able to preserve sexual functioning.
In pre-operation discussions of options and their effectiveness, radiation and surgery were rated about equal in their effectiveness and both were more effective than hormone therapy. However, they advised me that, if I choose radiation over surgery, I would lose the surgery option for follow-on use in case of a relapse. This is because the radiation scarring/tissue damage in the area of the prostrate makes it very difficult to distinguish the gland from it’s surroundings and between diseased and undiseased tissue.
I was lucky in that the hospital (Walter Reed) hosts the US Army Instutute of Pathology. The removed gland underwent full mount and section and revealed negative margins which meant the prostrate cancer was still entirely within the gland and had not metastasized.
There is a downside to the surgery. You will be discharged wearing a Foley catheter and will wear it for seven weeks while the juncture between the ureatha and the bladder heals. Keeping the catheter and collection bags clean will require constant attention. Danger of urinary tract infection comes with wearing the catheter. My personal experience was two incidents of blocked urine flow during recovery and I had to take strong antibiotics to finally clear the recurring infection. However, I’ve not had any difficulties since then.
Sex function without drugs is normal.
It is 9 years in October and my PSA test still is zero.
I was very lucky.
People on Keto diets still have plenty of blood sugar.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.