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Bruce's cancer condition Update


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GREAT news, Bruce!!!

BTW, I read in the news recently where some study recommended discontinuing the PSA test (possibly for men of a certain age group) because it caused unnecessary stress (seriously) and I think possibly led to unnecessary treatments in some cases. I didn't pay that close attention to it, because it sounded like pure BS to me, but I'm going to guess the insurance industry had something to do with the study.

Actually, I believe several studies have come to that conclusion, and the insurance industry is not likely to have manipulated their results. PSA tests are of immense value, don't think I'm thinking otherwise, but only up to a certain age. In reality, if a man lives long enough, he will get prostate cancer. Many men who die of "old age" do have untreated prostate cancer, which however did not affect their life span, because it most cases it is a slow-growing type of tumour.

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  • 11 months later...

Just re-read this thread and have exchanged some private messages with Bruce, who has graciously answered all my questions about his treatment and outcome. I don't wade in here lightly, but it seemed like as good a place as any to just say I am now in somewhat the same boat as Bruce was in. Early stage, non-aggressive prostate cancer. As I'm relatively young (52), the condition needs to be treated, of course.

Luckily (I suppose) they have the robotic surgical suite here, which was first designed for this very procedure (removal). There are risks, of course -- both short- and long-term -- but as far as getting rid of the disease, it seems to be the best option. Slice, and it's gone.

I'm still weighing radiation treatment (external or internal seeds) as alternative treatments, but if I go for the surgery, I will probably be scheduling the procedure in the next week or two, and I will probably have it within a month after that. There will be about two weeks for immediate recovery after the surgery and up to 6 months to get back to "normal." At least that's what the surgeon tells me.

The difficult thing about deciding on a treatment is weighing the side effects against the outcome -- both short term and long term. While external radiation is clearly less invasive as well as statistically just as effective as surgery, the long term side effects can be more severe. Also, if I elect to have radiation treatment now, should the cancer recur in 10 years, I will not have the option of either surgery or radiation treatment again for various medical reasons. If, on the other hand, I have the surgery now and the cancer returns in 10 years, I will have the option of getting radiation treatment.

The long and the short of it is, if you're over 50, you're at risk. When my PSA came back at 4.1, the doc said I had less than 2% chance of having cancer, but he wanted a biopsy anyways. Good thing. I was in the 2%.

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Just re-read this thread and have exchanged some private messages with Bruce, who has graciously answered all my questions about his treatment and outcome. I don't wade in here lightly, but it seemed like as good a place as any to just say I am now in somewhat the same boat as Bruce was in. Early stage, non-aggressive prostate cancer. As I'm relatively young (52), the condition needs to be treated, of course.

No fun, but I'm really glad this was detected early. I'm not a praying man, but I'll be sending good thoughts your way and spinning some Coltrane for you.

I just f---ing hate the big C. Kick its ass, man!

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Go for the surgery. A guy I work w/ had it done he was back to work 4 weeks later. That was over two years ago and he's fine now. My father-in-law did the radiation and chemo around the same time and he's not doing as well. The chemo really did a number on him. Had you been having your PSA test annually or was this the first time?

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