Do you tell others now to get a PSA?

YES! Talk it up to any/all guys of that age.
I repeatedly told my 2 sons that my dad had it, my bro had it, now I got it (2021 age 74) and that they are high risk.
But they went "uh huh" and no PSA. Finally I hounded them both (age 43 and 48) to a point they did. Luckily no early PC for them. But now they have the baseline and promised to get PSA yearly, Thank God!!
YES! To all guys of that 'baseline' age. Like above, don't hound them (unless they are family) but be firm.
God Speed on your PC journey and fight.

PS I'll copy/paste this to them as a reminder to keep it up.

It is my opinion that the conversations around over-treatment are significantly over stated. Unethical doctors and hospital administrators are definitely out there and could be pushing treatment when treatment is not required (significant age, other life limiting conditions). However, if you are a man in good health and relatively young (different for everyone) that has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I struggle to see why treatment would be off the table. I was 55 when I was diagnosed with PC about 1.5 years ago (Gleason 7-4/3). I did all the research and went with a radical prostatectomy at a center of excellence (Mayo-Rochester). Great results with PSA undetectable thus far (obviously, never know if the PC will come back, but known cancer was removed). Cancer is tricky and everyone's treatment outcome is unique. However, to give into the cancer and not address it aggressively seems like giving up on life. For me, thank goodness I had a friend in the medical community that reviewed my records. The hospital I used took my PSA since I was 50 years old, but decided to not even tell me that my PSA was skyrocketing, doubling twice and going for third double. They obviously believed in the over-treatment is harmful mentality. I never went back to that fairly large hospital group (Genesis).

Best of luck to everyone with their personal decision.

Have a great day,

Jim

Hi Jim ;
Great it sounds like you have caught the problem in time and that you were able to find the right treatment with the right facility ! I'm curious , I've recently had a PSA test that was high ( 11 ) the problem is my coverage is with a company called Kaiser and they don't allow for any patient input in the treatment of prostate problems - all they offered me is a blind biopsy - their coverage isn't transferable with other facilities ... my question is what kind of insurance do you have that permits you to change the health care provider/facility to get treatment ? you said you were able to pick a center of excellence which seems like an amazing option - for me I can't use my Kaiser coverage with any other provider or doctor and there are no companies or doctors in the country anymore that I can find that would take cash payment - even for just an MRI . Any suggestions would be appreciated !
Bill

Traditional Medicare and a supplement allows you to pick your treatments

Hi , unfortunately I have the medicare part b and Kaiser but the facilities that accept Medicare ( which is most if not all of them ) also require an insurance card - but none of them will accept Kaiser as an insurance provider - I wish I would have known ( my fault I guess ) but I could have never predicted this would happen - I didn't even know what a PSA was until 4 months ago ....

You can switch to regular Medicare during open enrollment although it may cost more because you did not get regular Medicare from the getgo. But you can switch.

Thanks , I will definately do that - I think I'll have to wait a while for the open enrollment to be available . It would be great to get a second opinion from a Urologist that isn't bound by a corporations guidelines ( I hope ..... )

Bill, good morning and looks like you got some good advice from IMBIMBO on Medicare - I am with Medicare, will not be eligible for another 8 years. If you are looking to utilize Mayo-Rochester as your center of excellence, I am certain that they accept insurance and direct payment. My insurance (United Health Care) covered the prostate related procedures, but there was an option within the Mayo system that allows for you to use your personal funds (check, etc.). Until my high deductible plan was met, I paid for the services this way.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or if I was not clear in my response.

Jim