3+3 - others' experiences and questions I should ask doc?

Did your PSA rise while on AS over those 13 months? Did you have another MRI or biopsy?

May your surgery be successful and the recovery go well.

PSA has been going up for a year. MRI shows contained and not growing last one a months ago, but had grown before. I have family history, father had seeds put in about 50 yrs ago. Had double infection from biopsy a year ago. They don’t want to do anymore biopsies due the UTI and Cdiff infection I get

Your life will not be over after RP.
Age 72 at surgery, now 74, and never lost continence.
Sexual function has returned to an acceptable degree.
Physically, maybe a bit more fatigue.
Other than the SE of persistent worry about recurrence w/ G 9 and EPE, no issues enjoying life.
A suggestion would be to ask for contact with a prior surgical patient or 2 of your surgeon for their experience.
I did have surgery at Johns Hopkins, which is a Center of Excellence (COE) for prostate cancer. Such facilities have very experienced surgeons and good track records.
Best wishes for a successful treatment.

Thanks. I seem to read more stories about bad than good on this site. Stopped reading for awhile.

I think thats true on most sites. The ones commenting like myself have decided to seek out some alternatives and speak with real people. Most of the time the ones enjoying life and kicking butt have moved on. I still appreciate the educated feedback. I have no experience to really comment. I came here looking for help with possible AUS or ED issues. I have gotten a good education. But it is good to hear michaelcharles so you know it wasnt BS when the Dr tells you 85% fully recover.

Concur that human nature results in the majority of successfully treated men not participating in forums such as this one.

Without trying, I know 6 other men who had successful prostate removal surgery.

I did not know about this forum until after my surgery, and joined initially to try to support others.

With biochemical recurrence (BCR) and salvage treatment, I have remained on-line to try to learn, share and support.

I think that there are many who monitor this blog, but do not engage. And I believe that there are many more successful outcomes for surgery and radiation treatment than we hear about.

Best wishes

So after my surgery in Aug 2022 and salvage treatment from Feb - June 2023 a number of trips from Central PA to IL & MN to visit children and grandchildren.

Return to playing golf. Never stopped walking. .

And 2 two week self driving trips to Southern France and Central Italy in Nov 2023 and Apr 2024, with a third planned for Oct 2024 to Normandy Beaches, Loire Valley and Paris.

So yes, good life goes on.

Keep faith and persevere.

Happydappy: I had 3+4 and one out of the five radiation oncologist. I spoke with suggested active surveillance. My PSA was at eight when I first Met with a urologist.

I did not want to wait to see what happened. I did research and came to this website. I ended up with a very narrow margin type radiation machine. I had five treatments.

You might want to have the decipher test and ask your doctor about it. It can absolutely change your doctors diagnosis. I have heard that the biopsy material is good for up to a year.

You also might want to ask about the size of your prostate, whether that presents any issues and the location of your cancer within the prostate.

Also, if there is any family history of prostate cancer, that is worth a discussion with your doctor.

Some research shows removing prostate has little impact on life expectancy. You really need to look at quality of life (Continence, erections, and cancer). Some do not think irregular cells (3+3) should be called cancer. Remember you have likely had irregular cells or cancer for decades. My surgeon suggested that since I was a young 57 that removing my prostate after surveillance for half a decade when a small 3+4 lesion appeared because it gave me the best chance for survival. I told him that since I was young keeping my prostate would be a priority. When pressed my 10 year survival rate was around 86% with removal, and 84% with HIFU. I elected what was for me a greater quality of life (Erections, continence, and a greater chance of dying from cancer). Your quality of life decision may be different, but ask a lot of questions.

Keep doing those Kegels. I was obsessively doing them prior to and aftern my surgery last November. Successful surgery with NO incontinence afterword. PSA currently < 0.01. Hope and pray for more of the same. Best wishes!