Newly Diagnosed: Removal vs Radiation

Posted by survivor5280 @survivor5280, Oct 28, 2024

Hello, I suppose I'm exactly sure where to start this. I'm already a cancer survivor from 9 years ago, only to find out I now have prostate cancer (no metastasis detected, this is new).

My PSA's were off the chart so the biopsy was next, which revealed low Gleason scores in all but one core, which was a 7 (I would have to check if it was 3+4 or 4+3, but it's still 7). The core was sent for a Decipher which came back as high risk 0.68 out of 1.0.

Prior to getting the Decipher results (this morning) my regular urologist recommended removal, as I'm only 54 years old and he felt it was a good fit as I am young enough to recover from it and said that radiation can cause long term effects that I might not see until I'm much older.

In this same topic, my second urologist (long story, I have two at the moment) reviewed with me the Decipher score + my Gleason and also recommended removal.

Of course this terrifies me. The process itself, another robotic removal just like my kidney, isn't nearly as horrifying to me as the side effects of losing your prostate (ED, incontinence, dry orgasms, etc).

The consensus is for a prostatectomy, but I'm curious to hear others experience in this regard and if they felt they chose the right path given the circumstances. I know that there's no way to know exactly how aggressive the cancer is until the whole thing comes out, but I want to believe there are intermediary things that can be done to see if they help first - but I was told that generally once you do the radiation then prostatectomies are generally off the table.

I was hoping to find a support group locally where I could talk to others, but sadly in an area even as large as mine, it's very challenging to find one (for some reason).

Thank you.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

I had four step recovery plan.

1) Heal from surgery (I had big bleeding after my stiches were removed (too early), several extra days in hospital)
2) Get rid of catheter (only one week, I hated it)
3) Get continense back, several months
4) Get erection back - it took about a year

Im 55years young, That was my recovery list most important first. Erection was only forth... Even its very important...

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@northoftheborder

The trouble with isolated studies — no matter how credible the source — is that they more often uncover an accidental correlation rather than a direct causation: e.g. men who enjoy eating a lot of eggs and men who have a higher risk of advanced PCa have some other, unknown trait in common (genetic, physical, or otherwise).

(Also, CoPilot can be a useful tool, but apply a lot of healthy scepticism to its results. Generative AI mindlessly parrots information on the web, right or wrong, and then introduces its own errors to make it a bit like a game of broken telephone. Experimenting with ChatGPT, I've been able to generate exactly opposite responses about PCa just by rephrasing my question slightly. 😕)

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