That was a great, thorough summary. It doesn’t matter now, but I’m curious whether you had routine annual physical exams? If so, and as an elderly man, I am surprised that you physician did not do DRE and order PSA tests. It would have caught your cancer earlier.
Keep your fingers crossed: like many men, you may live another 10-20 years and die of something else, since prostate cancer grows slowly. The 25 PSA and 9 Gleason are not ideal, but you never know. My father had prostate cancer for about 18-20 years, never had the radical prostatectomy, had a PSA of over “200” (yep) at diagnosis, and lived to 99 years 10 months old. Everyone, and every prostate cancer case is unique, but keep a positive mindset. I just had radical prostatectomy that I now question whether it was prudent. My PSA was 6.1. Gleason Score 3+4 =7, with 3 biopsy cores normal, 3 cores Gleason 3, and 6 3+4, with only 10% as “4”, but I am a pT3b because it spread to my left seminal vesicle (no tumor though), plus my surgeon didn’t get “all” of my prostate out…there were >3mm “surgical margins”. So, in my next follow-up at 3 months post-surgery, my doctor wants to talk about radiation. For now, I can only hope for a < 0.1 PSA, and to regain my urinary continence. Despite the surgical report claim that “neurovascular bundles were preserved”, you never really know…who can check that - no one. All I know is that I am incontinent and have ED…absolutely dead down there.