Well, aging is not for the feint of heart.
There are a number of tools to ascertain if you have prostate cancer and what.
Others have discussed:
PSA
DRE
These two by themselves are not definitive.
From the Prostate Cancer Foundation website on screening...
...DRE cannot feel prostate abnormalities in the anterior (forward) area of the prostate, away from the rectum, and is often most useful only when the prostate cancer has grown sufficiently to cause cancer that can be felt with a finger. The DRE is no longer recommended as a standalone screening test for prostate cancer.
So, what clinical data is? As the old saying goes, the more data, the better...
Some other possible clinical data sources:
https://www.google.com/gasearch
https://www.medpagetoday.com/urology/prostatecancer/118778
https://www.google.com/gasearch
https://www.google.com/gasearch
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4495493/
Discuss with your medical team...
I am not sure at this point, without knowing if and if, what you have, fretting about treatment decisions is advantageous.
Why do I say that? Research has brought about a plethora of choices depending on the clinical data.
Like everything else, prostate cancer has its own language, tents, definitions. Now is the time to learn them so that you can have meaningful discussions with your medical team.
There are many websites which have patient centric resources. I'll mention two which I use, others can chime in with theirs.
Prostate Cancer Foundation
Prostate Cancer Research Institute.
Once you have a handle on the language then it's time to familiarize yourself with the guidelines. The two I stay abreast of are:
NCCN
AUA
These are the science, Phase III clinical trials, peer review..,
They may serve as the starting point in discussion with your medical team. I say that because given the rigor behind these guidelines, it takes time to make it into them. Meanwhile research continues... also, they are population based and may not fit your clinical data exactly.
So, you have homework to do, more data gathering, then, have discussions with your medical team and decide if, when, with what, for how long, measures of success..
As you go about the process, check back in with this group to get their assessment and feedback.
We are not trained, educated, board certified or licensed medical folks but there's a heck of a lot of corporate knowledge!
I'm at the 12 year point, future looks bright, in part thanx to medical research and the plethora of treatment choices which have enabled me at this point to manage this as a chronic vice fatal diagnosis.
Still, I don't forget the early days when my mind was racing with dire thoughts! Especially after these two events:
My urologist calling me after my biopsy saying "Kevin, you have prostate cancer."
After my initial consultation with my urologist as we're walking out to schedule a consult on surgery, "Kevin, that's a pretty aggressive cancer...!"
Ouch!
@kujhawk1978 your pathology report indicates no positive margins, no EPE, no SV & didn’t see initial LN involvement. I wondered if radiation would kill any microscopic local CA. I still like idea of known cancer hone & ability to salvage radiate.