Prostatectomy Question? Side effects outweigh benefits?

Very sorry to hear this. How are you treating it now? Also, how does PSA go up if the prostate is removed? I always thought the prostate produced PSA. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein made by cells in the prostate gland (both normal cells and cancer cells). PSA is mostly found in semen, but a small amount is also found in blood. I am curious how it increases after the prostate is removed?

First off, I wish you all the best for good health cancer free. It’s interesting talking with others here how treatment varies with each doctor. I was told they would not use radiation after surgery which concerned me as I feel if it has spread to the lymph nodes it could be caught and killed before it spreads.

I was told they don’t “overtreat” if they do not see it on any other tests, and use a watch and wait approach. How long after you had surgery will it take before you do radiation treatment?

What did you mean by the lab on the margin part of the prostate? I wasn’t aware they did any testing for that.

On the margin is on the outside like a sticky substance on a basketball. I guess they lab it some how along with the two lymph nodes located next to the prostate. This is me talking and info from Dr. Scholz on Utube along with other of my friends who have had the surgery lately and Dave McCoy went in the total all out attack on it as he had it removed, then on Lupron and had 4 months of radiation 5 days a week so he took the max radiation for a life time to just not wait but kill the little bastar-s. He has been cancer free for over 3 years now. Wait for what, a recurrence as any recurrence comes back very angry and tougher to kill after that. I am going in for the win baby. Say, after surgery, as most all have a 0 or -.1 PSA. Well, they wait and watch and it bounces up to say 1, it is now angry and comes back with a vengence. With me it all depends on the 24th of Aug appt. with the Urologist/Surgeon. The initial CT and Bone S said no spread, he said twice after the surgery, no spread so we will see soon. I have one friend who has been on Lupron or equal for 18 years now.

So, what my docs told me is that you really can't determine if the cancer has spread until you are in there. All the scans and blood tests in the world won't give them as clear a picture as literally going inside and taking a look. I had robotic surgery so it wasn't quite as invasive as the original method.

And Yes, when in there they found that it had spread. They had to send it all off to a lab to before they made any treatment recommendation. They didn't schedule any treatments until after the results came back. Unfortunately, my cancer was so aggressive that after the results came back I underwent, hormone, chemo, and radiation therapy.

So, if you asked me... let 'em do the surgery (since they recommended it) and be prepared for more news and treatments in the future.

Thanks for the information and I truly hope you are doing better after all of those treatments. That’s quite a lot to handle both physically and emotionally for you and your family.

We have a second opinion next week with a surgeon who is top notch in my area. I have been reading up and becoming more familiar with treatment options and standards as many doctors do not give you the full picture with important details from my experience.

I picked up Dr. Patrick Walsh’s book Surviving Prostate Cancer (1st Edition) which is a bit outdated but useful. I found out there was a 4th edition released in 2018 and there will be a 5th edition coming early October.

I wish these doctors would explain things better so those who are diagnosed with PC can understand it better. There’s so much to learn it seems, and even more importantly the options were not explained in detail for example if you choose radiation therapy you cannot remove the prostate if your PC returns but there are other options like Cryotherapy and Hormone Therapy. Still not ideal, which is why I am choosing an RP personally.

I had pain when urinating, constipation, hemorrhoids and fatigue during treatment. All resolved within a couple of weeks after treatment.

Sending lots of healing wishes. Did you have a PSMA PET?

About two years ago, my prostate was removed due cancer, now the las PSA test was .31, I took a pet scan and it showed an anormalidad brote lite in the área, due to my concern, what is your advice to take care of the problem?

In reference to my prostate sings afore mentioned what is you professional opinion for treatment?

Yeah, like a lot. I think I have had three or four. The cancer was in remission for 5 years. Zero (or undetectable) PSA. But.... it came back. Now that it is back the doc wants a blood test once a month. Had a scan, they found the spot. They zapped it again (radiation). That spot went away. But now there is a new one. Sooooo, more scans. I'm a regular.