Diagnosis and treatment (proton beam therapy plus hormonal therapy)
Hi. About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with PSA around 6. At the time didn't even know what PSA was. Today my PSA is 11, I have had 2-3 biopsies with 6 areas of Gleason 3+4 and 4+3. Decipher .74. Cancer is in gland and probably capsule. Dr. recommends Proton therapy and also hormonal therapy (Orgovyx). Thoughts? I feel fine. I feel like nothing is wrong....
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That's not unusual - early stage prostate cancer isn't always symptomatic. With those results I'm sure your doctors will advise treatment because you could cross a threshold where treatment simply becomes whack-a-mole with your cancer rather than the potential to either knock it out for the remainder of your natural life or at least for some years before you have to worry about it.
What you don't want is that 4 + 3 / 0.74 high risk cancer to then quickly spread to your bones and cause you great pain and your family great suffering.
Nobody wants to deal with this, nobody. I get the appeal, I considered it myself, but I'm only 54 with many years ahead of me. If I was 85 and had a low Decipher score and 3 + 4 I might consider just sweating it out, but it sounds like yours will progress quickly if you don't address it.
Talk to multiple doctors from multiple related disciplines and get a consensus.
betterhealth2, you might start the Orgovyx and then you'll have two months to look carefully at other treatment without risking the advance of your cancer. I'm familiar with proton but consider SBRT five fraction with MRI guided treatment even better. Your numbers say get treatment. Have you had the PET/PSMA. Best before starting Orgovyx.
Best Luck
Concurring with the above inputs and deferring to @jeffmarc, I encourage you to get a PSMA scan and then begin hormone treatment (Orgovyx) to slow PCa progression, while also getting additional treatment option opinions from a leading PCa center of excellence. Unless already done, the PSMA scan will help you have more information as to whether or not your PCa cells have escaped your prostate and this further guides your treatment options. A PSMA scan, if done, should be done before the initiation of any hormone therapy.
In parallel. You can educate yourself on treating Gleason 4+3 with a higher decipher score via PCRI and PCF.org online information and specific books, along with asking questions in this forum, so that you know the questions to ask your doctors in order to help you think through your decisions.
Your doctors recommendation is similar to what many other doctors would recommend.
Was the proton radiation intended to radiate the prostate and the prostate bed? Do you know how many sessions you were supposed to have if you selected proton therapy?
Were any of these mentioned from the biopsy, intraductal, cribriform, Perineural invasion or Seminal vesicle invasion (SVI)?
Was Extracapsular Extension (ECE): mentioned? If not, and it stayed in the prostate capsule, then you could have surgery. You should speak to somebody else for a second opinion. Consider working with a center of excellence so you can have multiple doctors handling your situation.
@betterhealth2, have you started with treatment as recommended? How are you doing?