My Gleason score is 7 - 3+4. How long can I live without treatment?

Paul, I'm no doc, but I have stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer which I've been fighting for a decade. Chemo was a little tough, but other treatments, surgery, etc. weren't bad. Your quality of life will be infinitely better with treatments rather than just withering away. There are many options available including standard protocol and experimental. It's 2024, not 1924.

A little background. My PSA had been between 2.3 and 2.9 for five years up and down between those numbers. The only reason I got treated and even was concerned was my female endocrinologist had me do a full PSA test unlike my GP. The full test is a PSA, a PSA free, and a PSA free percentage and my % was low. My GP would not order a at home urine test that Medicare pays for even though I did all the research including giving him the phone number to call. I cut him off and no longer see him. I went to Mayo Phoenix and my MRI showed a 7mm lesion which is very small. I then had a transperineally 30 core fusion guided biopsy. I have a 120-gram prostate which is why so many cores. I had three positive cores all from the area of the lesion. Two were 4-3 and one 3-4. I had another lab examine my cores and they came back one 4-3 and two 3-4. If you do research the pathologists have changed the grading system a few years ago like grade inflation in college so I was very suspect of the results. My oncologist at my first meeting with him wanted to jab me with six months of Lupron with 28 radiation treatments. I am unique in that I have been in testosterone replacement since 2008 and when I don't apply my Androgel I go castrate in a week thanks to the test my endocrinologist and I had done in the past. He didn't believe me, and I didn't take the shot. As to the 28 radiation treatments I went to a Cyber Knife facility in Phoenix that does the SRBT 5 radiation treatments which is now just as effective as 28 or 40 because evidently prostate cancer cells can't handle the 5 heavy doses of Proton radiation. My testosterone was at 12 ng/dl for eight months and he tested me three times which is lower than the Lupron literature promises. When I told him I was going to go elsewhere for the five treatments he all of a sudden said "we can do 5" so I stayed at Mayo and did 5 SRBT Proton treatment, so far so good as my first three PSA's have been undetectable. I go Monday for a fourth PSA which is at 17 months post radiation. I am back on my testosterone gel and feeling fine. Had some minor urinary leakage 310 days after radiation that Kegels fixed. Any more questions just ask.

Hello, I am 72 and this diagnosed with gleason 4+3=7. What treatment did you get, if any? I am considering no treatment for quality of life issues. Thank you, Paul

Totally with you on self advocacy.

Purchase Dr Patrick Walsh's 5th Edition book : " Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer " . It will be the best mooney you ever spent . It will educate you A to Z about prostate cancer , Testing , what the tests mean , Different Treatments , Surgery , Radiation , Focal Therapies and on and on
You have to be your own advocate -- but with the self education plus help from this forum members .

I wish anyone dealing with any kind of cancer or suffering in any way the best and every night I pray for anyone suffering from any disease, especially cancer.
I wish everyone could have the kind of success I am experiencing.
I will say the 1st thing is to use the PO outlook. Positivity Only. Tell yourself you are not going to let it get the best of you.
The next is to not lose faith. I really think my Our Lady of Guadalupe Novena I am doing is a big part in my recovery. When I was admitted to the Mayo in March, some of the first things I heard was 'WOW, we did not realize ANYONE could have so much cancer'. One thing that both could be used for or against me, many of my doctors through my journey have said I am the healthiest person they have ever seen(thanks, Dad and Mom), but as my St Cloud doctor said, that gave the cancer a 'perfect environment to thrive and spread like wildfire.
I have said all along I could not let it take me because I could not let my parents or siblings bury another kid or sibling, after losing 2 of my older sisters in the last 6 years. I come from a family of 10 kids, 6 boys, 4 girls and I am number 6 in the lineup.

I am 71. I have taken this journey with others in my role as Episcopal Priest. I have know many men who have opted not to have surgery due to their age. Most of them far outlived the prognosis. I had one parishioner who was 89 at time of discovery and lived to 98.

This is your life, your decision. This is my OPINION: if the 2nd doc says surgery will prolong your life 15 years, and without it you may have 5, I would opt for the surgery. Being 82 is not what it once was. And living to 95-100 is not as rare as it once was.

With that stated, this is your decision with your life. If you feel the surgery would negatively impact the remaining years you have, then I'd think it over carefully.

Hello Colleen,
First off, thanks for inviting me to join this page. It took me longer than it should have because I am having trouble getting the Mayo app on my phone for some reason.
I was diagnosed February 11th, 2023 after a slip on the ice and doing the full splitz and 3 days later me stoll ended up full of blood. When I was diagnoes, my PSA was 455.89 and they told me if I had not gotten in when I did, I would have been dead within 2 days.
Fast forward 1 year of chemo, I asked my St Cloud cancer doctor what my prognosis was. She said I had at very most, two years to live. That is when I asked about getting into the Mayo. She said she could get me a reference and within 1 week I had a call from the Mayo. Dr Sartor is AWESOME! I am now feeling almost completely back to normal.
I come back into the Mayo this coming Monday, the 18th and Tuesday the 19th and I do think my scans are going to come out very favorable.
I look forward to them and to hopefully figuring out a way to show my appreciation to Dr Sartor.

I will do that. Thank you. Ultimately we have to be our own advisors these days.

I would urge you to become as knowledgeable as you can on your disease. Ultimately the decisions to be made are going to land in your lap. When I was hit with my news in mid March this year, I spent the next 3 months learning all I could about this disease. If you've not heard of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute (pcri.org) I'd strongly urge you to visit their website. They have a wealth of videos and tutorials geared for folks like us that are well presented, easy to understand, and tremendously helpful. I probably watched well over 150 hours of videos and compiled over 100 pages of handwritten notes on my journey of learning. It will be time well spent on your part, unless you plan to just leave it up to some doctor to decide for you. Take a look at this website. It is superb in my opinion. Best wishes to you.