"Stages" of cancer? Testosterone? Are these important?

I was diagnosed G9, CRPC 3 years ago had RP, 1 year of ADT and Erleada. I get blood test every 3 months for PSA and testosterone and bone mass issues. I have not been advised of the cancer stage as Gleason and PSA may be more precise and may say it all until it spreads. I think that testosterone testing might be instructive and it is easy to do when your PSA is tested it may be helpful it determining bone mass issues and you should speak with your doctor about expanding your blood tests.

Stages have to do with tumour size and cancer spreading. They usually use them TMN system for prostate cancer:

I have stage 4b (distant metastasis), but there's a new way of considering things, where "oligometastatic" cancer ("oligo" means "few") is more-and-more often treated with curative intent.

Traditionally, with stage 4 they'd tell you to expect to live about n months or years and treat you palliatively to keep you as comfortable as possible until the end.

These days, if you're strong enough and your onco team is up to date on recent research, they'll "throw the kitchen sink" (my team head's actual words) at stage 4 oligometastatic prostate cancer. There are people here in the forum who've gone over 10 years at stage 4 without serious progression.

Long story short, the stages don't always mean what they used to. Even with stage 4 PC, don't stop saving for retirement just yet. 🙂

YES! GREAT POST! Best wishes for good quality of life while on your personal journey,

Thanks for the replies. I guess it's OK that I don't know my "stage", and I will no longer have any stage envy. 😉

It sounds like your stage is "cancer won't stop me from living my life." Not a bad one, really.

I won't say "stay strong" because that's a lot to carry; just be.

Well it certainly isn't a contest of stages, lol, I knew I had cancer from the x-ray I took. I had a biopsy from my hip, went back for visit, and casually asked the Oncologist what stage and damn near fell off my chair when he said stage 4 aggressive. I mostly just concentrate on dealing with the side effects of the meds. No way am I asking for a time frame. I go about my daily routine, still working and carrying on. I see the doctor once a month for testing and treatment. I'm one year in and it's so encouraging to me when I read of someone with longer period of time. This site has been such a blessing to me. Best to all.

@bluegill
If you are taking a hormone to inhibit your prostract cancer from growing you should have had your testotorne checked on ongoing basis. I said this not personally but what I was told by my Mayp PCP.

The stage of your cancer has to do with degree inside prostrate, prostrate surronding tissues, other organ, spread to bones, lympth nodes and quite complicated diagnosis. But again you should have been told what it was. It takes MRIs, CTs, PSMA, bone scans to determine them. I had all of those and mine came back confined to prostrate and Decipher test of low risk. This low risk diagnosis I got moved me out of having ADT recommeneded to not being recommended just radiation and I chose proton over photon and longer treatments over short high dose treatments after doing research and talking to two different R/O at two different treatment facilities (Mayo and UFPTI).

Were you offered and had discussion on Decipher test? It is a genetic test done after your biopsies are taken to give you a rating on the agressiveness of your cancer and the risk level. It is low risk, medium, and high risk diagnosis.

I have never had my testosterone tested because none of my doctors (Radiation Onco, Urologic Onco, and Medical Onco) have recommended it. I was diagnosed as PIRADS 5 with a Gleason score of 8 and an initial PSA of 2.6. The cancer had metastasized to nearby areas, including the bladder neck, several lymph nodes, and seminal vesicles. I underwent radiation therapy and have been on Abiraterone and Zoladex for the past 20 months. For the last 8 months, my PSA has remained stable at 0.02.

I'll ask the doc about Decipher, but I was told early on that my cancer was "aggressive and high grade". I freaked out and thought that meant "advanced", but I was reassured it wasn't. The imaging tests showed no signs of spread.

So, is the testosterone level just about sex, or about energy level in general? My evergy level is a lot better now that I'm off Lupron.

The "stages of cancer" are more generic to all cancer, rather than specific to prostate cancer. Since prostate cancer is so common, progression is usually measured in terms more specific to prostate cancer. You can find the "stages" many places. Here's a list (from webMD) with [my own] approximate translation to prostate-specific:
Stage 0 means there's no cancer, only abnormal cells with the potential to become cancer. This is also called carcinoma in situ. [Gleason score less than 3+3, but some might include 3+3.]
Stage I means the cancer is small and only in one area. This is also called early-stage cancer. [One or two nodules of concern, gleason score less than 4+3.]
Stage II and III mean the cancer is larger and has grown into nearby tissues or lymph nodes. [Positive margins, involvement of seminal vessicles or nearby lymph nodes, extension into bladder, etc, but no distant metastases.]
Stage IV means the cancer has spread to other parts of your body. It's also called advanced or metastatic cancer. [Metastatic or distant metastatic, especially with more than one metastasis. Metastases is plural for metastasis. The usual progression is to the bones, hence the screening that is normal before RP to rule this out.]