loissolomon@myself.com

I just wanted to thank everyone for the encouragement they have
offered my husband and I. We actually had a nice Fourth of July and
did not think too much about what is coming on Wednesday. Steve has
read these posts and it seems to have really helped him to have a
better attitude. He is still having some difficult moments, which I
know is to be expected. I did hear him talk a little about our
upcoming vacation to a Dude ranch (August 2) for the first time since
the first visit with the family doctor. I believe he is thinking it
is possible we will go on it after all and this has been something we
have been looking forward to for months. I am wondering, if it turns
out to be cancer, how risky would it be to wait until after we get
back on August 9 for surgery? I realize some of that depends on how
aggressive it is. It may take a while to get an appointment through
John Hopkins anyway and I suppose we should take some time to think
about the options available. Anyway, thanks again.

Lois

wintersrm@webtv.net (richard m.

Six years ago my first ever PSA result was 45!
All six cores of biopsy had results of 6s, 7s, and even an 8. Bone scan
was negative.

This was in January. We had planned a February trip to Italy. Dr. said
"Go". I am inclined to be unemotional and take things as they come. We
did go and really enjoyed the trip. Surgery followed on March 5.

Go for it!

Dick Winters

steve kramer

Most docs wait 6 weeks post biopsy. August 9 should be fine.

--
Steve Kramer
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000
PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .3 .2 .2 .2
Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48


news:<be2h38$qir$1@news.chatlink.com>...

both.

firechief

Whoa gal!!!! <g> Who said anything about surgery?

There are serveral methods to tread prostate cancer (PC) and
surgery would be the last thought to enter your mind. Implant
of radiactive seeds www.terraseed.com and radiation are only
two other options (I hope I got that URL correct).

Don't rush into any procedure until you have examined all of
them, then make an intelligent decision.

Slow down, take that vacation, relax, enjoy the weather.

loissolomon@myself.com

I'm writing on behalf of my husband since he is in an absolute panic
state at this point. Some background - Steve is almost 50 and had
gone in for a physical exam with his regular doctor. At the time, the
doctor noted two things on the exam - an enlarged prostate and blood
in the stool. Steve was able to make a quick appointment with a
Gastroenterologist and a follow-up colonoscopy revealed two polyps
which after being removed and tested and were found to have high-grade
dysplasia. Doctor feels he removed them successfully and scheduled a
follow-up appointment in three months just to make sure. Doctor does
say it was lucky he got this tested when he did since it would have
definitely turned into Colin cancer. In between appointments, he also
went to a Urologist to follow up on the enlarged prostate. He has
been having symptoms such as nighttime frequency, weak flow, some
erectile disfunction, etc. Urologist sent him for a PSA test (his
first) and it came back as 12.4 ng. When Steve returned to the
Urologist he found out these results. In addition the Urologist did a
DRE and tested urinary function. DRE showed a slightly enlarged
prostate but Uro found nothing unusual such as lumps or hardening. He
did show some significant Urinary symptoms on the tests. My husband
called me at work in an almost panic state and told me about his PSA
and that this was bad and that it probably meant he had advanced
cancer! Unfortunately, the Urologist did nothing to qualm his fears
other than telling him it was always possible it might be an infection
but apparently mentioned nothing about the enlarged prostate possibly
causing some rise in PSA. All the doctor told him was that the PSA
level concerned him and it was significant.

I started to immediately do research since I am the type of person who
wants to see as many positive stories as possible about people who had
high PSA's and either had negative biopsy results or were found to
have early-stage treatable cancer and also to learn as much as
possible, especially if it turns out to be cancer. Every time Steve
looks at the information, he focuses on the negative. Anyway, three
days ago he had a 6 core biopsy. Doctor saw nothing unusual on the
Ultrasound. Steve found the test painful and had bleeding afterwards
that was stopped by applying ice packs. Unfortunately, we still have
to wait another 7 days until we can go back to see the doctor for the
biopsy results. Steve is all "gloom and doom" still expecting the
worst. He keeps saying he has all the symptoms of advanced cancer
since he has the urinary problems. I still believe these symptoms are
probably BPH related. He also keeps telling me about every ache and
pain he has, suspecting it has spread to the bones. I keep reminding
him that he has had back pains since we met but he still does not seem
to believe me. Doctor put him on Flomax and that has helped the
urinary symptoms substantially.

One thing that concerns me is that the PSA density for Steve is .30
and I know that .15 is the threshold. Would this mean that even
though he has BPH, that certainly does not explain the high PSA
reading? Is it possible for a slightly enlarged prostate to cause
such a high PSA?

One thing we have both decided, is if the results show cancer we will
find a doctor at John Hopkins since we live only an hour away from
there. We also both are aware that even if the results are negative,
that he will need to keep getting tested to see if the cancer was
missed on the biopsy.

I am looking for ways to calm my husband's fears but know this will be
difficult because he is such a pessimist. I am the opposite of him
and consider myself an optimist but his negative attitude is beginning
to make me more nervous about the results.

Steve had another appointment with his regular doctor and even the
doctor said he was "going off the deep end" about this. Luckily I
convinced him to at least talk to someone about this and he was able
to contact a counselor through his Employee Assistance Program. He
did say he likes her a lot and she wants him to call as soon as he
gets the results - good or bad.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to vent a little and hope to get
some responses that I can share with Steve to make him feel more
positive about most likely not having late-stage cancer.

Lois

terence2@aol.com

Tell your husband to get the mild sedative ATIVAN .
1MG in the morning and 1 Mg in the evening .
At this amount anxiety is reduced significantly without getting groggy .
I had my second PSA on the 27 th of june and if the results are the
same as the first test or higher , they will phone me in to schedule a
biopsy and ultrasound .
Good luck to you and your husband


Walk softly and carry a big stick and people will call you a fag !

dave p

Hi Lois,

I will answer what I can.

For advanced PCa - Steve's psa would most likely be signicantly higher -
well above 12. My Doctor stated that for a bone scan to show any cancer your
psa would have to be in most cases above 20 - 40 and then would only show a
tiny amount. For bone pain he stated it would be in the 100 - 1000.

Your living by Johns Hopkins is a big positive as they are known to be one
of the best in the nation.

I had a relative that just recently had the same prostate
circumstances/symptoms as Steve. His psa rise (15) was mostly due to BPH. On
biopsy they did find some cancer, he had an RP and is now going on two years
with an undetectable psa.

Staying positive and thinking about positive outcomes is a must throughout
this process for the both of you. Its difficult and you have to work at it
daily - but it really does have a positive impact on attitude and behavior.

I hope you have your own support system - I acted the same way Steve did
when I found out that I might have (had) PCa and it really did have a
negative effect on my wife. She had a strong support system that kept her
healthy.

My prayers are with you.

Dave P

derry argue

Lois,

Your husband is a lucky man to have you as a wife!

I have had two biopsies and have a PSA of 9. I, too, found the first biopsy
unpleasant and asked for an anaesthetic the second time around. I would
strongly recommend your husband goes this route next time as I did not know
a thing about it until I woke up.

BTW, the PSA is an indication only. I was worried, of course, but have now
been declared free of cancer for the second time and hope to have the
operation (PVP) in the next few weeks. There can apparently be many reasons
for a high PSA but it is wise to have the biopsy to check.

I suspect some of your husband's symptoms may be due to the side effects of
Flomax which I am also on. The medication does what it says but posters
here have described various side effects including mood altering. One thing
that has come out in our discussions is that not everyone experiences the
same things with BPH.

Good luck and I hope everything turns out OK.

Derry

loissolomon@myself.com

I'm writing on behalf of my husband since he is in an absolute panic
state at this point. Some background - Steve is almost 50 and had
gone in for a physical exam with his regular doctor. At the time, the
doctor noted two things on the exam - an enlarged prostate and blood
in the stool. Steve was able to make a quick appointment with a
Gastroenterologist and a follow-up colonoscopy revealed two polyps
which after being removed and tested and were found to have high-grade
dysplasia. Doctor feels he removed them successfully and scheduled a
follow-up appointment in three months just to make sure. Doctor does
say it was lucky he got this tested when he did since it would have
definitely turned into Colin cancer. In between appointments, he also
went to a Urologist to follow up on the enlarged prostate. He has
been having symptoms such as nighttime frequency, weak flow, some
erectile disfunction, etc. Urologist sent him for a PSA test (his
first) and it came back as 12.4 ng. When Steve returned to the
Urologist he found out these results. In addition the Urologist did a
DRE and tested urinary function. DRE showed a slightly enlarged
prostate but Uro found nothing unusual such as lumps or hardening. He
did show some significant Urinary symptoms on the tests. My husband
called me at work in an almost panic state and told me about his PSA
and that this was bad and that it probably meant he had advanced
cancer! Unfortunately, the Urologist did nothing to qualm his fears
other than telling him it was always possible it might be an infection
but apparently mentioned nothing about the enlarged prostate possibly
causing some rise in PSA. All the doctor told him was that the PSA
level concerned him and it was significant.

I started to immediately do research since I am the type of person who
wants to see as many positive stories as possible about people who had
high PSA's and either had negative biopsy results or were found to
have early-stage treatable cancer and also to learn as much as
possible, especially if it turns out to be cancer. Every time Steve
looks at the information, he focuses on the negative. Anyway, three
days ago he had a 6 core biopsy. Doctor saw nothing unusual on the
Ultrasound. Steve found the test painful and had bleeding afterwards
that was stopped by applying ice packs. Unfortunately, we still have
to wait another 7 days until we can go back to see the doctor for the
biopsy results. Steve is all "gloom and doom" still expecting the
worst. He keeps saying he has all the symptoms of advanced cancer
since he has the urinary problems. I still believe these symptoms are
probably BPH related. He also keeps telling me about every ache and
pain he has, suspecting it has spread to the bones. I keep reminding
him that he has had back pains since we met but he still does not seem
to believe me. Doctor put him on Flomax and that has helped the
urinary symptoms substantially.

One thing that concerns me is that the PSA density for Steve is .30
and I know that .15 is the threshold. Would this mean that even
though he has BPH, that certainly does not explain the high PSA
reading? Is it possible for a slightly enlarged prostate to cause
such a high PSA?

One thing we have both decided, is if the results show cancer we will
find a doctor at John Hopkins since we live only an hour away from
there. We also both are aware that even if the results are negative,
that he will need to keep getting tested to see if the cancer was
missed on the biopsy.

I am looking for ways to calm my husband's fears but know this will be
difficult because he is such a pessimist. I am the opposite of him
and consider myself an optimist but his negative attitude is beginning
to make me more nervous about the results.

Steve had another appointment with his regular doctor and even the
doctor said he was "going off the deep end" about this. Luckily I
convinced him to at least talk to someone about this and he was able
to contact a counselor through his Employee Assistance Program. He
did say he likes her a lot and she wants him to call as soon as he
gets the results - good or bad.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to vent a little and hope to get
some responses that I can share with Steve to make him feel more
positive about most likely not having late-stage cancer.

Lois

dave p

Hi Lois,

I will answer what I can.

For advanced PCa - Steve's psa would most likely be signicantly higher -
well above 12. My Doctor stated that for a bone scan to show any cancer your
psa would have to be in most cases above 20 - 40 and then would only show a
tiny amount. For bone pain he stated it would be in the 100 - 1000.

Your living by Johns Hopkins is a big positive as they are known to be one
of the best in the nation.

I had a relative that just recently had the same prostate
circumstances/symptoms as Steve. His psa rise (15) was mostly due to BPH. On
biopsy they did find some cancer, he had an RP and is now going on two years
with an undetectable psa.

Staying positive and thinking about positive outcomes is a must throughout
this process for the both of you. Its difficult and you have to work at it
daily - but it really does have a positive impact on attitude and behavior.

I hope you have your own support system - I acted the same way Steve did
when I found out that I might have (had) PCa and it really did have a
negative effect on my wife. She had a strong support system that kept her
healthy.

My prayers are with you.

Dave P