[hdh1470]

Just found out I have prostate cancer,very early and treatable if I were 10 yrs older they would just watch it,but at 59 I should do something to treat it.If anyone has had removal how did it go? also does anyone know when the prostate support group meets?Will be down 8/13-8/19 for lifestyle visit

[Freeda]

Hello, just wanted to mention that there was a prior thread on TOTV about prostate cancer, a few weeks ago; you can find it in the search section of this website.

[mommullr]

My husband had early stage cancer of the prostate confirmed with a biopsy. He elected to have external beam intensity modulated radiation therapy. It involved receiving radiation five days a week for about eight weeks. It has appeared to have been succesful with little or no side effects.
There are options for you. I wish you luck.

[EdS]

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago. I recearched the various treatments and found most of them have nasty side effects (incintinance and impotency). I went to Loma Linda in California for Proton Beam Therapy which has little to no side effects. Today I am cancer free with no side effects. They have built a Proton Beam machine at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. There are some good websites but we are not allowed to put the actual site on these threads. If you did a search for protonbob you will get some great info.

[UMRJM]

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I was diagnosed with prostate cancer five and a half years ago. I researched the various treatments and found most of them have nasty side effects. You should look on the inernet as well as ask your friends. There are a lot of people out there that have had prostate cancer. I had mine removed and have no bad side effects. My frend had his removed using the robot and he had a much quicker recovery time. Radiation can have other side effects. Good luck, hope everything goes well.

[Irish Rover]

I just read an article from Mayo Clinic concerning the less invasive procedure using the new DaVinci method. Sorry, I don't have a web site for it but the side effects are supposed to minimal and it's laproscopic.

[iaudit]

No matter what procedure someone decides to do, by far the most important thing is the SKILL of the doctor. There are a lot of good doctors throughout the country but the real experts are harder to find. If you search the internet or subscribe to some of the prostate cancer forums:

http://www.prostatepointers.org/

http://www.ustoo.org/Treatment_Options.asp

There is a wealth of information on these sites on all types of treatment of prostate cancer as well of mailing lists of responses from those that have been treated.

Personally, I was diagnosed five and half years ago, and treated by radiation seeds and external beam radiation at Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota:

http://www.dattoli.com/

My followup care is being performed by Dr Charles Myers, Medical Oncologist specializing in prostate cancer and a ten year survivor himself:

http://prostateforum.com/about-dr-myers.html

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send a questions or private message to me.

[hdh1470]

Thank you all so very much

[hlanders]

Like you, my husband was just diagnosed w/P.C. He is 61 and still in shock but I have spent 3 weeks reading and researching as well as talking with area friends. Surprised at how prevalent this is and auto response is to "get it out" and go with the "gold standard" or surgery. I highly recommend reading the book "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer" by Robert Marckini. After reading about all the options, then this book and personal testimony from many including a friend that did this in 2002 (and doing just fine) I am convinced that my husband should go with Proton Therapy. Fortunate for us, it is no longer necessary to go to CA and can be done in Jacksonville, FL.

We also considered HIFU, not approved in the U.S. but has been performed successfully for awhile in Canada and is a reasonable option as well. Also had a friend that did this one year ago, no loss of capabilities if you get my drift and doing just fine. Much cheaper than proton therapy with similiar success if insurance is an issue.
Good Luck!

[hdh1470]

Originally Posted by hlanders

Like you, my husband was just diagnosed w/P.C. He is 61 and still in shock but I have spent 3 weeks reading and researching as well as talking with area friends. Surprised at how prevalent this is and auto response is to "get it out" and go with the "gold standard" or surgery. I highly recommend reading the book "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer" by Robert Marckini. After reading about all the options, then this book and personal testimony from many including a friend that did this in 2002 (and doing just fine) I am convinced that my husband should go with Proton Therapy. Fortunate for us, it is no longer necessary to go to CA and can be done in Jacksonville, FL.

We also considered HIFU, not approved in the U.S. but has been performed successfully for awhile in Canada and is a reasonable option as well. Also had a friend that did this one year ago, no loss of capabilities if you get my drift and doing just fine. Much cheaper than proton therapy with similiar success if insurance is an issue.
Good Luck!

Thank You I think i will have robtic surgery,from speaking to all the DRS i have seen the outcomes ten yrs out are about the same.What made me decide on this is that my parents lived til they were in their 90s and what Drs have told me is after 15 yrs out they start to patients with bladder and other types of cancers and just dont know if the radiation caused them or not.I also asked about proton thearpy my Dr said to go where they had done alot of cases and that would be loma linda or Mass. general I also was told watch the hype about all the treatments their is a lot of big money investors in all these different treatments. But again they say their is no wrong treatments about the same. have to do what you feel is right for you I think he told me last week a new study came out on proton thearpy and it showed its the same as all the others. thanks again and good luck
Oh just so you know i have been going to very good Drs at Loyola and Northwestern both good theaching hospitals

[graciegirl]

Good luck and positive caring thoughts to you....from another cancer survivor.

[bluedog103]

Sounds like you're doing all the right things with research and asking questions, especially questioning your doctors.
Support groups are great sources of information as well. Prostate cancer survivors can often give you more real world info than many doctors.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 9 years ago, at age 51. Biopsy showed extensive cancer and the Gleason score was 6.
Due to the relatively poor pathology, I opted for a radical prostatectomy. That was followed by 35 sessions of radiation therapy.
The Da Vinci method was just approved by the FDA in 2000, the same month I had my surgery. I didn't even hear of it until a few years later.
The standard surgical method for a radical was a very difficult surgery. I was in the hospital for several days and was out of work for two months.
As mentioned by another forum member, it's crucial that you have a highly skilled surgeon. That applies to the DaVinci Robot method as well as the older method. I'd look for references and ask lots of questions, especially, how many of these operations has the surgeon done. Don't be bashful. It's your life. You definitely want only the best. A highly skilled surgeon can save you lots and lots of problems down the road. There are an incredible number of horror stories out there, problems and issues that could have been avoided by a more skilled surgeon.
For me, I was diagnosed a little to soon, I guess. If I had my choices, I'd go with the DaVinci Robotic surgery. Much faster recovery time, far less invasive. I've talked with several prostate cancer survivors who had robotic surgery and also know many men who had the prostate removed using the older, standard surgery. I've never spoken to anyone who had robotic surgery who wished they had the other type of surgery. Every single man I know who had the older surgery wishes the robotic method, at least had been an option for them.
I can't comment on seed implants or other methods. These were not an option for me and my research was very superficial. I know men who had seed implants which were successful. Unfortunately, I also know men for whom it was probably not the best choice.
For me, so far so good. I had a relatively long recovery time, which was typical for my type of surgery and had few long lasting problems from the surgery. I was very fortunate.
It's a scary time, indeed, and sometimes you're overwhelmed with information.
Prior to my surgery, I made friends with a fellow who had recently been through the same thing. When I had questions I often called him, before and after the operation. I found his real world advice extremely valuable. There's something about the voice of experience that can't be replaced. I've made it a point to try to help anyone going down that road. If you'd like to P.M. me, I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can. If you like, I'll give you my phone number and you can call me anytime.
Good luck and keep doing the things you're doing.

[askcarl]

Just to add some on Proton treatment. I was treated at Loma Linda in Jan '06. No pain, zero side effects, maintained full function and current PSA less than .01 (bottom of test range).

Social Security was covering it at the time. I was covered by United health care from work.

MD Anderson Houston, U of Florida at jacksonville came on line in '06. More since then.

good source: www.protonbob.com

Cheers,

Carl

[hdh1470]

I did have robotic surgery and all is fine,now go every 6mos for psa testing which has remained at .05,but any measurment under .1 is not very accurate so not to worry if you test .01 and then next time .08 etc.

[Sparky-30]

I was diagnosed in 2002 by urologist biopsy. Subsequently I chose cryotherapy, thats a new treatment where they freeze the prostate gland.
http://www.prostate-cancer-institute...yosurgery.html

Year later went back to Urologist for another biopsy, said he didnt get it all, so another cryo was performed, you stay in hospital over night, not painful.

2 yrs ago after a PSA test, started to notice PSA creeping up just a little, so underwent radiation therapy, things are going great now.

They do have the new laproscopy procedure to remove prostate, before it was a bloody mess.