just diagnosed.

grynch · New User Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 2

hello all,

let me give you a little background I'm a 52 year old guy recently diagnosed with Prostate cancer. My doc has been following my PSA for about 3 years now from my first reading ( a high of 5.82 ) to subsequent readings in the upper 4's. In addition this he has performed a couple of series of biopsies each of which was negative. This past November one of my brothers was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had a prostatectomy in January. This news in conjunction with a spike in my own PSA ( 5.1 ) prompted my doctor to admit me to hospital for a third series of biopsies ( 16 punctures !! ) under anesthesia.

This series turned positive... 20 % tumor on left hand side, leading to a Gleasons score of 6 ( 3 / 3) and a recommendation from my doctor for a prostatectomy.

My doctor recommends traditional surgery ( retropubic ) saying that there is a debate currently as to the benefits of laparoscopic surgery, and that he is "more comfortable" with retropubic. Obviously I'll be seeking further opinions before committing to anything, but I was hoping some of you could add comment to the risks / benefits of either type of surgery, and of course any other comments, and other info is more than welcome at this point.

thanks!!!
g

rlee · Site Admin Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 245

grynch,
I'm glad your team of doctors followed through with a thorough evaluation to find a diagnosis. Options for early stage PrCa includes surgery versus radiation therapy for cure. If your surgeon doesn't feel comfortable using a laproscopic approach that's fine. Studies are being done about whether it is truly better. It's best to hear all the options and do what you're most comfortable with in doing. Do a pubmed search to learn more about the types of surgeries for prostatectomy. I've listed a link for you

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=pubmed&term=laparoscopic+prostatectomy&tool=fuzzy&ot=laproscopic+prostatectomy

Best wishes,
_________________
RLee, MD

Any information provided is NOT intended to provide specific medical advice to users but rather to provide users with information to help them better understand their health condition and related care. All readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified physician for answers to their personal medical questions.

johnw100 · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:24 am Post subject: Re: just diagnosed.

Biopsy readings are subjective.

As you are basing important decisions on your biopsy results, I would be obtaining a 2nd opinion of the biopsy samples.

Choice of doctor is the most important aspect, regardless of the treatment method, so I would be finding the top doctor available.

rlee · Site Admin Joined: 15 Jan 2006 Posts: 245

A 2nd opinion from an expert is always a good idea.
_________________
RLee, MD

Any information provided is NOT intended to provide specific medical advice to users but rather to provide users with information to help them better understand their health condition and related care. All readers are strongly encouraged to consult with a qualified physician for answers to their personal medical questions.

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