THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2018 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

I am 47 years old and recently diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. I was having my routine annual physical and knew the MD was testing my PSA, but had no idea what that was at the time. He told me it was elevated at 4.6 and I need to see a Urologist. I asked him what was a Urologist going to do for me and he said order a Transrectal U/S. I asked him to order it and I had it completed a week later and then saw the Urologist. The Urologist completed a DRE on me and said it was normal and the U/S was normal. He completed another PSA a few days later which came back at 4.9. He highly recommended a biopsy. I was completely confused by all of this and getting more and more scared with each appointment. I even remember arguing with my MD as to why this was happening. I said you don't even test men for their PSA until they are 50. He told me that Doctors are now trying to get men in at 40 and have a baseline PSA level to compare year to year. I had the biopsy done and sure enough 6 of the 12 biopsies were positive for cancer cells. This is so over whelming, but I have to thank all of the other men who have written their stories on this forum. It has helped me immensely. I went from not knowing what a PSA was to getting a 4 year degree in PC in 2 months. I got a 2nd opinion at Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa, FL with Dr Julio Pow-Sang. I understand he is one of the best PC doctors in the country. I have decided to have the DaVinci Robotic Procedure 12/12/2014. I do not like the idea of being laid up for the holidays, but I want it out of me and want to have many more holidays to celebrate. I will keep you posted. Thank you again to all of you that mentor. I have already started educating as many people as I possibly can about early detection.

Sorry this is late, but it took me a little while to find my original posting.

So after my surgery on 12/12/2014, I had a fairly quick recovery. I was back at work in about 6 weeks. My follow-up appointment though showed that there were cancer cells found in the Margins of the Prostate, so Dr. Pow-Sang recommended I see a Radiation Oncologist for Radiation Treatment. This was more for a precautionary factor. Dr. Pow-Sang told me that sometimes when the Prostate is removed, some cancer cells could potentially be left behind.

He had me wait 4 months before I had the Radiation so that I would be fully healed from the Surgery. I started the Radiation in April 2015. I had Radiation Treatment 5 Days a week for 8 weeks. It was not painful. It did make me extremely fatigued after the first few weeks and it did take me a while to get through it.

The great news is that I have had 2 PSA tests since my Surgery, and they have both come back normal. I go for my 3rd PSA test Feb 2016, so keep your fingers crossed that one comes back Normal as well.

I have been helping other men with their Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, so if you need some help, feel free to email me.

I know it has been a while since I have updated my story, but the good news is I am 2 years post robotic prostatectomy and have been doing good. Cancer is undetectable as of my last PSA test. I go for another PSA in Feb 2017. My side effects have been getting better a little bit at a time. I drink a lot of water, so I go to the bathroom quite a bit, but no leaking and nothing I can't handle. Erection issue are still there, but with medication, it gets better. If you are newly diagnosed with PC and would like some advice or just vent to someone, feel free to send me a note. Thank you all for your support through these past few years.

Chris's e-mail address is: cpkraut AT hotmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")

NOTE: Chris has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.