Was In Vietnam 1968-1969 and was exposed to Agent Orange. Probably not the cause of my prostate cancer since both of my brothers was dx'ed with prostate cancer before me, Gleason 8 and 7b. Had a heart attack in 2002 and have been on statins ever since. Stop cigarette smoking 35 years ago. My current cholesterol level is 125, with HDL higher than LDL.

In October 2015 my PSA test at VA was elevated and was given antibiotics which lowered by PSA to 4.9 and was referred to an urologist. I went to a private one instead of the VA. In December 2015, my urologist scheduled a T3 MRI with contrast agent and performed the PCA3 test after DRE was negative. The MRI came back with 2 lesions, one 1.4 cm and the other .8 cm, both thought to be prostate cancer, and the PCA3 test was highly elevated at 80. At this point I knew the game was afoot. The urologist scheduled a MRI focused biopsy for the middle of February 2016. In early March, the results of the biopsy was 3 cores positive out of 18. Cancer was scored as Gleason 6 with one core at 40% volume and the other two both at 20%. My urologist initially tried to get me to have surgery but stopped when he realized that I was not mind-numbingly shocked at being DX'ed with prostate cancer. I can thank YANANOW for that. We chatted for a while and I asked a few useless questions when he suggested the Oncotype DX genomic test, which I was planning on getting around to at some point. He rated my prostate cancer as low risk.

He ordered the test and the results came back about about 3 weeks later. My GPS score was 16 which translated to 89% probability of freedom from High-Grade disease and a 85% probability of freedom from Non-Organ-Confined disease. Over all, my prostate cancer was deemed very low risk based on this genomic test.

At my next Office visit in May 2016 my urologist said that if he were I he would not have surgery and this time and place me in active surveillance and I would get regular DREs and PSA testing. Another biopsy would be performed at some point in the future.

At this point, I'm working at keeping my PSA level stable. My regime is plenty of sunshine to increase Vitamin D levels. Also am sun-drying shiitake mushrooms because they contain huge levels of Vitamin D. Am making my own low-salt tomato soup with olive oil for the lycopene. I've cut out red meat and diary, now using almond milk. Still drinking plenty of red wine. Eating a lot of pole-caught tuna and wild salmon. Limiting animal protein to about 5% of calories and am working at eliminating animal based saturated fat. Walking about 2 miles a day and 2 hours of manual labor in the garden per day.

My PCA3 test results were screwed up because my prostate has atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP) which prevents the test from giving a valid result. Will only get another contrast MRI when really necessary since there is now some concern about the contrast agent (gadolinium) staying in the brain.

My humble opinion is that anyone DX'ed with Gleason 6 prostate cancer should not have any invasive treatment until a higher grade cancer is confirmed by biopsy. 30% to 40% of prostate cancers are over-treated.

Hi guys. Well, I tried my best with active surveillance but my PSA just kept creeping up in spite of my best efforts. The wife finally had a enough and told me to get treatment. Started pencil beam proton therapy at Scripps Proton Therapy Center in late April and have completed 27 of 28 treatments. Tomorrow is my last day. The water balloon is no big deal and side effects are very minor. Walking about 5 miles a day and taking a 2 hour afternoon nap. The weather in San Diego has been wonderful. Mayo Clinic is now offering proton beam treatment at the same price as IMRT radiation.

Being on active surveillance for almost one year was good in that I found out about a number of very good supplements for over-all health, such as tumeric extract and aged garlic extract.

Had a PSA test a couple of weeks ago. Results were 2.2 compared to 4.6 four months early. Not having rock hard boners anymore but maybe somewhere down the road.......

18 months since end of treatment. Feeling well. Exercising daily and eating healthier. Will get another PSA test in a couple of weeks. Only complaint is occasional blood with bowel movement.

My PSA taken couple of weeks ago came back at 0.5 which is the number most are looking for. My brother thinks it will go down further. I'm now 19 months post treatment. Changed my diet from a healthy one to one designed to greatly reduce the symptoms of radiation proctitis and it is certainly working. Just have to be careful what I eat when dining out. It's been almost 3 years since I was DX'ed with PC and am very glad that I selected targeted proton beam for treatment. My stage at treatment was T2B.

Just some clarification: stage at diagnosis was T1C, and at treatment T2B.

Feel fine and leading an active, normal life for someone 70 years old. Would do the treatment again and recommend it to others.

PSA in May 2019 was 0.50 and in October 2019 was 0.25. They say that the trend is your friend.

Doing well. PSA taken yesterday was 0.21 so everything is on track. Definitely recommend Proton beam.

Another year has passed and my PSA continues to drop. Feel great and no side effects currently. Am very happy that I selected proton beam.

Pencil beam proton therapy can't be beat for treating most prostate cancers. Definitely recommend it. Currently, it is as if I had never had prostate cancer. It is worth the effort to make time for the treatment.

It is almost like I never had PC.
Had ED for a couple years after PBT but the pills and the pump worked so now I have soft nocturnal erections most nights. The last PSA test was .09 higher but had been riding my zero-radius lawn mower over some very bumpy terrain for several hours the day before the test.

PBT for most PC patients is the way to go. Happy I selected it.

Shade's e-mail address is: phgrtg AT yahoo.com (replace "AT" with "@")