At age 59 my original 8/2010 Gleason score was 9 but post DaVinci (10/2010) it was lowered to 7 (4+3). I was fully functional after surgery with no leakage and sexually active in a few weeks with help of vitamin V. Post surgical report showed capsule contained with no sign of spreading. For the last nine years PSA held firm at 0.1 and I trained religiously as a competitive athlete. My diet was mostly organic and also practiced Yoga and meditation daily.

Eighteen months ago my PSA began a radical rise from 0.1 to current 2.0! This rise was unaddressed during that time because unbeknown to me my primary doctor switched from a standard PSA test to the ultra-sensitive version. I could read my results online which showed a dangerous rise to .4 so I went to see primary doctor immediately who insisted this was insignificant because this form of testing could produce erroneous results. Six months later a new test result showed .7 and again I was told the same thing by primary doctor. Six weeks ago when next six-month test was due I called primary doctors nurse and forcefully demanded to return to the old testing method. That result was a startling jump to 2.0. Clearly my primary doctor had no knowledge or understanding of PCa. I was so confident that I had beat the beast that at the five-year mark I went on Testosterone Replacement Therapy which of course we now realize fed those awakening cancer cells like MiracleGrow on a weed.

After returning to City of Hope where I was originally treated, a new doctor gave me a shot of Lupron and oncology radiologist recommended radiation for two months with up to two years of followup Lupron. Radiation I can deal with but two more years of Lupron is not what I want to do.

To complicate matters more, just before getting last test result of 2. I underwent two surgical procedures one of them on my lower spine. So while recovering from these I received the news of my PSA rise. However, between recovering from those surgeries and side effects of Lupron four weeks ago, I am managing to walk 2-3 miles a day and can have sexual intercourse without orgasm with the aid of vitamin V. The surgeries have prevented me from doing Yoga and working out at the gym but I will be well enough for that next week.

So far Lupron side effects are manageable with mild stomach ache in the mornings, temporary headaches and disorientation to the point of often mistaking what day it is. Maybe it is too soon for hot flashes and other side effects but my plan is to eat right and exercise as much as possible to mitigate whatever lies ahead. I'm 67 and looking forward to my best years.

Can any of you guys post your Lupron experiences?

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