I am 73, retired, live in the Colorado front range mountains and have a very supportive wife, no children. I had a physical on April 15 of this year and due to frequent urination was administered the PSA blood test. No prior PSA existed since around 2008 which was negligible. My April 15, 2021 PSA score was 40.63. After a urology appointment on April 23 I had a second PSA test with a score of 31.0. I had a biopsy on April 29 (four days ago) and was just informed via a phone call from a Kaiser urologist that twelve of the fourteen needle cores were positive and they also discovered perineural invasion and focal extra prostatic extension. My Gleason score was 7 (4+3). I have a bone scan scheduled now for this Friday, May 7, and an MRI scheduled for May 27. I have a phone appt. scheduled for May 18 to discuss my situation with the urologist. So...it's been an interesting three weeks. Not what I was planning on but it is what it is. I am in the process of educating myself re: treatment options. The urologist said I should probably get started on hormone therapy with radiation to be considered. I suspect our consultation on May 18, subsequent to the bone scan, will provide more information. If any of you have had relevant experience--wait, I guess you all have :-)--and would like to share a comment, please do so. Richard K

After a routine physical in April 2021 turned up a PSA of 41 and biopsy found 12 of 14 needle cores to be "C" positive I had a Lupron/Eligard hormone injection in May and a 20 session SBRT daily radiation treatment in June and July 2021. I had some constipation/diarrhea issues during radiation which in hindsight I attribute more to my (ill-advised?:-) radical diet change than to the radiation itself. Otherwise the radiation was trouble-free without significant side effects. My first follow-up PSA in November 21 was <.06 (undetectable) and I had my second Lupron/hormone therapy shot then as well. My PSA test last month (May 2022) also came up (thankfully!) as <.06 (undetectable) and I have an appointment with my radiation oncologist on June 8 to discuss whether or not to have a third Lupron injection. I might add that, because weight gain or loss and muscle tone loss may occur during or subsequent to radiation, I conscientiously continued my regular routine of gym workouts followed by lap swimming four days a week (conveniently the rec center was on my way home from the cancer center:-). So I stayed fit and still do and I suspect that--and a positive attitude-- is at least part of the reason why I feel better than ever. I'm calling myself 'cured' unless and until I have a reason not to. :-)

Subsequent to discovering my PSA was 40+ and 12 of fifteen needle biopsy positives in April 2021, I started on ADT (hormone therapy) by injection (one every six months for two years) in May of 2021 follwed by SBRT (radiation therapy) five days a week for four weeks in June-July 2021. Radiation went smoothly w/o side effects--I worked out in the gym and swam laps for 1/2 hour daily on my way home from radiation. I have had the ADT injections every six months since, the last being in December of last year (2022). Now I am done with ADT. My PSA has consistently been undetectable since the fall of 2021. Interestingly, I did not notice any undue fatigue till the second year of ADT and I am still in the process of getting back to 'full energy' in November 2023, nearly one year after my last ADT shot. I had hot flashes from the ADT from the beginning. They are much less frequent now. I have worked out (gym/swim) three days a week since my radiation to avioid losing muscle mass and that seems to have helped my over-all health significantly. I feel great and am optimistic I am on the road to total recovery. I will continue to get PSA tests every six months for the next few years per my oncologist's advice.

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