I went for a routine physical in August 2008 and was told my PSA was high and that I should see a Urologist. Went to see him on September 15 and he set me up for more blood work. Got the results back on October 20 and the PSA was 10.8 so a biopsy was scheduled for November 10. Results of the biopsy was given on November 13 - Cancer was found on the left side of my prostate. Gleason 9 (4+5).

The doctor set up a appointment for a bone and CT scan on November 21. Results were negative that the cancer had spread. Consulted with my urologist on November 24 to go over the options. Was also told that because the cancer was so aggressive on the left side that the nerves on that side would probably not be spared if I chose surgery but all efforts would be made to spare the right side nerves.

Because of the aggressiveness of the cancer I made the decision to have surgery on December 9 after consulting with both my urologist and the surgeon who would do the robotic surgery. Surgery was on January 5, 2009. After the surgery the doctor told me he examined the prostate and was optimistic that the cancer was confined. He also said that he wasn't able to spare the nerves on the left side but was able to on the right side.

Today it's been four days since I've been home and feel good. Have the catheter in still until next week (January 15) at which time I'll get the pathology report back so we'll see how it goes then.

Later:

We got the pathology report back on January 12, the day before my 56th birthday. The report was that, although aggressive the cancer seemed to be contained entirely within the prostate. That was the best birthday present that I ever could have imagined.

I go back in April for my PSA test so keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks for all the help I received on the YANA site.

Its been almost a year since my surgery. Just went to get results on December 22, 2009 and my PSA was 0.

Still am unable to gain an erection but my doctor said it may take some time...here's hoping.

Checked in December of 2010 and was still at 0 for PSA. Next update will be in May. Two years and good.

In response to a reminder, Gary said:

I am sorry I have not updated recently. I will try to get to that this week. It's been busy. I am still doing well. Thanks.

Just had my PSA tested in May and the good news is that it is still at 0. Still can not get an erection after 2 years so I've given up on that.

Still doing good. PSA is still at 0 and I don't need to go back for a couple of years. It'll be five years since the surgery in a few weeks. Still can not get an erection and while not happy about that, I've learned to live with it.

Sorry I have not updated in a few years. Things were going well up until May 2015 and my blood work came back at 2.2. Then in 2016 blood work showed PSA of 6.8. A bone scan was done and it showed a small lesion on my vertebrate. Right now I'm trying to control through diet (mostly vegetables, nuts and fruit- no sugars, starches or alcohol) to see what I can do about bringing it down. I'll will try to update after next blood results.

Since my last update, my PSA has risen and I am scheduled for a bone scan in two weeks. My urologist wants to start hormone treatment but I do not want that at all. I am determined to beat this and will update all within a few weeks after results from the scan come back.

Not much to add to my story. My PSA is higher but I feel good. I am trying to slow the cancer down as much as I can by eating right and with supplements. Also trying Rife frequencies. I know these treatments won't cure anything, but I also do not want chemo or ADT. Taking each day at a time and not worrying too much about the future. Wish me luck.

Well, despite having said I wouldn't do any ADT therapy, I've a change of heart. The reason was because of my rapidly rising PSA numbers. Here is a chart of where they were going-

After hitting the 100 number, I decided that I would try Lupron shots, while taking Casodex daily.

Here are my numbers since starting in January, 2020-

Next appointment is in July. Feeling pretty good but get tired easily, and have gained about 20 lbs.

My PSA started rising again, so the next step would be to go on Xtandi. Fortunately my oncologist got me on a clinical trial that just begun, and which I qualified involving a new drug called EPI-7386 along with Xtandi. Just completed the initial phase, so I'll know more as we proceed. Still feeling fatigue and hot flashes but I'm hopeful for a bit longer life.

PSA results from last year

I was lucky to be put onto a Clinical trial last January (2022) that involved taking Xtandi (enzalutamide) along with another drug (EPI-7386), which has worked good so far. My PSA went from 26.4 down to 0.127 and has been consistantly under 1 for about a year now. Still need to get a lupron shot every 3 months and a CT and bone scan every month also. I get fatigued every day and have hot spells but I seem to be tolerating the drug well. It's a big risk going on a clinical trial but love my oncologist and the care that I am getting.

Gary's e-mail address is: garydavine AT msn.com (replace "AT" with "@")