Radiation is done!!!

That's great and I would surely......

...get a new urologist!:eek:

.....
Over the next 6 weeks I have to do my Constable inservice and shoot a leosa qualification.And I also need to take a trip to Texas to see my son.And I want to go to the Texas Ranger museum on their 200 anniversary.
I don’t know yet if the cancer is gone.But what I am saying is don’t hesitate to get a second opinion if you are not sure of the first.

Constable inservice and do a 'leosa' qualification?????

Law Enforcement Officer Shooting Assessment???? Just a guess.
 
Well done, and thanks for the forthright discussion. I am currently under medication - Zolodex - to shrink a very large prostate (166cc) down to a radiation treatable size having been diagnosed with a Stage 3 cancer. Should start the radiation in March.
The irony is that aside from the knowledge of the cancer, I have no other symptoms and at 83 enjoying life as usual. Both my urologist and oncologist are top men in their respective fields, so confident of a positive final outcome.
 
Exaviator
God Bless you. You sound like you have a positive attitude. I will put you in my prayers.Please keep me informed of your progress.I will pray for good news.
 
After six months of hormone treatment to shrink my prostate and bring down my PSA from 33 to a present 0.1, and a procedure to insert three gold markers - thereby increasing my net worth :) - I have now started on a course of 39 radiation treatments. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, not least being the daily drive to the cancer centre, not being used to the regularity involved. C'est la Vie.
 
After six months of hormone treatment to shrink my prostate and bring down my PSA from 33 to a present 0.1, and a procedure to insert three gold markers - thereby increasing my net worth :) - I have now started on a course of 39 radiation treatments. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, not least being the daily drive to the cancer centre, not being used to the regularity involved. C'est la Vie.

I was lucky. I only had to do 10 low dose radiation treatments to tie up my cHL after 8 chemo infusions. Stage 1a. That says a lot for early detection and treatment. God's speed to all the cancer patients out there.
 
Twenty years ago at the ripe old age of 53 my doctor told me she didn't like the feel of my prostate while giving me her "handshake". I told her "I didn't like the feel of it either" (while messing with my cigar). She did a PSA test on me and I had a 25 which wouldn't be a surprise on a man in his 70's but for one in his 50's very high. She sent me off to her friend who as luck would have it is also a highly regarded urologist in this town. He gave me his handshake and said "I have to hand it to Joanie, for someone not trained in urology she has a good touch." He gave me a Gleason test, which shoots five hollow needles through each half of the prostate. Sent the results off to oncology and called me in a couple days, with the results and a need for another visit with my wife included. My score was a 9 with 10 being all tests showing cancer. He said I had a highly virulent form which at this stage is still likely encapsulated within the prostate. He told me I had a window of opportunity to decide what method of treatment....cyro, radiation seeding, chemo, or surgery. He told me that he recommended surgery and had decades of experience and a good track record, advantage of surgery was that if my psa returned I could then resort to chemo . If radiated surgery would not be an option as everything would appear cooked. He explained all the downsides of surgery and we made the decision in fifteen minutes, a couple days later he had me on the table. Oncology reported both cut ends were clean of cancer cells and gave me a big thumbs up, initial psa showed latent cells which disappeared within six months. I have been a 0.0 for over twenty years.
I wish you all possible good will and hope you will be able to follow through with your job and family prospects.
I will say that surviving cancer is generally what it is, I can also say that twenty years without spontaneous sex with a very understanding partner is no picnic. I have a good friend that has a rising psa, he is in his fifties and has chosen a watch and wait method prescribed by his Naturopath. I have soberly told him that this is a "fools errand" because once broke out of the prostate you are playing a waiting game. He tells me loosing his ability to have "natural" sex is enough to keep him from going at it more aggressively. Friends tell me they don't have much sex at my age anyway, everyone is different.
The new age methodology of dealing prostate cancer is much better. I have friends that have had the Davinci machine work on them and they go for three mile walks within a couple days with just three or four holes healing on their belly. I was cut from anus to taint and felt like someone had swung an axe between my legs for a week. Doc did a great job, I'm still here to enjoy my retirement. I ran into him at the VA a few years ago, he shook my hand and said "Welcome to my Rose Garden kid." I asked him what he meant, he said "In my profession I don't have that many long term survivors, those that do are like roses planted in a garden that I get to see bloom and flourish."
I hope many years of bloom and flourish for you as well, some things you just have to take in stride and carry on.
 
On Wednesday I rang the bell...


The bell in question is a small ship's bell mounted on the wall of the patients lounge area at Icon Cancer Center, Maroochydore, Queensland and is rung when a patient has completed radiation therapy. A custom that I was only too happy to carry out, on completing the last of my thirty nine treatments. All went well, with the only side effect being some level of fatigue, mostly in the early afternoon.
 
At 55 I was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer in both sides, Gleeson score of 6 IIRC.

I chose robotic surgery to remove my prostate.

My PSA has been below detection levels ever since. Though I am just now coming up on one year since the last clear PSA test (at 5 years after surgery). So its time to do it again.

May 1st was the 6th anniversary of the surgery, so I'm considered a survivor.

Congrats on completing your course of radiation treatments. I' praying for you to have the same kind of positive outcome I've had.

And for anyone who hasn't been getting your PSA test at least once a year, I'd say DO IT! Simple blood test and early detection is key to the best outcomes.
 
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Congratulations ,Iam happy for you and also proud of you for strength and determination.
 
...get a new urologist!:eek:

Constable inservice and do a 'leosa' qualification?????

Law Enforcement Officer Shooting Assessment???? Just a guess.
LEOSA, the acronym for 18 USC 926(b) for active, (c) for retirees. Law Enforcement Officers' Safety Act, if you care. A lot of flks still refer to it as "HR218", but that was proper only as long as it was not enacted.
(Yes, I am a lawyer, yes, I am covered by it, and yes, I have been called among other things a pedantic word Nazi.)

Back on point: Congrats. This is good news. Speaking as a guy who is pretty broken myself (in a different way), I have been grateful for the great medical care I have gotten. Good doctors and medical teams are priceless.
 
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One of the main reasons we remain in San Antonio is the UT Medical Center here. And it is still growing like mad, seems new construction of some type is beginning every month. Wife survived lung cancer four years ago mainly because it was caught early, largely by accident. Radiation treatment worked.
 
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