Prostate Cancer -

From the Horse’s Mouth
Eleven days ago I sat in a doctor’s office waiting for him to come in and give me the results of my prostrate biopsy. The door opened and before he reached his chair he said your test was positive. I have prostate cancer.
A journey I had walked with many others has now become my journey. The conversation was filled with rapid fire options, terms, and questions posed without much time to absorb what was being said. This was not the fault of the doctor he answered my questions and provided many options most of which I had learned about on the internet. I did contact the doctor several days following my diagnosis for clarification and he graciously answered all my questions and addressed my concerns. Then the ultimate question what do you want to do?
I wanted him to leave the room and return a moment later and tell me I did not have cancer. Short of that nothing he could say would make me happy. Based on my Gleason score 3 + 4 and the grade of T1a I made the decision to have my prostrate surgically removed. The surgery is scheduled for December 2nd.
Let me speak to the guys for a moment. Many cancers caught early present the best chance for a positive result but there are always exceptions. Putting the exceptions aside early detection through the PSA test and DRE (digital rectal exam) are the key to early detection. So men get the PSA test as often as your primary care physicians recommends and don’t skip the recital exam.
Consider my case. A normal PSA test range is less than 1 to 4. My latest test was 3.8 still in the normal range. The digital rectal exam was negative. But my last three tests went from 1.8 to 2.7 and finally 3.8. So a biopsy was ordered and the rest is history. In some cases a rising PSA though normal can indicate cancer.
So if you have any questions or concerns about your test results talk to your doctor. If you are still not satisfied get a second opinion. My doctor recommend additional testing and consequently it appears my cancer was caught early.
Please keep me and my family in your prayers. Remember there are exceptions when you talk about cancer and cures. Prostate cancer has a high cure rate 85 % in my case. So pray that I don’t fall into the 15 % category.
I will post as soon as I am able after surgery. Thanks again for the prayers.