Martin B. and B. live in Tennessee, USA. He was 49 when he was diagnosed in October
2005. His initial PSA was 2.1 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6 and he was staged
T1c. His choice of treatment was Active Surveillance. Here is his story.
My
father was diagnosed with advanced PCA and died 7 years later at the age of 69.
I began at the time (1992) having an annual DRE and PSA. My PSA was regularly
.7 until September 2005 when it was 2.1.
Given the history, my urologist
recommended a biopsy, which showed less than 5% in 1/12 cores. Much research,
consult with a radiation oncologist and we decided to give it some time. The urologist
was OK with this. Three month interval PSA testing for the next year and a half
showed my PSA back to .7. A second biopsy at eighteen months showed no PCA but
PIN. Now I've stretched out the PSA to 6 months and it's .7 like clockwork. I'm
now coming upon on 3 years since initial diagnosis, at age 52 and very glad that
I did not cause drastic surgery. I really don't think about it too much, but I
figure the day will come when I don't need to do anything.
I am very happy
with my urologist, who has been very candid in saying that I am in relatively
uncharted territory -- because of the age and the active surveillance.
Later:
PSA checked again -- almost three years from diagnosis - 0.60 ng/ml.
Martin's
e-mail address is: mbailey@wmspc.com
