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5 years active surveillance this Xmas

User
Posted 13 Dec 2015 at 14:41

Come Christmas Eve this year it will be 5 years since I was confirmed with Prostate Cancer. I have been on Active Surveillance all this time with regular blood tests (PSA) and consults every 3 months, annual biopsies and the last 2 years MRI's. It is now getting to where I question should I keep going with this, I am fit and active and try to enjoy life to the full, 60 next year, but can keep pace with many half my age.  The thing is every 3 months it becomes a tense time, I have had mood swings to my wife's annoyance, but I feel nothing has changed and should I keep having the tests.  The more I read about possible treatments and the side effects, the more I feel do I really want to make such a drastic change to my life, I can live currently with the night time toilet visits and my daily routine at home or at work has adapted to the quirks the condition presents.  I am due to see my consultant this week and I am seriously thinking of ending the tests and consults. I am right to do so, it is my life.

User
Posted 14 Dec 2015 at 12:13

Hi P 856,

Good that you have not had treatment for 5 years. Whether you want to stay on AS is of course your decision to make. I would just say that many men, some even older than you, who have cancer, feel well and are very active, so perhaps something not to set great store by. It may be that you are one of the relatively lucky ones who will never need treatment. But if you feel strongly that you wouldn't want treatment regardless of PCa progression, you have answered your own question and yes it's your life.

Barry
 
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