Biopsy Result today!

Wow, that’s a long time to wait for your biopsy results Richard, I hope you’ve not been too stressed over it.

I can’t really offer any advice as to whether active surveillance is the right choice for you but at least your options are open, and the only thing I would say is that if treatment IS required, go ahead with it whilst ALL the options of radical treatment are still open to you. I wish I had got checked sooner, but you know…… COVID….

Best of luck and stay positive💪💪💪

Derek

Indeed, your results seem fantastic and could have been so much worse. Can you tell us what your PSA levels are and can you confirm that your tumour is unilateral disease, that is one place in your prostate, and have you got reasonable safety margins? 

I respect your choice of going on active surveillance, it's the initial choice I made. My advice would be to ensure that whilst on it, you have regular PSA checks and follow up DREs and MRIs.

All the best mate.

Adrian

Edited by member 14 Jan 2024 at 14:41  | Reason: Not specified

I know that AS is a very appealing option but you are now in the best position that you will ever be for a 100% curative procedure so maybe now is the time to think very carefully about this. Delaying the inevitable may not be the best decision.

Sorry to sound like a hard a*** but I just feel that it needs stressing that your best position to be in is now.

Hi guys thank you for the comments on my post, yes I am more than pleased with those biopsy results and happy to take the active surveillance option initially. Reason behind this is that my daughter is getting married in the summer & I didn’t want to be recovering from any surgery or radiotherapy while walking her down the aisle.

i did mention to the consultant that I will more than likely go with the surgery option after Xmas but as my results were pretty good I wanted to hold fire with that option this year. My cancer is contained on the apex of the prostate & nowhere else according to the mri results and with only 4 of the 28 biopsies showing cancer I feel going on AS this year is the right choice.

Consultant did say she has a patient who’s been on AS for 12 years & another for 8 so that seems positive too.🙂

I can’t comment on RP other than to say most of the guys that I know well from Maggies are happy that they chose that route, even though they have incontinence and ED issues long after the Op. Neither would I wish HT/RT even on my worst enemy, but there again if it’s going to cure me I will just have to live with it….and some men seem to get off lightly with side effects.🤷🏼‍♂️ I can only say that I WISH I had a Choice of treatment even though neither is an easy option, so the importance of close monitoring is VERY important.

All the best,

Derek

A very good idea to be on AS particularly with the wedding coming up. I assume your life expectancy without cancer would be 87. With your age being 65 and a bit of Gleason 4. I suspect you will need treatment at some point in the next 22 years. As Adrian has found out Active Surveillance does not stop the cancer from sneaking up on you, even though it is supposedly being watched closely. At the moment you would probably be eligible for LDR brachy which would be a minimally invasive procedure in a few years that may not be the case.

Enjoy your life whilst you're relatively young, continent and potent, but switch to a more radical treatment the moment things start to look more risky.

Hi Richard

Short answer is yes. I got diagnosed at the end of August, but recently decided I’d like to see a copy of my report, for the same reasons as you. I phoned the specialist nurse and they printed it off and posted it out to me the next day. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting it mate.

They make interesting reading. I discovered that they found perineural invasion in one sample, and cribriform/IDC in another. None of this had been mentioned to me before. 
Anyway, let us know how you get on 👍

Ian.