23 years post-diagnosis

[4myhusband]

Hi, I am new here, and would like to introduce myself. My husband was diagnosed with PC in 1993, when he was 58. He just turned 81. The initial diagnosis was done when his PSA was 12, Gleason 7. He underwent radical prostatectomy. In 2001 his PSA started to go up and reached 4.4. Bone scan did not show any mets. He underwent radiation for two months and his PSA went to .10. He was also on Lupron for several months. 

In spring 2012 PSA rose to 4.4 and started to climb. Bone scan showed a probable T2 vertebral metastasis. For the last 4 years he has been treated quarterly with Lupron and Zometa, and daily with Casodex. His PSA has been staying almost undetectable though the last reading was 0.07. In a week he is going to have a bone scan to see how things are at present. 

During the 23 years of living with prostate cancer my husband has been incredibly active. His advanced age is starting to take its toll on his body as he has had multiple health issues, but prostate cancer has never prevented him from living a full, active life. Because he is mildly diabetic, his diet has always been low in refined carbs. He has been on metformin for 25 years. We pretty much follow Mediterranean diet, but eat a fair amount of meat. The disease has never controlled our lives though anxiety always goes up at a quarterly checkup time I know that we are incredibly lucky, but I wanted to share his success story of living a long and full life with prostate cancer.

[Dr_WHO]

Thanks for the positive message.  Glad to hear that the two of you were able to keep active.  That is my hope.  Today was to be our first day scuba diving in the Caribbean.  Instead I am 10 days into recovery from surgery and changing my Depends four times a day.  That said, it is our activities that are keeping us going.  Depending on if I need radiation or hormonal treatments (and depending on how fast I regain control) we want to do an overnight bike ride later this summer.  It would only be a fraction of the 380 mile bike trip we planned, but 60 miles is better than nothing.

🚲⛺️

[JoelT]

Thank you so much for sharing your positive story with us.  It is good to have it reinforced that for many of us prostate cancer can be just a pain in the neck.

Joel