They should call Prostate Cancer, Procrastination Cancer

[Islandboy2021]

In my opinion it appears that if you catch the prostate cancer early enough you can stop it. If you procrastinate and don’t check your prostate early enough you can’t stop it.

[StayingOptimistic]

I agree.

[mrscruffy]

Nope, diagnosed as PSA was beginning to rise, had prostate removed and went metastatic within 3 months. couldn't have caught any sooner. Wish your statement had truth to it

[Willydad in reply to mrscruffy]

Same happened to me. Had been having annual psa’s and digitals for years due to family history. Caught the rise right away, biopsy confirmed, started treatment, all within 2 months. I believe starting treatment right away is why I’m still here fighting it

[NanoMRI in reply to mrscruffy]

At 47 had a 'benign' biopsy - an "unnecessary" biopsy. At 57 biopsy confirmed PC. Had RP, nadir 0.050, we did not get it all. Based on my experiences, an important understanding: if one faces metastatic PC after RR, as I do, it was already out before the RP. Early detection is key - a deadly shame all men are nir screened in their 40's looking for a PSA of <1.0 and doing further investigation with mpMRI for any concern.

[Ingress in reply to NanoMRI]

Mine did.

[NanoMRI in reply to Ingress]

Appreciate your comment- I rewrote my poorly written reply. All the best!

[Rocketman1960 in reply to mrscruffy]

One of the unlucky ones. You did everything you should have.

[mrscruffy in reply to Rocketman1960]

Ya I was hyper sensitive to getting tested as my dad died 11 months earlier from same cancer. My brother tests every 3 months

[Rocketman1960 in reply to mrscruffy]

wow. that seems extreme unless you see a remarkable change in the number. One thing I learned is the test can be off as much as 10% usingvthe same blood and same lab. Plot values on a semi log paper and watch for trends.

[mrscruffy in reply to Rocketman1960]

Not for a guy who had their dad die and now has a brother with mPC. I went from 1.1 to 7.2 in less than 2 months time. 3 months after removal it was in my spine.

[Rocketman1960 in reply to mrscruffy]

wow. now that is impressive.

[maley2711 in reply to mrscruffy]

Did you have a PSMA PET as part of your initial diagnosis? Overall, early diagnosis is CLEARLY beneficial. The fact is, you were already metastatic when diagnosed.....evidently your diagnostic scans missed it. In fact, I haven't seen the studies, but I would guess hat a high % of "failed" initial treatments were actually cases where metastases existed initially, but went undetetected due to limits of scan detection!!

Let's not suggest that men should not prioritize early detection!!

[mrscruffy in reply to maley2711]

After prostate removal numbers went to almost zero, then 3 months later had the PSMA PET scan where it showed up in spine, good chance it was metastatic. Had a friend diagnosed 2 months after me but had spread to many places. He has been dead 2 years now. Early detection is definitely a life saver

[maley2711 in reply to mrscruffy]

Thank you. It seems I misinterpreted your original post!!

[babychi]

Some appear to be fearful of DRE firstly and also any type of medical intervention. Women are used to being “prodded” with metal and plastic objects. My dear buddy waited 3 years until symptoms were pretty obvious. I agree with you.🥲

[Clippedwingz]

I was getting screened annually and my PSA never was above 1.6 when I was diagnosed de novo stage 4, Gleason 10. Therefore, while I agree many men do procrastinate, it’s too broad of a brush to say the entire disease journey is that simple. It’s also a bit offensive to guys like me who was pushing my providers every step of the way to test me due to my symptoms.

[Wagon-Wheel in reply to Clippedwingz]

Add me to the list. I had my PSA checked every year. Diagnosis the same, de novo stage 4, Gleason 10. I started triplet therapy 26 months ago. I'm doing well now, but very unsure about the future.

[Gabby643 in reply to Wagon-Wheel]

have gene test!

[Mike1971]

Sounds kind of harch to me. Lots of men, like me, check their PSA before recomended and still get the “too late” verdict.

[Derf4223]

You can get your own darn PSA test -- cheap on a cash basis -- here in the US -- see this

ondemand.labcorp.com/lab-te...

[duckcalldan]

Considering the shame many of us feel for not being consistent enough with our PSA checks during COVID (not to mention the damn randomness of PCa and its aggressiveness), your statement is tone-deaf and rather insensitive. This is a safe space for us to be vulnerable; I for one don’t like feeling judged.

[Tommyj2 in reply to duckcalldan]

I’m not hearing judgement here…..just observation.

[MarkS]

I'm interested that there are a number of cases in responses above where there were regular, annual PSA tests but the PC was still caught too late. Was there no rise in PSA before the penultimate test? My Gleason 9 (4+5) PC was diagnosed after a 2 year gap due to Covid and reluctance at the surgery. It does seem to have been caught in time. There was a steady but slow rise in PSA before my penultimate test then a big rise in the final test. Was I just lucky? I thought PC was a relatively slow growing cancer even with G9 or 10?

[Skifanatic]

I had DRE and PSA checked every year, my PSA always hovered around 3. I went for MRI and diagnosis of Stage 3 (now Stage 4) only after I had blood in semen. Please don’t broad-brush and simplify this disease.

[tayninhtom]

and my case not true. I caught it very early. It still went metastatic.

[PELHA in reply to tayninhtom]

Same with my husband. Prostate was radiated at the outset and PSA went to zero. Checked regularly but started to rise a few years later. Now metastatic

[stealthrider]

Exceptions to every rule.

[Islandboy2021]

I apologize for grouping everyone together with my opinion. Was having a rough time and beating myself up for procrastinating with my disease. My father had the same disease when he was in his 60’s and they removed his prostate and radiated the bed. He is 80 now and will probably not die from prostate cancer. I was 50 and had no idea the severity of the disease. I didn’t get checked out until I had a enlarged prostate and even then I was treated for BHP. By the time they did the biopsy I was Gleason 9 and stage 4 with metastatic cancer. I was told I had 4 years and I have got almost 8 years. I am running out of options and have to take pain medication now.

[duckcalldan in reply to Islandboy2021]

Thanks for that explanation, and that you are commenting as a member of the club, not an outsider. I hope you find some relief from your pain.

[IKNY]

I may add…

Unfortunately, Dr’s are guilty of this in spades.

The trope that PC is slow and you have time is BS.

I was led along for 2 years that my prognosis was BPH… until it wasn’t.

I did what every man should be doing and getting regularly checked by a urologist.

Well, now I’m basking in stage 4 land, living large.

Anyone diagnosed with BPH, get a second opinion.

[Shorter]

I was having digital exams, and my PSA was always fairly low. I thought my PCP was being overly cautious when he told me to see a urologist. When the biopsy was done, I was Gleason 4+5. I have often thought, if only I had known 10-15 years earlier. I would have shut down the testosterone factories. I might have avoided a prostatectomy that changed the rest of my life for the worse. The cancer still kept growing and required radiation anyway. Radiation was a bump in the road.

NOTE: Please do NOT take what I say next as if I had a normal outcome. Mine was off the charts and likely because of an inept doctor. NOTHING in my life could have prepared me for the aftermath of that one surgery. (I've had several surgeries) I had to fight my own way upstream against the current to get the damage fixed that was done to me at that prostatectomy. If I had not found a doctor willing to open me up and fix it, I had my death planned.

I am still here almost 7 years later, but this cancer is like whack-a-mole. At least I get to see my grandchildren a little while longer.

[slpdvmmd]

IMO its the problems of early dispersion and lack of ability to image hibernating/quiescent prostatic stem cells; and then target them that makes cure impossible except in the context of dying of something else before the stem cells wake up and go to work.

[Rocketman1960]

pretty accurate. That's why the simple PSA testing and tracking is so important. obviously not in all cases but a good rule of thumb.

[Desertfalcon in reply to Rocketman1960]

PSA Test Is Misused, Unreliable, Says the Antigen's Discoverer

medscape.com/viewarticle/82...

[Desertfalcon in reply to Desertfalcon]

The speaker Dr. Richard Ablin discovered the PSA value in 1970 and is now reflecting critically on its use for prostate cancer screening.

youtu.be/lTjs0K-q5Is?si=YW4...(Not working as expected?)

[Rocketman1960 in reply to Desertfalcon]

Fake News. PSA is a marker. It's just gathering data. It isn't perfect by any means but its pretty good as showing trends.

[dk73]

my husband had active surveillance for 10 years prior to his diagnosis at age 64. Gleason 7, PSA 5.5. His dad had PC. It’s been 8 years of constant treatments including pluvicto (PSA rose to 235 and massive bone met spread, skull to femurs). He is getting weaker, less steady on his feet, it’s hard to watch his decline. Our son just had his first PSA done at age 39. Not sure catching it early on makes any difference or not. Just know this has been an exhausting journey

[TJGuy in reply to dk73]

So keep an eye on that PSA and exam. If it comes early I. Your 40s doctors don't test then, And it will likely be very aggressive at that time.Now likely nothing will be found until you hit 50+., test every year and when you see a concerning rise ( don't depend on your doctor for their opinion, go straight to an oncologist). Fire your doctor if they object. Get a new one. Tell them that right up front. Doctors are the cause of many aggressive prostate cancers

[maley2711 in reply to TJGuy]

MDs do not "cause" aggressive cancers.

[TJGuy in reply to maley2711]

My misstatement , should have said Advanced prostate cancers not aggressive.

[maley2711 in reply to dk73]

Anecdotes don't negate the studies.........and men who are diagnosed and treated before scan-detected metastasis do, on average , escape PCa death for a MUCH longer time than men who are metastatic at diagnosis. However, no single man is the "average".

[dmt1121]

I think it can be true that if it's caught soon enough that it can be cured. However, this depends on the Gleason score and aggressiveness of the disease. Some variants cannot be detected until they have progessed.

[j-o-h-n]

Hey Harold-pca-cell-91756893652 what's does the word Procrastination mean?

Well Charles-pca-cell-758778432091 I'll let you know soon....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[TJGuy]

Nope my primary care doctor caused my advanced cancer. He ignored and thought I was too health to have cancer. Not to mention the hospital was doing a computer conversion and had their doctors using patients office visits to work on the conversion.He knew pretty much nothing about the third leading cause of death in men.. heart disease, lung cancer, prostate cancer. He knew almost nothing about it but made proclamations never the less. He said I knew more about PC than he did.

[Islandboy2021]

Recently my family doctor said the same thing to me as well. I know I had no idea at the beginning of this diagnosis in 2017. I have tried to educate myself over the last few years. There is one thing that I notice is as a cancer patient you have 3 or 4 doctors but they don't share enough information. Its like you need a conductor as in a Orchestra.

[TJGuy]

So don't accept up to 4 is ok, it isn't get it checked by an urologist early and often. Also rate of rise is very important maybe more so than number. And if your taking any proprecia or finesteride and there is ANY , I REPEAT ANY rise of PSA, no mater how small you RUN to the UROLOGIST.