gleason 4+3=7 (70% pattern 4) involving one core less than 0.5mm. PSA 5.2. Biopsy results confirmed by MRI. I am 64 years old and will be 65 in December. I have horrible insurance with very limited treatment options. I would like to delay treatment until I have Medicare (5 months). I have met with one urologist and 3 radiologists over the past 3 months and all acted like I am out of my mind for suggesting waiting. To everyone's surprise the insurance company did approve Proton Therapy - 2 of the radiologists I met with have nothing good to say about Proton Therapy. The center that does Proton treatment here recently filed for bankruptcy and I'm pretty sure they are desperate for patients. I have an appointment next week at the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville to discuss Focal therapy - I have to pay them a $5000 deposit just to meet with the urologist. I don't know what to do.
treatment and insurance questions - Prostate Cancer A...
treatment and insurance questions
You can start hormone therapy until you qualify for Medicare. That will prevent progression.
There is no known advantage to proton therapy.
Focal ablation has been proven to be inadequate:
prostatecancer.news/2016/12...
prostatecancer.news/2021/03...
Thanks for the reply.
There is so much disinformation about treatment. This is from the Proton Center website comparing Proton therapy to Photon radiation. I don't think any of it is true, yet there it is on their website. It is hard to know who to believe.
5% increase in Overall Survival Rate for intermediate risk prostate cancer
21% decrease in risk of urinary toxicity
25% decrease in risk of erectile dysfunction
35% decrease in radiation to the bladder
42% decrease in relative risk of developing a secondary malignancy
50% decrease in treatment-related bowel frequency and urgency
59% decrease in radiation to the rectum
There has never been a randomized comparison between protons and photons. From non-comparative clinical trials, they seem similar:
Questions for follow up visit?
Questions about hormone therapy...
So unsure what to do...
Newly diagnosed scared and confused. 
Questions for new urologist - Active Surveillance
