Andrew Dail lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. He was 46 when he was diagnosed
on January 11, 2009. His initial PSA was 5.8 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6
and he was staged T1c. He is undecided as to his choice of treatment. Here is
his story.
My employer offered some wellness incentives, so I scheduled
a physical exam in October 2008. It had been almost 6 years since my last physical
exam, and I do not believe a PSA screening was done at that time. My initial PSA
was 5.8. The doctor scheduled a follow up test in 1 month. In December, my PSA
registered 6.3. There was nothing abnormal noted on the DRE, with the exception
of some slight enlargement.
I was referred to a urologist. The urologist
wanted a biopsy. Since this data was my baseline, I requested we first do a course
of antibiotics for 1 month. At the end of the month, my PSA measured 8.2, and
my free PSA measured 5%. A biopsy was scheduled. The results was 6 of 12 points
measured positive for carcinoma, and 3 additional points were suspicious. The
cancer is therefore in both lobes, but DRE and ultrasound cannot detect. Bone
scan and CT came up negative, so the cancer appears to be localized to the prostate.
A prostatectomy has been recommended, and I am exploring the treatment options.
Andrew's
e-mail address is: engineer@iname.com
