Pete
Carson and Donna live in Inverness-shire, Scotland. He was 55 when he was diagnosed
on 5th October, 2002. His initial PSA was 12.0 ng/ml but he does not know his
Gleason Score or his staging, although it seems likely he was staged T1c. His
choice of treatment was Radiotherapy then hormones - EBRT (External Beam Radiation
Treatment) and ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy). Here is his story.
I
was 55 and was taken into hospital with severe diverticulitis ( bowel disorder).
I had NO symptoms of prostate cancer. However someone (thank goodness) did a test
for PSA count and discovered a count of 12.0 ng/ml. When I got home from hospital
my GP called me in to give me the news. Devastated. Death was how long away ?
Would I see Christmas ? Check again a few weeks later - PSA count had gone to
21.0 ng/ml.
So to hospital for a course of six weeks of daily radiotherapy
and then on to hormones. I was on daily hormones (Casodex) for 3 years and the
count came down to 0.01. Came the day when the specialist felt we should see what
would happen if treatment was stopped. So I came off the hormones and went on
with no treatment at all.
Over the next two years the count rose very
steadily from 0.01 to 3.6 and was still rising. I panicked and started to pester
my specialist. He assured me that this was very understandable and we would continue
to monitor. [Presumably this decision was
made on the basis that Pete still has an entire prostate gland which generates
a 'normal' amount of PSA]. So from then until now the PSA has wandered
a round the 5 mark - every 3 months I have a test done. The last 5 results over
the last 15 months, have been 4.1, 4.8, 5.4, 5.8 and then down to 4.8 again. So
I continue to have test every 3 months and hopefully the result will stay around
the 5 mark.
Some may feel that is high - but I think stability would be
great as long as the rise stops.
Pete's e-mail address is: p_carson@hotmail.co.uk
