Rick
Callahan lives in Pennsylvania, USA. He was 52 when he was diagnosed on September
22, 2009. His initial PSA was 4.2 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 (3+3) and he
was staged T1c. He is undecided as to his choice of treatment. Here is his story.
I
live in Camp Hill PA and would like to hear from others around my age especially
with a similar Gleason score, PSA, and percent of cancer found and what they have
chosen or are considering for treatment. I would also like to hear from others
who have had the eight weeks of radiation IMRT/IGRT and others who have had surgery
and how both groups are currently doing. Also would like to hear reasons for choosing
their treatment and long term side effects.
Back in September of 2009,
I was diagnosed with PC following a Prostate Biopsy due to a PSA of 4.2. Out of
a 12 needle biopsy, only 1 sample was found to be less than 10% cancer. My Gleason
score is 6(3+3) and stage is T1. I am 52 and have no symptoms of PC and no ED
problems. I have had several DREs and all doctors have said they cannot feel any
lumps or bumps that would indicate a problem. Being symptom free makes it extremely
difficult to choose a treatment that may result in some kind of complication.
As a result, I am currently undecided as to what treatment I should have.
I have been to numerous doctors trying to get a consensus on what the best
treatment would be for me. My local urologist, Dr. Kachel, recommended aggressive
treatment and strongly recommended surgery for removal. However he did say IMRT/IGRT
radiation is another option. I had a local consultation with a surgeon, Dr. Moyer
and with a radiologist, Dr. Newton, specializing in the treatment of PC. Dr. Moyer
highly recommended surgery and indicated there are a lot of options in dealing
with complications. Dr. Newton of course strongly recommended radiation and said
there are minimal complications with radiation. They implant 3 non radioactive
markers in the prostate to precisely guide the radiation beams sparing as much
normal tissue as possible. I also had a consultation with two surgeons at Johns
Hopkins in Baltimore MD. The first surgeon, Dr. Jarow, recommended radiation to
my surprise. He said radiation will cure this cancer. When I question if it didn't,
he simply said don't worry it will. The second surgeon, Dr. Pavlovich, strongly
recommended surgery since I am 52. He did bring up the subject of over treatment
of PC. When ask what he meant, he said if after taking the prostate out it is
found to contain less than 1% cancer, then this would be over treatment. He suggested
I wait 6 months from my first biopsy and have another one done by him. For now
this is what I will do and then hopefully reach a decision on what treatment is
best in my situation depending on results of second biopsy.
After researching
the internet and consulting with several doctors, I am still consumed with trying
to figure out what the best treatment for me would be.
I have concluded
that with surgery all the risks are up front. These risks may include permanent
incontinence, ED, and other complications with surgery in general, such as blood
clots. I have been told that problems with ED generally improve over time if nerve
sparing surgery is performed. With the 8 weeks of radiation, I have been told
by other doctors aside from the radiologist that the risks are more long term
involving eventual ED problems due to damage of nerve tissue. The radiologist
indicated he has not seen any permanent complications from radiation treatments.
From what I learned on the internet, there is not a lot of data for the current
targeted radiation such as IMRT and IGRT which minimize the exposure to healthy
tissue. I think maybe the other doctors more familiar with surgery than radiation
are not as familiar with the targeted radiation techniques and more familiar with
the consequences of older radiation techniques.
My life has been turned
upside down since diagnosis. I have now lost about 15 pounds worrying about this.
The holidays have been a needed distraction for me to get my mind off of PC. I
have two sons, the one has been very supportive but is too young to fully understand
what I am going through. The other is a teenager who could care less and is very
unsupportive. I am extremely overwhelmed by PC and constantly think about it every
day to the point I can't even enjoy my life anymore.
Sincerely,
Rick
C.
Rick's e-mail address is: rpcallahan@hotmail.com
