Ron
Valdes lives in New York, USA. He was 39 when he was diagnosed on April 15, 2008.
His initial PSA was 4.2 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and although he does not
give his staging it seems he would have been staged T1c. His choice of treatment
was Surgery. Here is his story.
I was having some trouble with my urinary
flow so I went to the doctor to have it checked out. It turns out my PSA was a
6.7. We tried to go straight for a biopsy but it ends up that when the day came
for it, I had an infection in my urine. My urologist thought I was way too young
for anything to be wrong and he placed me on Levaquin for two weeks thinking it
may have been a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection). After two weeks it dropped to a
4.2. That was when we decided to actually go ahead with the biopsy. When the time
came, he tried to back out. He felt that I was way too young for cancer and wanted
to place me back on Levaquin for another six weeks. I said that I needed to go
ahead with the biopsy for my own piece of mind. He took eight samples and truthfully
it was pretty painless and the discomfort was minimal.
A little less than
two weeks later I was told the samples came back positive. They found cancer in
five of the eight samples and my Gleason Score was set at six. My next step is
a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis and a Nuclear bone scan on Tuesday.
My
only worry is that I have an arthritic type of pain in my lower back; pretty much
across the whole thing. It could be in my head, but it just seems strange that
I have had this pain for about three months now and now this news comes out.
The
CT scan and bone scan came back negative. My first appointment with the Oncologist
is on Wednesday, May 7th. My urologist and I both feel it is best to go for the
robotic surgery. I would imagine (and hope) that the oncologist agrees. His name
is Dr. David Silver and from what I have heard and read about him he is a pioneer
in the Robotic surgery so I think I will be in pretty safe hands. I just want
to get it done ASAP. This back pain is pretty unbearable sometimes.
Later:
I
met with the Urologic Oncologist on May 7th. Dr. David Silver of Brooklyn, NY.
I feel really lucky to have him as a surgeon. He is really the most professional
and sympathetic doctor I have ever met. He really made me feel at ease, explained
all my options, and made sure I understood everything that was happening and will
happen to me.
I
now have a date for my Robotic Prostatic procedure, May 19th. It also helps that
this will be done fairly quickly. I just want it cleared up so I can move on with
the rest of my life. I have a pretty good attitude about this now and I feel that
finding the right doctor makes a huge difference. The next time I write will be
after my surgery. Wish me luck.
Ron's e-mail address is: rvaldes344@yahoo.com
