Great News!

English Alf said...
...So I guess I may become an even more infrequent visitor to HW.

Alf

Hope you don't take a leave of absence.

Success stories and insight are always appreciated and needed.

Great news.

Hang around for awhile - you've got a lot to share.

Andrew

Yes a true recurrence is cured by radiation. It happens…and cleanly!

Fabulous news, especially for a "young" guy.

Go enjoy life and check us out once in a while. You can offer a lot of hope to those still struggling.

Alf-- Your biopsy results were similar to mine, but I had no recurrence. Your success story is instructive to anyone who has to do SRT. All the best to you!

Billy Bob - yes my PSA had risen to 0.4 when they said that I had to do SRT.
However, it would perhaps be helpful to look at the time line:

I had surgery on 27th July 2009.
My first post-surgery check-up was 6th August 2009 when they told me that the PCa had spread to the seminal vesicles, thus the docs and I were already geared up to expect "bad news".

My first check-up to tell me my PSA was on 17th November 2009 - it was 0.1 (blood actually taken on 10th November)

This is quite a while ago and at that point the hospital had a protocol not to recommend SRT until the PSA had risen to or above 0.2.
So they sent me home, but sort of with the message to get myself as fit and healthy as possible and come back in 3 months.

Thus I reached the point where I had no incontinence and no ED.

Then on 17 March 2010 (blood taken on 10th March) they told me my PSA had gone up to 0.4.
Thus SRT recommended, and the urology department made an appointment for me to see the RT guys within 10 minutes of me being told my PSA was 0.4

I saw the RT doc on the 23rd March 2010, and my 33 sessions of SRT were already finished by 11th June.

On 3rd November 2010 they told me my PSA was undetectable and it's been like that since. (But I do now have a little ED and enough incontinence to need to wear pads 24/7 just to be safe.)

So I see it as a case of my PSA simply having jumped from marginal to 0.4 when they decided to give me the further treatment they had already been considering, rather than that anyone had simply let it get that high before acting.

Alf

Dear English Alf,

From your original post, I also have the experience that you describe ... as my treatments have continued, my medical oncologist has become the "pilot of my airplane" in terms of treatments ... and my original urologist now has the role of "co-pilot" ---

In my case, the original ADT shots were administered in the urology department --- but they needed a certified oncology nurse to administer the shots, so I always had to wait for an oncology nurse to arrive to administer the shots in the urology department.

As time went on, I pursued chemo treatments, under the direction of my medical oncologist --- so, soon enough, we simply decided to have all those treatments done right there --- in the oncology department. My urologist is still a member of my medical team and has tremendous expertise --- but my primary care has now definitely shifted over to the oncology department.

I'll echo the sentiments of our brother 81GyGuy --- all of us value the contributions of "foreign correspondents" from "across the pond" like you --- it helps those of us here in the United States glean more of a global perspective --- and allows all of us to experience that common bond of brotherhood with our brothers from other countries and continents. It ALSO helps us gain perspective into how healthcare is handled in other localities and which treatment strategies and medications have become universal.

Case in point --- in just the past few days, we've had posts here from Norway, Greece, Scotland, and India. It's amazing that this website reaches across all the 50 states --- but also across the world. So --- keep your international passport updated, your room key in your pocket, and be sure to check into the "HEALING WELL HOTEL" from time to time ---

All my best sent to you, from across the Atlantic Ocean,
"Cyclone" From Iowa State University

Hi Alf...Congratulations!

Thanks for all the good wishes.
Yes still a Brit in NL!

I wasn't implying that I was going to be leaving HW, it's simpy that the evidence shows that I have been coming here less. I have had fewer things I have needed or wanted advice about, and PCa is, amazingly, no longer something that I think about 24/7.
Also it has been so long since I received any treatment that I worry that modern methods and procedures mean that my personal experience may be out of date.
I have always been one of those to point out (especially to new folk) that HW can give you the idea that PCa is worse than you think because it's often the case that it's only the people with problems that ever come here in the first place. Those without probems are not surfing the net looking for solutions.
(For instance, my browsing history shows that I spent a while yesterday searching the web for tips about looking after my grape vines, whose buds are just bursting, and looking for climbing plants suitable for a very cold damp shady spot in the opposite corner of our garden!)
Alf

Hey Alf....a HUGE congrats to you. Cancer free is your new normal.

You do have to keep coming here though.....afterall, if the survivors don't hang out in here and continue to contribute, then, survival will be considered an urban legend, and we can't have that!