39yo recently diagnosed with PC

Hi all. 5 weeks ago I was diagnosed with PC. Even now I'm still shocked and my anxiety has been through the roof. I didn't want to believe my Urologist at first, being that I'm a pretty fit active duty Chief in the US Navy. I've always ate healthy, I don't smoke, and I only drink alcohol on occasion. I feel like my world has been turned upside down. All I can think about every day are my wife and 2 children. Most people have said that I've taken the news of my diagnosis well, primarily because I've gone about my day to day life at work and home as usual. However, I'm an emotional wreck whenever I'm alone. I was glad to find this support group/forum because it seemed that my doctors just told me the news and left me to my own vises as I await treatment.

My Dad never had any prostate issues but I have 3 uncles on my Mother's side who have had either PC or enlarged prostates. Thankfully all are still alive and well. Due to my family history my Urologist has been watching my PSA for a few years now but I didn't know I'll get news like this at this age. I'll be 40 years old next month on July 30th. Here's the info I have so far from my Urologist:
PSA History: SEP 2014-1.6; AUG 2015-1.9; NOV 2016-3.0; May 2, 2017-3.75 ng/mL
Being in the Navy, my previous Urologist transferred to a new duty station. Once my new Urologist saw my PSA from November, he called me in and scheduled another PSA test . That's when we saw the elevated level of 3.75 and he recommended I have a biopsy. He performed the biopsy on Tuesday May 9th and informed me on May 12 of PC. My Urologist stated that at my age and with my results I'm considered Low-Intermediate Risk with a slow progressing cancer. He recommends surgery (June 20th) and I'm okay with that as I want this thing out of me ASAP. I already have children and my wife and I didn't have any plans for having more so ED is not an issue for me. I was already on Cialis anyway. My Urologist said that with Viagra and kegels at my age I should regain erections and normal continence. Any advice or information as I move forward along this life changing journey I'd highly appreciate it. Thank you.

My Pre-Radical Prostatectomy Results
Pretreatment PSA 3.75 ng/mL
DRE nothing felt or protruding during exam.
Gleason 3+4=7
Tumor Stage T1c
5 positive cores
12 negative cores
Percentage of positive cores 29.41%
Treatment Outcomes
Probability of survival after LARP 10yr 99% 15yr 99%
Progression free probability after LARP 5yr 93% 10yr 87%
Extent of Disease probability
Organ confined disease 53% Extracapsular extension 46%
Lymph node involvement 2% Seminal Vesicle involvement %2

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely ask about the second opinion and RT options today.

mstatz
I sympathize with the shock and anxiety from your diagnosis. We've all been there - though few of us as young as you at the time. Halbert has given you good advice. I agree you do need treatment and I understand the desire to "get it out", but radiation in its several forms is also an option with cure rates similar to surgery. I'm not recommending one over the other, but suggest you look into both before settling on a treatment. Also just wanted to say hello Chief and welcome, from an old sailor. I was in for only 4 years a long time ago as a radioman.
Jim - USN '67-'71

I was 'just 48' when diagnosed.

You've received some good advice.

Don't go with a Navy doctor. No disrespect, but get the opinions of experts in the field. I spent a day at Duke talking to specialists in surgery and different forms of radiation and active surveillance.

I ended up at Winship Cancer in Atlanta getting high dose radiation with hardly any side effects.

Do lots of Due Diligence!

Welcome to HW,

Don't have much to add. Just wanted to say hello and hang in there.

Andrew

if he is in the military he is pretty much " stuck with military health care...thats all he has...Im not so sure the military has junk medicos...lotsa lifers with plenty experienxces...I thought fm his signatuer he already had tx... I luved the Navy...one of the past experiences and fellow ship ive had oh and with medico im fairly sure ...ca ching is not an issue...could be wrong...

Welcome. I just wanted you to know that all the statistics you've been looking at aren't really very valid for someone your age - your probability of remaining recurrence free after treatment, your probability of no ED, and your probability of remaining fully continent are a lot better than those stats.

Also, know that prostate cancer is almost always very slow growing in early stages like yours. This means you have many months to make an informed decision, probably years would be fine too - but you'd have to be on an active surveillance program to be safe, and with a GS 3+4, it's risky to wait years. I hope, in fact, that you will not make any treatment decision for at least a month. The decision you make a month from now may be different or the same as what you think now - but you owe yourself that gift of time. Slow it down.

Your emotional reactions are very normal. I'm glad, in a way, that you are an "emotional wreck when alone" -
it's the guys who suppress those normal feelings that I'd be more worried about. I, and probably everyone else in this forum, can relate. Receiving a cancer diagnosis has been compared to PTSD, and I think you will find benefit by treating yourself accordingly. See a psychotherapist, learn to practice Mindfulness, seek out a live cancer support group if there's one nearby, exercise a lot. I found that gaining knowledge helped me a lot, others find that adds to their stress - everyone's different. I know the initial shock will wear off somewhat with time.

Hi Chief,
First thing to be thankfull for is discovering your cancer early. Most men don't start PSA testing until 50 or later. Had your Doc's taken a more conservative testing protocol your PC may have been much worse when finally discovered. Special thanks to your uncles for sharing their diagnosis, some don't. Second thing to be thankful for is finding this forum. The information and links here will help lead you to a good treatment decision. I would encourage you to seek out second opinions including RO's. Having surgery to remove a prostate is not the same as having your appendix snipped. It's major surgery at any age. I found www.pctrf.org a helpful place to compare the various treatment outcomes. I've just started SBRT and found that my best treatment option even though it required some working with my insurance to go out of network seeking treatment at Cleveland Clinic. Best wishes.