16 Year update now 73 years old Most likely will not die from PC

I am now 73 years old. First words to me in 2006 from one of the founding doctors of the urology group. "Here is what we do, we cut you from the bottom of your navel to the top of the pubic bone, then we go in and cut it out. Fifty percent will have erectile disfunction, fifty percent will have incontinence or both." Talk about a hammer to the chest. This forum was a real help to me for encouragement and advice. I did end up with the Davinci robotic surgery with a younger member of the same urology group and he is still my doctor.

RP 2006. Stage pT2c, GS 3+4, 6 mm positive margin at right apex, +PNI Now 73 years old, great health and all bodily functions great except for this PSA thang continuing to creep up.
PSA: 2006-.001, 2007-0.02, 2011-0.085, 2012-0.15, 2013-0.13, 2014-0.20, 6/2015-0.17, 12/2015 -0.23, 6/2016-0.26, 12/2016-0.25, 12/2017-0.326, 6/2018-0.3, 11/2018-0.415, 06/2019-0.446, 12/2019-0.482, 05/2020-0.5,
5/2021 0.648 6/2022 0.678

56pontiac,
Your PSA is indeed creeping at a very slow rate. Nothing to worry about as far as I can see. Congratulations on an outcome that has been plenty good enough!

I question that doc's description of the size of the incision for an open prostatectomy--maybe it was true in 2006(?). I specifically opted for an open over a robotic RP in '17. The faded scar is about 4 inches.

Djin

Thanks for the fantastic update, Pontiac. It will lift some spirits, including the spirit of this 73 year old.
Michael

Jmon said...
Hey Pontiac, I follow your posts. As I've said before our cases are nearly identical. I'm 74, had DaVinci at City of Hope in 2005. PSA was around 4, 3+4. PSA started creeping a few years later and has followed yours within a few points. Now around 0.6. PSA check every 6 months. Doc says as long as it keeps "creeping" we'll just keep an eye on it. Doubling time around 3 years.

Good luck and I hope we can both be watching this forum 20 years from now.

We sure do have nearly identical cases. Glad to see you are doing well. 20 years would make us only 93 and 94 years old. I am down for that, as long as we both feel good.