I got a call from the VA clinic today telling me that my recent PSA test showed the possible existance of prostate cancer. I'm to be re-tested in 2 weeks.I have been through this b4 and I am not terribly concerned but still...ya know? My brother had his prostate removed and it was no walk in the park.

I was a care giver to my father who had prostate cancer. He also went to the VA and had it removed. The worst part for him was to have a urinary bag for a week. His pain was light and once he got rid of the bag he was a hundred persent. He went bac for a CT scan and they decided to do 5 days in a row of low radiation to make sure. 6 months later the CT scan showed him clear and he was back to fishing in not time. Recovery time is about 4 to 6 weeks, but I my father was very stubborn so I think that helped with the healing process. I wish well in what ever treatment you decide. There many options now for people who have prostrate cancer.
Its ok today!

Oh, David!

Will it ever end?! I'm sorry. I hope that all turns out okay. You'll be in my thoughts. Please keep us posted.

I'm of the opinion that once you've had to deal with the best that is cancer, you should get checked off some celestial list that says "dues paid in full"!

xo,
Kerri

Fingers crossed its nothing!

There has been recent research on PSA testing and I believe they, whoever they are, concluded that PSA testing may not be worthwhile due to false conclusions leading to unnecessary treatment. I believe I heard something about having to measure one's current PSA to a baseline. Sounds like the advice we give to newbies re TSH. Anyway check this out as I'm sure you will. Get 2nd and 3rd opinions and try and find a recent grad. JM2C's

DavidR

DavidCPA referenced the The United States Preventive Services Task Force final report in May 2012 on PSA testing which concluded that with a positive PSA test, risks of harmful side effects from treating prostate tumors that may be too slow-growing to ever cause a problem were more likely for men than the risk of dying from prostate cancer. It released a draft report back in October, 2011 for comment with the same conclusions. Basically all screening studies have demonstrated considerable harms associated with screening, but only one major study found evidence that screening saves lives -- and that study has some internal inconsistencies. It showed screening saves lives in the Netherlands and Sweden, but not in five other European countries. Even the positive parts of that study did not show a considerable increase in lives saved.
The results have been predictable: the urologists & hospitals whose business is to do PSA tests disagree, while the doctors who rely upon studies agree. Prostate cancer survivors believe it saved their lives (IMO that's because otherwise they would have to accept that they may have had unnecessary surgery and that their doctors led them astray)
The only thing I know for sure about prostate cancer is that just like our cancer, only a biopsy can tell for sure. Heads up, the prostate biopsy is reported to be extremely painful.
Even then, if you know you do have prostate cancer, watchful waiting is often the best TX. All oral cancers are aggressive so that is not an option for any OCF patient.
What I hate the most about this whole mess is the patients are caught in the middle of the doctor's fights. Worse, the issue has been raised that some of the opposition to dropping the PSA is monetary and not medical by Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society and professor at Emory University, In a CNN editorial, he repeated this conversation he had
[quote]Mass screening is a lucrative business. I am haunted by a conversation I had in the late 1990s with a marketing executive at a major American hospital who bragged about his "prostate cancer business plan." His hospital conducted free screening at a local mall every September for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

He explained that this was not just cheap and effective advertising for his hospital system. It was also a moneymaker. As he explained it, for every 1,000 men over age 50 who were screened at the mall, 145 would have an abnormal screen, and 135 would go to his hospital for evaluation. Fees collected from them would easily cover the cost of the free screening event. About 45 in that group would have cancer; the rest would be false positives.

The marketer had figured out how many men would be treated with surgery, radiation, and hormones. He had estimates of all the money the center would make from treating all 45 cancer cases. He knew how many men would be treated for urinary incontinence, and what his net profit for treating that would be. Amazingly, he even knew how many of the men would want penile prostheses surgically implanted to treat their impotence.

I asked him one question: "How many lives will you save if you screen a thousand men?" He looked at me as if I were a fool, and said, "Don't you know? No one knows if this stuff saves lives. I can't give you a number on that."
[/quote]
Dr. Brawley's take on the opposition: [quote]As Upton Sinclair once said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."[/quote]
I wish I had the answer. Myself, I have steadfastly refused to have any PSA test. I was worried that my emotions would overwhelm me and I would just have surgery. Additionally I am biased by conversations in the waiting room for radiation where we all bonded and one prostate patient really regretted getting TX based on the PSA and biopsy and kept saying that he wished he had just waited to see if the cancer was aggressive.
As Dr. Lee Green, a primary care physician at the University of Michigan told MedPage in response to the PSA recommendation

[quote]"Cancer is a fear word," Lee told MedPage Today. "People have a need to believe, a need to feel that we have some power over this terrible disease," he said. "Admitting the truth, that PSA screening doesn't really save lives, is unacceptable because it takes that away."
[/quote]
It's not fair to us to have to decide which view is right and which is mistaken. I'm sorry to hear you are in this mess again
Charm

Wow, David, I wish you the best in your care. It sure is tough when one keeps getting bombarded with health issues. Charm has presented some thought provoking info. Ultimately, you will decide what course of action is best for you. Sending you hugs and healthy vibes.

Anita

Thx Charm. I know, of course, that it's not cancer til a biopsy says so. And as I mentioned, I have been through this b4 and it was all inconclusive. My rad onc said she didn't think it was anything to worry about. Easily said. Anyway, I'm not going to let myself get all stressed over it. Just play the wait and see game.

I am so sorry that after all you and Linda have been through with cancer that you again have cause to worry.
Good to see you have a positive attitude and are well informed both by your own experiences and the information posted here.
Best wishes while you go through the waiting game!
Gabriele

Tks Charm for doing that detective work. Remember I addded the free PSA testing at my Oral Cancer screening this spring and I had planned to keep it in the years to come and now I'm rethinking it. At least I have some months to ponder.

Interesting posts about a cancer not related to this site. But after my misery last year and the report about the generally ineffectiveness of the PSA test I also decided I'm not doing it anymore. In general, I've decided that at age 63 life is just a gift that has an expiration date and I'm not going to aggressively attack health issues unless there is very clear and definitive proof that doing so will not only extend life but enhance it. So many treatments for so many things seem to have so many side effects that the value of those treatments may not be worth it - for some people. I'm one of those. Meanwhile, life is pretty decent despite the damages from oral cancer treatment. Oddly, I haven't had a cold or any illness at all in over a year since my treatment.

I, too, have'nt had a cold or flu in years (knock on wood). I used to get at least 1 cold and the flu every year. As for not being related to this site, I suppose I should have posted on general chat but this seemed more accurate. Now, the worst part of this is that I have to refrain from any sex or bicycle riding til after the test. WHAT! No bike riding? OMG!