According to statistics about 240,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. As of three days ago I'm one of them. Just shy of 65, I'm right in the sweet spot agewise.

I do realize that the odds, oddly, are in my favor. Many men with this diagnosis - perhaps even some of our family - opt to forgo treatment and just watch and wait, and there are stories upon stories of men who've lived until a ripe old age (I've always planned on 104 like my great grandfather) without it ever causing a problem. Or alternatively go through one of the various treatments with the same result. Still, we all know what it's like to have a doctor tell you that you have cancer, and nearly 30,000 die of this nasty business every year. This includes one of my closest friends, who had a radical prostatectomy and still passed on a year or two later.

I'm awaiting an appointment with a specialist soon to learn about my options, and I've already joined a couple of online forums. This will always be my online home of course... but I might be shifting my emphasis for awhile until I get this thing sorted out.

Uhboy... here we go again!

Aw, man, I am so sorry! I hope the odds stay in your favor, but I'm awfully sorry you have to deal with the big C word again in any form! We'll be rooting for you!

Im very sorry to hear your news, David!!! How I hate hearing of any of our OC family being diagnosed with any other serious illness... especially another kind of cancer! Wishing you all the very best with beating your new cancer.

Thank you, Kristen and Christine. Those sentiments mean a lot, especially coming from two people who have fought so hard. I have my first meeting with the oncology team this Wednesday. We shall see!

So. After meeting a couple of specialists I've found that because my cancer is relatively small and slow-growing, treatment right now isn't warranted. I'll be having an MRI and another biopsy in a few months, but both doctors were of the opinion that my case warrants only what they call "active surveillance". They didn't expect to see any changes for at least 5 years.

I do still have cancer of course, but: Whew!

Thanks for everyone's support.

Glad to hear it!

It's my understanding that my grandfather had this, and it was warranted 'not worth treating because of his age'. Which in our family is a laugh because he was like 85 at the time and is now over 100 and still going. May you outlast him (but not get as cranky). ((hugs))

David, thanks for updating us. It sure is good to hear no treatment is needed for now.

Thanks Kristen and Gloria. As far as outlasting your grandfather -- well that's a tall order! I'm glad to read he's topped a century as I hear the second hundred years are easier. (You'd have to ask my wife if I'm cranky or not....)