CancerCompass message board discussion started by parex on 3/17/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,22078,0.htm Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Just came back from Mass General and my biopsy showed cancer gleason scale of 6.I am 74 very good health 6 year survivor of lung cancer and a ranked senior tennis player who loves to be very active.I have no physical problems except aching knees.My doctor a surgeon recommends radiation over surgery and watchful waiting but  no seeds.Any thoughts or experience to share.TIAPeter Reiss parex Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi Peter,Just a few comments re. your message.How many needle biopsy's did you have and how many were positive?A Gleason of 6 is good. It shows the cancer is not aggressive............at this point.When I was diagnosed, my Gleason was 6........however after a month when I had the surgery, they upgraded it to 7.Do as much research as you can including talking to as many friends who have or have had prostate cancer; in order to make an informed decision.If you elect surgery; my advice would be to find a top prostate cancer Doctor. That was my mistake.....I went to a clinic, and had a very young Doctor. Post surgery when my PSA started to rise; the first thing my Oncologist said to me was "your Urologist underestimated the extent of your cancer".Best of luck to you. Stan. shep42 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 3/17/2008 shep42 wrote:Hi Peter,Just a few comments re. your message.How many needle biopsy's did you have and how many were positive?A Gleason of 6 is good. It shows the cancer is not aggressive............at this point.When I was diagnosed, my Gleason was 6........however after a month when I had the surgery, they upgraded it to 7.Do as much research as you can including talking to as many friends who have or have had prostate cancer; in order to make an informed decision.If you elect surgery; my advice would be to find a top prostate cancer Doctor. That was my mistake.....I went to a clinic, and had a very young Doctor. Post surgery when my PSA started to rise; the first thing my Oncologist said to me was "your Urologist underestimated the extent of your cancer".Best of luck to you. Stan.  parex Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT I had 12 needle biopsy and half had cancer all on the right side.The surgeon is one of the top surgons at Mass General but he recommeds radiation in my case. parex Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Biopsy readings are subjective, so it's worth obtaining a 2nd reading of the slides if you havn't already done so.The previous advice to have a top doctor is most important, regardless of the treatment method you choose.It's difficult to compare the various treatments as there are so many variables, and most treatments have improved greatly. Several options can probably provide very similar results, so it comes down to consideration of the potential side effects and personal preference.Have you considered Proton treatment or Loma Linda? the protonbob website has information and stories. Johnw100 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT I also am a tennis player.  No matter how good the surgeon you have a risk of incontinence- which wouldn't be much fun playing tennis. I opted for radiation and hormone therapy. Good Luck needhelp Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT For whats it's worth; I play golf 3-4 times a week. The surgery left me incontinent.......and it's no big deal.I guess it depends (no pun intended) how incontinent someone is.Stan. shep42 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Proton Beam Therapy is a treatment worth checking out.  It's non invasive, painless, and has minimal side effects.  I had it at Loma Linda and am thrilled with the results.  Mass General also does it.  For more info, go to: www.protonbob.com. After asking my wife to marry me it was the best decision I ever made! Oceanman Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thanks,Oceanman,I will have a meeting on Ap.2 with my urologist,a radiologist and a oncologist to go over my options.My urologist/surgeon recomends the Proton treatment at this point,if I was younger he would recomend surgury.Do you have any question for me to ask?TIA,Peter parex Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi, I am currently recovering from surgery after a radical prostatectomy three weeks ago.Like you, I had absolutely no symptoms and was stunned when informed that I had cancer..I'm a little younger than you (62) so it was fairly obvious to me, that it was critical that I get rid of the offending organ. My gleeson score was 7, but the interesting point to me was that the post Op pathology showed a lot more cancer in the prostate than showed up in the pre-op biopsy, so that had I opted for radiotherapy or brachytherapy, it would have been the wrong decision. The good news is that there was no sign of spread to the surrounding tissue, so we are waiting until the follow-up tests to confirm that I am now clear.Like you, I am very active, still working and with a lovely wife, who for some reason loves me dearly, still very sexually active, so you can understand my reluctance to make the decision for a "radical". I very nearly took no action at all and was prepared to just let the cards fall where they may.Obviously, we will have some adjustments to make as we go forward, but the view ahead is looking better all the time. I wish you well in whichever decision you make.Cheers,Ron (NSW Australia)     bowie Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Patient parex: I am Bowie' above age, circumstance and am 15 mo. post rp (no node involvement...) with undetectable psa (knock on wood)..have several friends your age whom successfully (5+6 yrs past treatment) did seeds. Why did your Dr's say no seeds?...I would NOT say that a Gleason of 6 or so is NON/NOT aggressive..wish you well and hope you do well for a long & happy life.. Kenny Bouy Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hey have you looked at a Drug called DCA.It is being studied in Canada.They have found it to turn cancer cellsback into normal cells.It's been around about thirty years.It cost pennys to make that's why you want hear much about it.Go to youtube.com type in the search area DCA.You will find news reports from Canada about the drug and the scientist working with it.Also you might want to look into something called B-17 which is made from apricot seeds.It have long history since the 50's to be able to kill many cancer cells what what I've read.Also as far as surgery look at yahoo health section a few days ago.there is a new procedure to freeze the cancer cells in tumors in lung cancer from France that just got here on Monday.Freeze it and the cells die with no surgery from what article said. Healthtips Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT