Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire PSA Numbers

Well Gents.. I think my time is getting near. last week my PSA was 20.432 today it is 30.00, it has went up about 10 points in a week. It has taken it 20 years to get to 20.. not a good sigh.. My daughter wants me to go to cancer treatment center but it is about two hour drive from home, and I don't want to go through the pain and suffering of it . my sister is now doing that for the third time now.. I had a good life and did everything I wanted to do... I am virtually pain free that is all I asked for from the higher up (god) . I am not concerned about it as much as I thought it would be. I am 82 now that is more than I ever expected . so when I go soon I may see you all on the other side . BY

Good luck.

You will make the correct decision I am sure.

I would a least talk to the Doctors. They will tell you your options. Then you can make a wise decision. Good Luck.
Hasbeen

I am with you. There are lots of questions about even checking at old age. 5 years of intrusive debilitating expensive treatment just to make a doctor rich is not in my plans either.
Good luck on whatever you do

Don't give up too soon. Find out your options before deciding.

You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to check it out and weigh the options. It could be something caught early and easy to fix. The longer you wait the worse it will be. Good Luck and God Bless.

Milk that medicare for another $2 million. Tyrone Porkbone would.

Hubert,
Let me give you some thoughts to consider. I am 65 and had prostate cancer surgery last year. I have no other health issues and am doing well.
My uncle is 81 and had radiation treatment for prostate cancer this year. He is active, travels a lot and has no other major health issues. Treatment was easy. His decision was based upon the answer to questions his Dr. asked and you should asked yourself.
Are you otherwise healthy? No life threatening illnesses. If you have other major health issues they may get you before the cancer.

What is the longevity of your family? May indicate if you have another 10+ years ahead of you. Most of my uncles family lived into their late 80 to mid 90.

Are you active in life and want to continue to be so?

Talk to a urologist surgeon before you decide what to do or not do. At your age they will not consider surgery. And keep in mind if you do not treat it and it spreads it will become painfull, extremely.

Sorry to hear this Hugh . God bless.

playing devils advocate here

but PSA results and the decisions made from them have changed drastically in the last 4 years. irregular cells are sluffed from the bladder frequently and will be picked up if you have a scoping. these are often given way to much importance

something in the last week has changed your regular conversion of testosterone and you are experiencing higher levels of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone. DHT--- are you or have you taken Avodart in the past?

There are other options available for your situation and I'd look into to getting the radiation implant! Here good things on it! GB

This.

And rainshot's comments too.
Many on this forum have been through this and are still hunting, shooting and enjoying life.

Choose Life.

My psa was almost 20 and was going up exponentially when the third biopsy found Gleason 7 cancer. Had surgery at 66 but had a positive margin on the pathology report and it recurred after a little over a year. Had radiation and psa has been <0.010 (undetectable) for the last year or so. At 82 you probably wouldn’t be offered surgery but radiation gives practically the same results/cure rates. There are different radiation regimens but in my case it was 8 weeks of once a day treatments. Other than the monotony of once a day trips to the clinic, it was essentially a non-event.
Research your options, side effects, etc. so you can ask informed questions and go see the doc. Depending on your overall health, he may just have you do “active surveillance” where you keep an eye on psa and have biopsies once a year or so to check for progression.

Go get a good consult so you know what you are dealing with.

I've been there.....had the prostate removed at 57.... had to follow up with low dose radiation 3 years later...

so far it has been undetectable.... I had my work done at CTCA in Phoenix....

was inspired by a local friend, who at 77, had a PSA count off the charts...
had his prostate removed, did the same low dose radiation at Cancer Treatment Centers ...

he's 88 now and still as ornery as ever......so don't give up yet... unless that is what you want to do..

working in the medical field for 40 plus years, I've seen a lot in life and helped people deal with it...
for my own personal philosophy, which is contrary to accepted medical practice...
is Quality of Life....

When my own life gets to the point, that there is no Quality of Life left in it, that is the time the Good Lord is telling me its time to come home...
That will be my personal choice..... that is a decision each person has to make on their own...

Quality of life, is gone when I would become a financial burden to my family, when I'm really of no use in life, and would need people to do simple daily living assistance for me just to make it from dawn to dusk daily.

Your health and your outcome are in my prayers Hubert... everyone who has to deal with that is my brother.. the biggest prayer from me is that you can come to peace with whatever your decision is... and that your family can accept it and also be at peace with it...

we all have a beginning and we all have an end.... we have no control over either, we only have control over what is in between that period...
One of God's greatest gifts is to have been able to live a good life...and I pray the Good Lord has given you that blessing...

God be with you Hubert...

Every decision in life, particularly with regards to your health needs to be based on cost vs benefit. I would darn sure do some consulting before throwing in the towel. Best wishes, and some prayers coming your way.

I respect your strength but keep in mind that Prostrate cancer is usually slow growing and it won't be pain free through the whole process.

At your age they just might elect to use pill to extend your life, You'll probably end up dying of something else not related to the cancer.

I'll bet you kids aren't willing to let you go yet..........At any rate you should at least talk to your doc.

What ever you decide good luck, I wish you well Hubert.

You have a lot more steak dinners to enjoy. Get checked out by a quality professional.





P

This. Don't get in a hurry to pass on, Hubert. Life is precious and you'll never know or have the joys you will miss.