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.

Yes.........at the very least, go see a doctor and get yourself checked out. While there are none of us who have any sort of an idea as to how you feel, and how you really see life, just remember one thing.......there is no gift from God any more precious than that of life. He have you life, don't just decide to end it without giving yourself a fighting chance.

Far as I can tell some awfully good advice here. I have a friend who's PSA is more than double yours. 10 years ago he was given 2 years to live. Treatments have improved and they know a lot more just in that time. I don't hardly see how you can make an educated decision, that effects you and all of your family without getting the information it takes, to make that decision. I've known a lot of men that got that and they are all alive today because they didn't roll over. Go see a good surgeon, and get educated, then sit down with the family and make a decision. PSA numbers by themselves are not a death sentence. Years ago I knew a man who decided to do what you are saying. His son told me his dad went through a horribly painful experience before he died. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Other side of coin, around 7 years ago mine went from 6 to 8. Urologist gave me a year and was "so sorry" , wanted to treat me right away right down to castration. I looked at how long the money would last without a job, hence no insurance, and what that would do to my widow. Different guy backed my decision

What does your urologist say?? Large prostates give high PSA numbers also. Mine was as high as 27 but last check it went down to 23.

I agree with everyone who recommends you go see a good doctor, learn what you are dealing with, and make your decisions relative to the rest of your health. It's sound advise, and there are some amazing treatments today that were not available even 10 years. ago.

Go see a doctor go God’s sake, I’m going next month, I’ve had 3 biopsies, but they haven’t found cancer. My PSA goes up and down.

I hear what you are saying. You are 82 years old, that is quite a long life.
My brother's wife got cancer and they went through all the chemo therapy etc. She suffered intensely because of the medical treatments, and she died anyway, after 18 months.

See, when the docs do all these treatments on you, it may or may not increase your life span, or make you feel better.
But it will definitely improve the doc's checking account.

My brother has said that if gets cancer he will not take chemo therapy, and I am of the same belief.

Stick it out through the next election anyways. PA, and our nation, need your vote. You cash it in too soon and you'll name will be on a democrat voters list.

Who is ordering blood work for PSA once a week??

Yeah, I'd be thinking about, more of those steak dinners and Holiday's with your family.

Wishing you the best.

Cancer isn't something to take lightly. Go see a good oncologist. If it's a 2hr drive, do it. A 30PSA is cause for concern. There are 200 or so strains of cancer and several strains of prostate cancer. Get after it as early as you can. Treatment isn't near as unpleasant as death by cancer..............you don't just not wake up, there's a lot of pain before that happens. I let an enlarged prostate go too long because I didn't want to go to the doctor. Finally went and PSA was 686 (not a misprint). It had metastasized to the bones. Did radiation immediately then went on treatment and a clinical trial study Feb.2017. Last almost 3yrs PSA has been <.01. Don't be counting on clocking out, it can be controlled. But go to a good clinic.

I will miss you. I won't be alone.

Please reconsider getting a truthful opinion from the doctors.

You may get lucky and get a beautiful lady doctor!

Go on that 2 hour drive but let someone else take the wheel. Enjoy the view while you mull your options.

I am too. But I will find out what the situation is and make an intelligent decision. I would probably have surgery and have it removed. I live with a high PSA number and have had a few biopsies. Apparently I have a large prostate and take medicine for it. There are several ways of dealing with prostate cancer. Make your decision AFTER you get educated. That's all I'm saying about it. Get educated!!!

My first cousin is 89 and his PSA has always run 8-12 and he's had several biopsies over the years! The pathologist told his urologist that he had gone blind because I've looked till my eyes have hurt and I find NO CANCER CELLS!!

I've had 44 radiation treatments a year ago and my PSA level was 10. I've had some trouble from Radiation Cystitis but I'm doing OK. PSA is so low it can't be read.

Don't give up! Hang in there!!

the VA DR ordered one and it was 20.437.. she contacted my urologist and he wanted another thinking the first was a mistake , but it was higher.

Not unusual when you think there's a problem with results.

Got it, Is your urologist going to do a biopsy to see if it actually is cancer??

It was cancer in 1999 and I had surgery. in 2009 it was coming back and I had 44 Radiation treatments.. it settled down until 2019 and began going back up. it double this month and has gotten to 30.00..I have an appointment at the cancer treatment center in Philadelphia PA on Dec 10th they are going to see if they can make a treatment plan that will work for me, I would like to be here to Vote for Trump at the 2020 election . but god knows best. as my Grammy would say.

We would all like like for you to be here too, Hubert.

Best of luck to you.

The screening advice this young lady provides .... and also as provided by the American Urological Society... and as provided by this “task force” is .... in my opinion.... absolutely wrong.... as in .... wrong .... period, end of discussion.

I had had the psa screening and it picked up increasing numbers. I had a biopsy done and was shocked that at an age..... younger by a number years to the age this young lady was referencing..... shocked .... when the doc called and told me the biopsy showed I had prostate cancer and that it was.... his words...”the killing kind.” The cancer would have killed me before I would have reached the “guideline age.”

I had a business associate that was screened and then diagnosed at age 45. He had no idea there was anything wrong and his cancer was advanced. He got treatment and survived many more years. Similar story with an engineer I knew....in his late forties when a psa screening caught it. He still lives and would have likely suffered and died with it had he not had the screening.

I wonder if this guideline recommendation is driven by “medical treatment economics.” I would wonder if the expected “total lifetime treatment cost” for the insuring entity is less...overall.... if men don’t get screened until later in life? Like they say, “follow the money.”



FWIW..... my advice is that men over forty should have annual psa testing done.... either to provide a psa level history or to catch the early onset of prostate cancer.



Add: a number of years ago, My wife and I visited with a man.... mid fifties ....who was dying in the final stage of prostate cancer...she asked him if his physicals had picked it up.... he replied that he never had any sort of comprehensive physical....

From what I’ve heard and seen, the only downside to having your prostate removed is you may encounter erectile disfunction. F*** at 81 who gives a [bleep] about sex when you have 3-4months of hunting and 7 months of fishing and golf to play.

hang in there, sir! prayers sent from VA!

To all those concerned.. I went to the cancer treatment center in Philadelphia. They spent two days testing me , and found that there was a minimum of spread. and if nothing was done I would live for about Two more years. If they started a treatment program I could go for 5 to 10 more years because they said I was in good health for my age . they said I was more like a healthy 62 year old than an 82 year old.. I took several stress tests and passed them all.. so I am beginning my treatments today . It consists of pills for 30 days with shots beginning 2 weeks after I start my pills. the pills are to help me tolerate the shots . if all is ok the pill will stop and I will only have to get the shots.. the shots can be monthly or every two months, or any multiple of months, depending on what can be tolerated by me.. I will keep you all posted if you like.. I will answer any questions you want, just ask.. yes I can still have sex and some 81-- 82 year olds are still interested in the ladies.

Good luck Hubert, sounds to me like you’ll make much more than five years.

Good deal. Glad you didn't just pack it in and decide not to do anything.

Good news, keep up the good fight!

Great news Sir,,,
Best of luck thru this.

well it won't stay 'pain free' for long. You may well change your mind about treatment. Hope you get this taken care of.

Right on Sir.
Merry Christmas!

I'm glad you posted, I've been wondering about you.

Good for you on deciding to kick cancers ass.

I wish you the best of luck and will keep you in my prayers.