I began to get PSA tests about seven years ago when my urine stream became weaker At that time my PSA was 1.9. It rose slowly until 2008 when it was 4.5. My urologist suggested a biopsy which did not find any cancer cells. The PSA jumped up and down for the next two years when it hit a high of 7.2. That biopsy consisted of eighteen cores in which cancer cells were found in twenty percent of one core. The pathology report came back as Gleason 6. I then had a CAT Scan and bone scan which were negative for metastisis. I consulted radiologists, a surgeon and a medical oncologist. The radiologists and surgeon each suggested their specialty. The oncologist asked what I wanted to do. I jokingly said "nothing" and she said it was a good idea, but I might need treatment at some future date. I then decided on Active Surveillance and asked my urologist to monitor me every three months.

Over the next year my PSA continued to jump up and down from a low of 5.5 to a high of 7.6. My urologist did another eighteen core biopsy this year and the report did not find any cancer cells, but did find atypical cells in one core. The report was good, but two days later I could not pee, had a high fever and uncontrollable shakes. I wound up in the hospital for five days with around the clock IV antibiotics for a serious ecoli infection and a catheter in my urethra.

In June my PSA came down to 6.2 which was good news. There is, however, a warning I want to give all of you. I thought I bruised the heel of my left foot right after my hospital stay, but it never got better over the next six weeks. One day, while searching the Internet, I found an article which listed side effects of Cipro which I have taken several times over the last four years. I investigated the topic and found out that Cipro can cause Achilles Tendonitis and rupture. Be aware of this since Cipro is often used to treat prostate infections.

I received a request to update my story, so here goes. Since June of 2011 I have had several bacterial prostate infections which have been treated with antibiotics. Each infection clears up after two rounds of antibiotics, but the PSA does not return to the low point of last year. With each infection the PSA rises three points, but only comes down one point after the antibiotic treatments. I now seem to have a permanent condition called asymptomatic inflamatory prostatitis. This condition does not have symptoms other than occasional infections. After having a total of fifty four cores removed over a period of nearly five years and only one core of Gleason 6 during the second round of bioplies I believe it is not likely that the cancer is progressing. I had an MRI with a rectal coil two days ago. If anything suspicious shows up I shall contact an infectious control doctor to see if I can hve treatments to lessen the possibility of another blood sepsis before I consent to another round of biopsies.

There has been a big change in my story since I last posted on this site. In late 2012 my PSA rose to 14.1 and I had an MRI with a rectal coil which showed two nodules. I agreed to a targeted biopsy of the nodules, but was surprised to learn that my urologist took twenty nine cores. The two nodules were cancer free, but Gleason 7B (4+3) was found in one core where Gleason 6 was found three years ago. Since my enlarged prostate had a strangle hold on my urethra I decided on DaVinci surgery. A fried prostate from radiation would probably make urination more difficult. I chose Dr. Vipul Patel in Orlando, Florida who has performed more than six thousand DaVinci prostate surgeries. Although I hated to make a treatment choice, I am happy with the outcome so far. The pathology exam of the gland downgraded the Gleason score to 7A (3+4) and everything was contained within the prostate. Within two weeks I was completely continent and I am currently on a rehabilitation program involving the use of of a penis pump and Cialis.

What do I do now? My PSA is undetectable and everything related to prostate cancer is working perfectly except for a scare I recently had with a swollen inguinal lymph node. I thought I probably had an inguinal hernia which is common after prostate removal and went to my urologist. He did not think so and I then went to an oncologist who ordered a PET scan which showed a red hot lymph node and some uptake in a testicle. Now the thought is testicular cancer and an ultrasound was ordered. The ultrasound did not show a mass in the testicle and a biopsy of the lymph node was performed. The end result is neuroendocrene cancer, a disease I never heard of before. Three weeks ago life was great.