Long term remission and cure

Hi AW,

During my RT treatment I became friends with someone who had T3a diagnoses , the same as me at the time .

We meet every 3 to 4 months for a little check in , 

He is doing brilliantly, he has been off HT for 2 years now and his PSA has remained undetectable during this time .Around 6 months ago he told me he said to his consultant ‘ is it fair to say I’m in remission’ and his consultant said ‘ its fair to say your cured’ . 
As you can imagine he was over the moon and I was so pleased for him , he is living his best life now , he is looking great and a  PC success story .

I’m sure if he sees this he won’t mind me writing this as he is a top bloke . 
His journey helps me to continue the fight .

BW

Tony

Ok AW, I'm not one to harp on but as your asking here's a few words

Diagnosed 2013, Gleeson 6 , PSA about 5, tumour size about 3mm

Went on AS for 4 years, then PSA about 13,  two tumors with possibly a third, nearing capsule edge.

So 20 sessions of Radiotherapy but no HT.

PSA 6 months after treatment 1.33 and apart from a blip about 3 years ago still going down, last one was .26.

That was 18 months ago so suppose have to have another one, always a nerve wracking time.

Anyway, a success story suppose but of course there are many others, early diagnosis the most important bit, obviously.

Best wishes 

Steve 

A good suggestion AW. I think such positive stories as you suggest will bring hope to many. 

I am just wondering though about the terms of ‘remission’ or ‘cured’? At what point in the journey do both apply? They don’t seem to be in our Hospital Trust vocabulary other than ‘treatment with the intention to cure’ was used as treatment was being started for my husband! So, we don’t know, 2 years after treatment was finished (and we live with 6 monthly PSA tests) whether this is ‘remission’, ‘cure’ or an expectation by the medics of the dreaded ‘recurrence’!

Hi Grundo you’re not harping on, honest!  Personally, I am well aware of your success story and so it’s nice to see it included in this thread.  Let’s hope many more such stories are added.  AW

Hi @Tony 123

exactly the response that is needed to reassure others that treatments can, and do, work.   AW

I was diagnosed nearly 8 years ago as T3A N0 M0, Gleason 4+5=9 with a PSA of 15. From first referral by my GP (when my PSA was just 11) to the start of treatment was over six months. We lived on a Scottish island at the time and there was definitely a postcode difference in the diagnosis process between islanders and mainlanders! I had tried the local PALS service but my complaint was handled by the Head of Imaging at my local NHS Trust and, since the complaints were about long delays in that area, it was swept under the carpet! Luckily, I had the chance of a meeting with the Secretary for Health when the Scottish Government brought their cabinet meeting to our island and suddenly all the difficulties were ironed out. Within three days of that meeting I got a letter from the PA to the Secretary of Health with a list of my next six appointments, which were confirmed by the NHS within the following week! It's amazing what a bit of self-advocacy can achieve.

Anyway, I had 3 years of HT (Prostap) which started in October 2018 and 20 sessions of RT in February/March 2019. By the time the RT started my PSA had dropped to 0.4 and by the end of RT was down to 0.1. It became <0.1 (the lowest reading our NHS Trust could detect) after another few months and remained there throughout the remainder of my HT. My last Prostap injection was in June 2021 and I was then on 6 monthly PSA tests. By June 2022 my PSA has risen to 0.2 but I had a conversation with my CNS who said "You still have the remnants of a prostate so we expect there to be some PSA. If it goes above 2.0 we'll do something about it.". Luckily it has remained around 0.2 ever since. So, I'm currently in "remission" and will be considered as "cured" if my PSA stays at the current level until March 2029, which will be 10 years from the end of RT. At that point I will be signed off by Urology and there will be no more PSA tests funded by the NHS. I might consider continuing with private PSA tests but haven't decided yet.

I will be 79 in a few weeks and walk at least 5 miles every day, doing the local Parkrun (walking not running) most Saturday mornings. I also go rowing (usually about 10k) a couple of times a week both on the local canal and on the sea.

The fatigue following RT was a definite downer but my friends from the rowing club formed a rota and made me go for a walk every day which soon built up my fitness. There's an interesting phenomenon about the "Big C" as it really shows you who are your real friends; the others just fade away as soon as the word is mentioned!

Hi @Seamus47 - again, I know your story because you and I have both been subscribing to this site for years.  It’s great to see your story here in black & white : it gives great hope to those in the Gleason 9 Club who have just been diagnosed!    AW

Hi.   I had my op August 20. 2025.   I joined this site originally as I was scared, worried, apprehensive about what was to come.  It was a whirlwind of a couple of weeks where I had a mri scan. Biopsy.  Bone scan.  And got the discovery had Gleason 3+4 cancer in the tz zone.  I met Brian ( Millibob) soon after and we discussed treatment etc. as well as football etc.  It was a great afternoon we spent    I opted for surgery although not looking forward to it I arrived at the hospital 7am.      Anyway.  Fast forward to now and I’ve had 3 undetectable psa results since and due another soon.  I had negative margins and was really lucky that after TWOC I was fully continent and have been since.   When I look back I’m not sure how I got through it but the support off people on here was a massive help . I never thought that a year later I will pull be in the position I’m in and still have a wobble now and then thinking I wonder if they missed something !    To all the other guys on here, pca isn’t a death sentence and after treatments you will get there and be fine.  As bri often says     You die with it not of it    Best wishes to all.     Simon