Hello all. I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I may post it in another section as well while I learn more about this support group.
I am a 68-year-old Caucasian male.
My PSA level had never seemed too much of a concern to my urologist. The highest it had ever been 5.39 two years ago. It dropped more than a point last year, but at the end of last year I had some odd sensations in my groin area after going on a bumpy bike ride. This prompted a new urologist to order an MRI in January 2022. She said she found something "suspicious."
Part of my world ended that day as I could not accept that I might have prostate cancer. I had seen my mother die of ovarian cancer, braving it out for 2 years after discovering it was Stage 4.
It took me several months to confront my reality, which I know was stupid. Finally my regular urologist looked at the MRI results and said yes, there was something suspicious and he was 80% sure it was cancer. He advised me to have a biopsy, which I did on June 2.
The results were 5 out of 22 cores indicated cancer. My Gleason Score seems to be Grade 2 3+4. The current urologist was not terribly concerned and indicated that I should consider radiation (Brachytherapy) or surgery (Radical Prostatectomy).
I have heavily researched both radiation and surgery. Radiation sounds less horrid than surgery, but I am deeply concerned that radiation can affect other organs, whereas the idea of surgery (robotic) is that the prostate can be removed entirely. But still the complications sound deadly.
I would like to ask questions about both radiation and surgery. Is this the right place to do so, or should I be seeking other groups? Thank you in advance.
