Hi all and first I bow to the knowledge and guidance of my 2 colleagues Brian Millibob and Derek excavator
As the heading infers I am not new to Cancer….. just new to Prostate Cancer.
May 1999 at 43……. I was diagnosed with a rare (8 in a million), incurable but treatable type of slow growing Low-Grade Cutaneous T-Cell Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
June 2012…… diagnosed with Incurable Pleural Thickening and Pleural Plaque (Right Lung) - Asbestosis……. This remains stable although my lung function is 15-20% lower than it should be.
Oct 2013…… diagnosed with a very rare (4 in a million) type of very aggressive High-Grade Peripheral T-Cell Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma taking me to Stage 4a
So between Oct 2013 and Oct 2015 I had over 750hrs of chemo, 45 radiotherapy zaps and 2 Allogenic (donor) Stem Cell Transplants and I remain in remission form my 2 types of T-Cell Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma’s to this day….. rather incredible in light of being told in 1999 that the median survival for my first type of Lymphoma was 3-5 years.
March 2023 a positive FIT test triggered a number of investigations then in May 2023 MRI and Prostate Biopsy showed I was negative for Prostate Cancer.
PSA fluctuated between 6.2 to 10.0 over the 3 following years then in Natch 2026 had a PSA of 15.0
April 2026 MRI and second Prostate Biopsy confirmed Prostate Cancer Gleason (2+2) 4…… T2a.
In Prostate world I am on Active Surveillance…… In Lymphoma World we call it Active Monitoring.
Looking forward to learn from your experiences but based on navigating 26 years of some very challenging treatments nothing phases me now.
Hello Mike Thehighlander
A warm welcome to our little part of the Community although I am so sorry to find you joining us.
Just a question on your Gleason Score - Should that be 6 (3+3) which is the lowest Gleason Score going and that would equate to a T2a.
I think with a PSA of 15 you need to be on 3 or 4 monthly PSA monitoring tests. For a man of "our" age under 4 is the normal with up to 6.5 acceptable so 15 is quite high.
Kind regards - Brian.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
Strength, Courage, Faith, Hope, Defiance, VICTORY.
I am a Macmillan volunteer.
Yes you are spot on Brian Millibob - big finger little screen…..
I am starting on 3 monthly PSA tests and a MRI in Oct and this will be the baseline for going forward 
My best wishes to you Mike Thehighlander, I sincerely hope your AS remains successful in the very long term and no other treatments will be necessary.
Derek.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
Thanks Derek excavator that is certainly the focus we have and even during the most challenging times over the years there was always hope….. until hope runs out…… and in our book HOPE = Have Only Positive Expectations.
Hi David David2017 and thank you for your encouragement and wise words.
My Urology team have been great and more or less said what you have said….
for you is a mild inconvenience.
I certainly don’t underestimate what could happen but based on the stories I see in here but also a good number of close friends the picture is positive moving forward
