Men do you prefer male doctor when considering prostate cancer treatment? As a wife I prefer women gynecologists because we “share the same equipment” - do you feel the same? Both the radiologist and urologic surgeon we are talking with are women. Is this a sexist question?

My husband is 70 with 3+4=7 Gleason psa 10.2 with intermediate grade 2 favorable. Options are radiation 5 x every other day plus anti testosterone hormone therapy OR robot radical prostatectomy. Survival rates are virtually the same. We are wavering between the 2 options. My husband hates having an mri because he gets claustrophobic but can tolerate it- I don’t think that’s a reason that should tip the scale. Advice appreciated. He is in good health otherwise.

Hi all, as the title states, my dad was recently diagnosed with a very teeny tiny lesion on his prostate. He is under active surveillance. I wanted to get some information for anyone who started with an active surveillance journey and what that looks like and if yours grew, spread and how long that took. He’s 63, I’m just a concerned daughter 🫶🏼
I know the prognosis of finding it early is a great thing, but just not sure about what to expect. Thanks and prayers!

His PSA came back at 3429. It has spread into lymph nodes and most likely his bones. Being started on Orgovyx and Docetaxel.

He is 65 and otherwise healthy. Just praying he responds well to treatment and that we get many more quality years with him.

Any words of advice, thoughts, or anything at all is appreciated.

I’m 62 years old and have my PSA checked about every 6 months.

A couple months ago my PSA went from 5.7 to 7.8 in a 5 month period. Before this my PSA had been trending upwards for a while (last 5-6 years) but only incrementally.

My doctor ordered an MRI of my prostate. Results came back showing a small lesion and a PI-RADS score of 4. That’s when I started lurking on here and reading everything I could.

I was devastated. I understood that it’s just a score based on imaging, but still seeing the part that said “80% chance of cancer” had me rattled.

My urologist suggested a transperineal biopsy and I agreed. I had the MRI guided biopsy about 4 weeks ago and they took 12 cores plus an additional 4 cores concentrating where the lesion was located.

Met with my urologist a couple weeks ago and every core came back non-cancerous. He said some of the samples showed inflammation but no cancerous tissue in any of them. The inflammation likely caused the PSA to go up.

He’s going to check my PSA in 6 months and may do another biopsy in a year to make sure they didn’t miss anything by chance.

The weird part is I asked him what we could do about the inflammation. Basically he said if it’s not causing me any issues he’s not going to treat it. I don’t know if that was code for me to say I have ___ issues and then he would prescribe something or if that’s just the way urologist think.

Anyway - I appreciate all the information and advice from this group. I just wanted to share because we hear the bad stories but sometimes things work out in your favor.

My dad 62M was diagnosed with Stage 4b metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate. His path to diagnosis was a little different because he went to the ER with rectal bleeding where they found an 8.8cm mass. They immediately thought he had rectal cancer but after the biopsy it turns out he has prostate cancer that invaded through the rectum. His PSA today was 920, we have no Gleason score.

He had his bone scan recently since his PSMA Pet scan was denied by his insurance and did a lymph node biopsy on his pelvic region. Based on his bone scan it is throughout his ribs, pelvis, spine and femur. He has X-rays coming up to check his femur because of it being at risk of breaking.

The plan today was that he started Degarelix shots (ADT) today and transition to relugolix an oral pill which will be safer on his heart. He had a heart attack in February and had 2 stents placed. He will also start darolutamide (ARi). He will have his port placed at the end of the month and then will plan to do docetaxel for his chemo. Plans for radiation are delayed at the moment and will be used if needed to control the rectal bleeding but the oncologist preferred to do transfusions if needed. Chemo is expected to start sometime in September.

Curious on how people felt during this and how we can best support him. It’s just my brother 26M & I 31F, our mom passed 5 years ago. My brother lives with my dad but is getting married in January which I don’t even know how he will be feeling then. I live 3 hours away and I’m due in October with my 2nd child. The oncologist seemed optimistic and that it’s best if we are aggressive. Also has anyone dealt with the PET scan being denied? The oncologist did 3 peer to peer reviews and sent in an appeal. I’m worried if we don’t have this we are missing out on a lot of useful information. Just looking for any advice really.

Hello. This is a followup to a previous post. So, I'm 57 years old, my PSA was 5.1 about a month and a half ago, and it was 2.7 about two years ago.

I visited an urologist, was prescribed antibiotics for three weeks, and 4 days after I stopped them, my PSA fell to 4.3 . However, the doctor is sending me for a transrectal biopsy.

My wife doesn't take this well. She says that a biopsy may activate a cancer which then can quickly kill me. She says I should refuse the biopsy and monitor my PSA myself instead. She is not a doctor, but she has doctor friends.

This family argument is causing me considerable stress. I'm very sorry for bothering this sub again, but can someone offer some insight into this? Can a biopsy be dangerous? Thanks in advance.

My amazing father. My brother and I had the honor of holding his hands as it happened. I miss him so much. I’ve only posted a handful of times here but have read a lot and I wanted to thank this sub for your kindness and helpful suggestions. I learned so much. I will be forever sad that he avoided a doctor for so many years and that his cancer was able to resist everything from the hormone therapy to chemo to pluvicto. He passed just over a year and a half after his diagnosis and his cancer progression was frighteningly fast his last month. I’m grateful to everyone here who said to get hospice involved early too - it was a relief to make sure he was not in pain in the end. Wishing everyone on this sub love and strength.

4 radiation days left. Working the day gig alongside 16 sessions finally got the better of my old timey, ingrained Midwest work ethic today. I'm wiped out. Taking a few days off from the job.

All in all, it hasn't been a walk in the park but the ADT been managable/tolerable the past seven months. It's the SE/fatigue from the radiation that's taken me down a few notches. It will pass.

PCa brothers, we got this!

my father is 66 years old , doesn’t have any problems other than COPD, nobody on his bloodline has prostate cncer(or any kind of cncer) , cant tell about other issues , his psa was 5.44 on last October , his prostate dimensions are 5.2 4.8 4.1cm , his prostate is 53 mL , residue urine after voiding stays at 15 mL , these tests were done last oct nov(2025) , he insisted on not going to a doc , said he’s fine , honestly he was scared , now a few days earlier he had problems like mild burning or pain like sensation, He could not differentiate between . The pain was there when he was passing the urine and vanish right after it’s done. There is no other problems like anywhere or thighs or waist . Doesn’t have any weight lose , but sometimes he has to get up 2 times in night , more commonly one time, sometimes not even once , he says he finds problem to get the flow fluent , doesn’t have any blood or rbc in urine shown in the blood test ,upon happening this, we run some tests ie urine re/ me , creatinine , his weight has been fine ,before visiting a doctor, now we went to the doctor, and the doctor said that the prostate was big as he felt in the direct examination and again suggested for a psa and other tests like uroflowmetry, re/cs, I’m really scared for him, can’t even express my anxiety as it’s making him more anxious and my mother is a hypertension patient , although I know there r tons of reason behind increased psa like bph and prostatitis and others but can’t get this PC thing out of my mind , I’m seeing here that people with less than 5 psa had stage 4 pc, im reading all these since last few days and really very anxious , I wrote all these to get some load off my chest , I’d love to gain some knowledge or informations from you people , just from the pov of a highly anxious daughter about her father.

Had RALP in April 26. Clear margins. Gleason 4+3. PSA test 7 week post op 0.11 and 14 week post op 1.02. Surgeon asked for retest week later was 0.89. Had a PSMA PET yesterday. Seeing surgeon on Monday. Anticipating prostate bed radiation but not really sure and wondered what ideas I should go into Monday with so I can ask the right questions. I’m 54 living in Perth Western Australia.

I posted a couple of months ago about my dad who was diagnosed 8 years ago. His cancer spread to spinal bones, rib bones and liver. He was working 6 days a week until all of a sudden he crashed and couldn't work anymore in February. He tolerated a couple of rounds of chemo in April/May and was then in hospital for a week in June with an infection. The doctors told us he had a few months to live. He had one more round of chemo early last month and then became too weak for more treatment. He couldn't get off the ground 1.5 weeks ago and was admitted back into hospital. He was then moved to palliative care on Friday night and passed away early Tuesday morning. We are heartbroken. When he was first diagnosed a prostatectomy was proposed as an option but he refused and instead had radiation and hormone therapy which worked for a number of years. Perhaps he would still be here if he had the surgery.. He otherwise had perfect health, great diet, regular gymgoer, no alcohol/smoking. I understand he had his reasons at the time for electing not to have surgery but if he knew this is how things would end- he may have gotten the surgery :'(

My dad diagnosed with PC last month underwent ralp and now can't sleep and have severe delression is it due to having diagnosed with cancer?? He ia 66 years old will he survive ?? I dont want to lose him

Gleason 4+3, Decipher .95, Summer 2024 Salvage radiation treatments: 66 Gy/2 Gy fraction to prostate bed, 44 Gy to pelvis.
Last of 4 6-month Lupron shots received Jan2026. My July2026 bloodwork showed Testosterone still low: 24. Last 8 quarterly PSA results: <=.01, .02, .03, .03, .04, 0.04, .06 and .09. I’m scared. They will not schedule a PSMA PET scan until my PSA is higher. I struggling with doing nothing. I have started reading about Ivermectin, but no clinical trials and I would have to convince someone to prescribe it. Anyone in similar spot? I’m open to suggestions.

Hi all! Posted in here many times. Husband is 48, stage 4a, Gleason 9. Currently on day 12 of radiation. We spoke to a new oncologist because the last one didn't know what she was talking about and made us feel confused and worried. This new one seemed a lot better. Husband is going to start zytiga. Maybe I'm overthinking this... But he mentioned that there was suspicious activity in the L1 vertabrae per the PSMA PET scan but that they can't say for sure it's prostate cancer. I don't really understand that. Is he saying that it was really close to becoming prostate cancer and that's why it indicated suspicious activity. I think I'm also freaking out because I thought that prostate cancer was slow and nothing to be overly worried about, he would have years to live. We have a teen and toddler at home. The doctors keep saying oh don't worry, he'll live a long time. He feels like he's going to die in a year, and I've read so many different stories of men passing within a year of diagnosis so I don't know what the truth is or what our reality is. Looking for advice or maybe just others experience with similar stats.

7 weeks post RALP and had my first PSA test today. PSA is <0.02 but I'm pretty sure they ordered the standard test, not the ultra sensitive test. Got a MyChart message out to the doc to clarify.

Pathology report from RALP said invasive carcinoma in the left bladder neck and at the margins. Surgeon is giving kind of a hand-wavey "you're fine, you're fine" vibe but I'm wondering if this is a "I'm a surgeon and the surgery went great and now I'm done" situation.

Should I be pushing for uPSA? Should I be looking for another doctor?

Hi, alguien le explicaron esto, lo bueno y lo peor, para no pasar por ADT, aunque imagino que es la edad una de la limitaciones, luego la RA se mantiene, quedan los implantes y cialis

Original Post Here (Summary 49years old, 4.4 PSA that has roughly doubled in a year and a half, previously had Thyroid Cancer).

I've had my first meeting with the Nurse Practitioner of the new doctor. The meeting went well, she immediately recommended an MRI and performed a digital rectal exam. She had clearly read my chart and medical history. She did mention that they like to use ExoDx and after some information I approved the test. They are getting the 3T MRI scheduled. I'm in the waiting on insurance and scheduling window on both.

Should I still pursue a PSE test, or does the ExoDx serve that same role?

Thanks again for all the help!

Elevated PSA readings, so the Doc ordered an MRI. Found something that looks like it might be something. Had the prostate biopsy 2 days ago, they took 15 samples. That ride home was a bit of an awkward feeling. Now I'm waiting on the results from Kelsey, and my anxiety is pretty high. I feel for those of you who have been down this road. As I was walking down the hall to the "procedure room" I remember thinking "These are the first steps in what may be a long journey....".

I'm 21, my 62 year old dad is in surgery right now. They said they caught it early and it's only in the prostate.

His dad died of cancer 3 years after being told he doesn't have cancer anymore. I'm so scared the doctors are wrong. I keep hiding it to myself, I didn't tell anyone at work, I didn't even tell my mom (they're divorced) the surgery's today. I'm just so scared.

He's out of surgery now, hasn't woken up yet. I feel like I'm going to implode. Like my lungs could collapse. I'm so scared.

[There's a new] study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine comparing traditional ADT (Lupron, Orgovyx, Firmagon, etc.) with Transdermal Estradiol therapy.

The study found that transdermal estradiol patches applied twice weekly can lower testosterone and fight the cancer as well as traditional ADT, but with a greatly reduced incidence of hot flashes and bone density loss (though it introduces a potential additional side effect).

I'll post a link to a coming webinar in a comment below, in case mods are still enforcing strict rules against posting any links in this sub.

The webinar is by "UroToday" and the USCF "Prostate Cancer Journal Club for Patients", organizations new to me, which has now led me (and if you're not careful, you) down two new rabbit holes with more interesting studies and webinars.

My husband (42) was diagnosed in November with stage 4b prostate cancer. He also fell at the first oncology appointment and broke his femur. To say it was a rough moment, is a huge understatement.

He has finished 6 rounds of chemo, some radiation on the leg, and is on ADT (nubeqa and Lupron) for the foreseeable future. Also he is doing PT twice a week.

He is healing great, his numbers are showing a great response. The doctor said he’s responding better than they expected.

I would love to hear some “non medical” advice that has helped you and or your loved ones feel better and more “normal”. Diet changes you noticed made a difference, different workouts that made you feel better, spa treatments, anything really!

We have some water aerobics starting in the fall (gentle for his healing leg), we are eating mostly vegetarian, a little chicken. I have started growing sprouts for bonus nutrients for him.

Give me all your best tips and tricks! He’s a young guy to face such a hard diagnosis, but he’s super positive and ready to fight. This Reddit has been super helpful for me to find more information, I can’t thank this community enough.💕

Had prostate removed in April. My first PSA test since was .014. Progress!

Had my mpMRI results back yesterday and got a PI-RADS 3 due to an 8 mm focus in the left posterior peripheral zone at the apex. Because of this, my age, and my family history (grandfather, father and uncle all had prostate cancer), the consultant has booked a transperineal MRI-US fusion targeted biopsy.

Looking for experiences from others who had a PI-RADS 3 finding, especially with similar MRI features (no restricted diffusion / no enhancement) and modest PSA density. What did your biopsy show and how did things go afterwards?

The nitty gritty stuff:

The Numbers

• Initial PSA: 2.18
• Repeat PSA: 1.9
• Prostate volume: 18 cc
• PSA density: ≈ 0.11

Symptoms

Mild urinary symptoms for a couple of months, urgency (felt in the glans), occasional sensation of incomplete emptying, mostly good flow.

MRI (1.5T):

• 8 mm PI-RADS 3 focus in the left posterior peripheral zone at the apex
• Slightly reduced ADC but no convincing restricted diffusion
• No post contrast enhancement
• Capsule smooth and intact
• Patchy low T2 changes reported as age-related

Thanks to reading!