Are We The Waiting?
For the rest of 2022 and the first half of 2023, I am doing active surveillance with my urologist. This means that every 3-6 months I will be doing some kind of observation as to what I have and if it's progressing. My urologist wants me to wait 6 months and come take another PSA. There is no point in doing anything before that because the biopsy itself will cause enough inflammation that the test wouldn't yield any useful result. So I wait. The initial shock has long settled and I'm not really thinking about it much these days. Just knowing that we are watching it and that there isn't much I can do about it at the moment makes it easier to handle. Over this time, I've talked about it to a few close family members and friends, but that's about it. It's September when I get my next test: 4.24. At first, I'm a bit surprised as that looks like a pretty big jump from my last result of 3.54. However, I then plot out the results over time and I remembered that my last test was almost a year ago rather than 6 months (due to the biopsy) and so when plotted over time the jump was, essentially, linear. That makes sense to me since we aren't treating it at this time, I shouldn't expect it to just get better. The math is calming to me. Again, that might be strange, but I have mind of an engineer so I like it when the numbers make sense. My doctor agrees and wants me to come back in about 6 months.
Jump to April of 2023, and I get yet another PSA test: 3.97. So it's down a bit from September, but still higher than the first two tests in 2021. My urologist really wants to get a better sample of the specific areas of the prostate and get some samples. Now that I have a positive diagnosis, insurance will pay for the MRI-assisted biopsy rather than the traditional. So while I'm not happy about getting another biopsy 1 year later, I recognize that I agreed to active surveillance and so I can't really complain about....actively surveying it, now can I? As a bonus, I get to share my experience with both methods which may help others out there so that's a bonus. My pain, your gain, right? We schedule the biopsy for the late May, the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend here in the US. So a bit more waiting....
Please note: This blog is based on one man's experience and is for educational and support purposes only. Nothing in this blog should be considered medical advise. Always consult a physician to properly evaluate your particular health issues.