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Any man over 45 should be getting this checked thru blood work on a regular basis.
My story....
Its 2019, I'm physically fit for a 54 year old man, I feel great, no bedroom issues whatsoever and every PSA check comes out fine.
My dear Mother (RIP) is constantly reminding me to check this.
"Your Father had it, so be careful"
Ok, Mom .....I'll keep an eye on it. So every year I would show her the results and just pass it off as nothing.
Fast forward to 2020. I get my blood work back and my numbers are at 5.3(!)
Not Good, because at my age the numbers should be no more than 3.5. I had No sudden trips to the bathroom at night, no symptoms, no nothing.
Do the full biopsy and sure enough.... Prostate cancer.
It's caught very early, it hasn't spread anywhere and I have the Radical Prostatectomy Prostatectomy performed.
Sadly, even with Nerve sparing my erections are basically non existent from that point onward.
Tried every trick in the book to refire this thing....no dice.
Implanted 12/22/22.
PSA now reads 0.0.

Prostate cancer is the #1 killer of men over 60.
Get it checked.
Trust me on this.

Thanks, Mom.

Great post, Hikerman!
Mine was nearly 2.5 from 2014. In 2017, the PSA was 2.51. My Uro suggested repeating the test, and it was at 3.5. He ordered a biopsy, and it confirmed the cancer. Not sure why every doctor was telling me to have the prostate removed asap, although the number wasn't too high, but I had to do it, and prostate was removed in Oct. 2017. Ever since, erections were not achievable with all meds, till I finally got the implant.
Your action towards having the implant just a year or so after RP is the best thing to do. Good luck, and thanks for bringing that up, so everyone be aware of.

So True! Don't be afraid do it.

My story was exactly the same as yours HickerMan, I was 51.

Just curious what your Gleason score was before undergoing prostatectomy?
Mine is 3+3=6, but maybe at my age, they don't think I have long to live anyway.

At my last biopsy, the doc didn't hit the cancer cells. He was happy, but I was confused.

My PSA scores have been in the low 5s except for once they used a different lab and it hit over 7.
With the original lab, it was back to about 5.

I am tired of messing with the damned prostate though.

tomas1 wrote:Just curious what your Gleason score was before undergoing prostatectomy?
Mine is 3+3=6, but maybe at my age, they don't think I have long to live anyway.

At my last biopsy, the doc didn't hit the cancer cells. He was happy, but I was confused.

My PSA scores have been in the low 5s except for once they used a different lab and it hit over 7.
With the original lab, it was back to about 5.

I am tired of messing with the damned prostate though.

Hi Tomas,

Here is my quoted Gleason score.

"Overall MRI sensitivity for prostate cancer detection = 47%
Sensitivity for tumors > 1 cm or for Gleason > 3 + 4 = 72%"

It's strange because after my 91 year old Father's prostate diagnosis he had radioactive pellets put into his prostate.
This was 22 years ago and it never progressed.
Most men WILL have some form of Prostate cancer in their later years.

Best wishes.

I am glad to see this post too and will be reading all of the replies.

I am 78, implanted and still have my prostate, my PSA is usually under 3.0.

My question is how are you guys doing with the implants? I know you can no longer ejaculate, but has it changed your orgasms? Is it a different nerve system that enables the orgasm? Is the sensation the same? I've been wondering about this.

AmansinCali wrote:I am glad to see this post too and will be reading all of the replies.

I am 78, implanted and still have my prostate, my PSA is usually under 3.0.

My question is how are you guys doing with the implants? I know you can no longer ejaculate, but has it changed your orgasms? Is it a different nerve system that enables the orgasm? Is the sensation the same? I've been wondering about this.

For me personally, something very unique happened after my Prostatectomy.
The refractory period is almost non-existent anymore, meaning I still "feel" like I'm
Ejaculating(same muscle spasms, same throbbing) but obviously nothing comes out.(Dry)
After " ejaculation" occurs I can immediately return to having sex.
That ultra sensitive feeling at the head of your penis 10 seconds after orgasm isn't there
anymore, I feel like I can go and go and go.
Even when I was 18 I needed 10-15 minutes to "recharge" now it's immediate.
I don't know if anybody else has had the same experience after RP but I would be curious to
Find out.

Take care.

FinallyBionic wrote:Great post, Hikerman!
Mine was nearly 2.5 from 2014. In 2017, the PSA was 2.51. My Uro suggested repeating the test, and it was at 3.5. He ordered a biopsy, and it confirmed the cancer. Not sure why every doctor was telling me to have the prostate removed asap, although the number wasn't too high, but I had to do it, and prostate was removed in Oct. 2017. Ever since, erections were not achievable with all meds, till I finally got the implant.
Your action towards having the implant just a year or so after RP is the best thing to do. Good luck, and thanks for bringing that up, so everyone be aware of.

Thanks brother,
I could have radiated it and prayed, but with 2 teenage daughters I decided
not to take chances.
I'm glad I did.

I'm looking forward to.walking to walking them.down the aisle one day.

Best to you.

I'm not sure if mine has ever been checked. Got my annual physical coming up with my new doc. Definitely have to check that. Thanks for posting this!

Concur 100% with getting checked. Career (now retired military officer), fit, strong and literally very few medical issues. At age 62 during a routine rectal my doc felt a nodule on my prostate, ordered a PSA and it was 6.5. He advised a biopsy but said if I wanted to wait six months we could check PSA again since it was the first time it was elevated. Fast forward six months and it was the same. Went in for the biopsy and all 12 cores were cancerous and a 4+3 Gleason. Doc advised surgery but offered a consult with another doc who said they could take care of it with radiation. After researching and discovering that if radiation did not work surgery would be more of a challenge. Decided to just do the surgery. Once in surgery doc discovered the cancer had spread outside the prostate. Was forced to take the nerve bundles on both sides meaning the chance of ever having a natural erection again was 0%. Disappointed(devastated really) I was still thankful that he was able to get all of the cancer out. Started immediately with a VED followed up with a Trimix experiment that worked but......... left me with an hours long painful bout of priapism. Some of the worst pain I ever experienced. Realized that wasn't going to work. Doc recommended his colleague who did implants. Had a consult, found FT, and the decision to get an implant was a no brainer. Six months after my prostatectomy I was bionic. I was fortunate to get my implant so soon after RP. I lost ~ 1/4" off of pre RP, not pre implant size, because every man loses size with RP. My doc sized me correctly and she maximized what I had. Do I "wish" I had that 1/4" back? Only because I could "brag" I was 7" But seriously it was/is not a big deal. I have a beautiful, loving wife (33 years) and our sex life has not missed a beat. In fact I can perform until she taps out now so a big plus. All to say every man absolutely needs to get checked for prostate cancer regularly. My doc said most men will die with prostate cancer but in todays world no man should die from it.