“The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part”
- Tom Petty (1981)
As anyone who has dealt with cancer knows, waiting for test results can be brutal. I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2019. I qualified for active surveillance, meaning I had low-risk non-aggressive cancer, with a recommendation of managing it by continued monitoring rather than the surgery or radiation therapy that can come with a risk of side effects or complications. So every 6 months or so, I get my PSA checked, along with periodic MRIs and biopsies. My test results always show up in my patient portal, so after getting a test, I nervously wait to see if my cancer’s status is worsening. This “waiting” routine has just become part of my life the past 5 years.
I just had my most recent prostate biopsy on August 29th. I was a bit more nervous than usual, as my PSA had been increasing, and my previous 2 biopsies showed an increasing amount of cancer. They told me it can take up to a week or more to get the results. I was anxious all week, and was mentally preparing for bad news and thinking about treatment options should it come to that. I finally got an email saying test results were added to my portal on September 8th. It was right before Eva and I were about to leave for the Sellersville Theater member party. Should I look, or wait until after the party? The suspense was killing me, so I took a look at my results before we left for the party.
Well, it was inconclusive to my eyes- it had both bad news and good news. Of the 16 samples they took from different areas of my prostate for the biopsy, 12 had cancer. Yikes- the cancer was almost everywhere they looked. The good news is that all of them were graded at a Gleason score of 6, indicating a non-aggressive low risk form of the disease. It was hard for me to reach a conclusion on my own, so I just had to wait until my oncology appointment at the Fox Chase Cancer Center the next day to get the opinion of my oncologist. I love my doctor (Dr. Correa), as he always takes time to explain everything clearly and answer all of my questions. And he is clearly up to date on the latest advances in prostate cancer, as he frequently tells me about the current research that applies to my case. He assured me that in spite of the volume of cancer, I still meet the criteria for active surveillance since my Gleason scores were all 6. Of course other factors are involved as well (PSA results, MRI findings, genomics, family history, age, my personal medical history, etc.) but put it all together and he strongly felt that continued active surveillance was the best approach for me at this time. I’ve been doing good for 5 years now- let’s shoot for another 5 years of the status quo! Due to the amount of cancer I have, we will most likely do another biopsy in one year instead of two, just to take another look at where things stand a year later, but for now, I breathe another sigh of relief.
I’m looking forward to putting this out of my mind for a while. Then in 6 months, more tests and more anxious waiting. And keeping my fingers crossed that I can continue to just observe without the need for aggressive treatments. So far, so good!
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