23 February - Pathology Results

Barb and I are just back from our appointment with Dr. Dwyer- six weeks post surgery.  We had to wait almost an hour to get in to see him, but it was worth the wait!  He had the results of the PSA test I had on Monday- the PSA is undetectable.  The cancer is gone.  Of 38 slides taken from the prostate itself, about a third showed cancer.  But the cancer was contained and thus removed.  The tests of the margins are negative.  My grade of prostate cancer is now T2c.  This means the cancer was on both lobes, but did not spread beyond the prostate.  My Gleason score is 3 + 4 which is what it was before surgery.  This means the tumour was mostly low grade.  Dr. Dwyer’s take on the pathology results- “These results are as good as it gets.”

What happens next?  I will have a PSA test every three months for the next year.  If there should be a recurrence, it is likely to happen in the first year.  But there is no reason to think there will be. 

These results indicate that my choice of active surveillance was the right one when it was made in June 2009.  It would have been great if I could have continued on that path, but it wasn’t to be.  If I couldn’t be in the 65% who would never need treatment, then this is the most favourable outcome I could expect. 

Dr. Dwyer feels that things have gone well to date.  He checked the incision and it seems fine.  I will continue to heal over the next couple of months, but I no longer have restrictions on anything. 

So happy hour coming up will mean a bit of a celebration for us!  We appreciate the concern so many have shown, and we’re more than happy to share this positive news.  Now we've got packing to do- we head to Florida on Tuesday!

Wayne and Barb