As part of my new mantra, Health and Fun, I decided to get on top of any medical issues. I discovered that I had a serious case of prostate cancer. I suspected this would be the case as 10 years before my PSA number started to move. The problem with prostate cancer is that the treatments frequently result in unwanted side effects. Therefore, most strategies are related to surveillance until it becomes serious. Over 3 million men in the US today have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Most men over age 70 will have prostate cancer but very few will die from it.
Unfortunately, my cancer was identified as serious and growing in a position that it might escape from the organ. So treatment was required. My urologist told me that I had months to get treatment but probably not a year. So it’s a good thing I broke from work and focused on health.
The good news for me is that I qualified for a new procedure called TULSA Procedure. It was approved by the FDA in 2019 and most of the substantiating data reports are from 2020. There have been about 2000 performed in the US. I was patient number 36 at the center where I had the procedure done, and I was patient number 10 for my urologist/surgeon.
I am past the procedure and have been released for all activities. I have a check-up this fall and then it looks like annual visits thereafter. Multiple people have told me that I was an ideal patient in terms of issues and geometries for getting a good result.
This new procedure has a chance to be a game-changer. Since collateral damage is likely to be minimal for this non-surgical procedure, men can be treated sooner rather than using surveillance to delay as long as possible.
Here is some information:
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