I usually don't post personal stuff either, but I will do so here for the potential benefit of others. Don't put off getting the occasional PSA test. It is important to get them regularly and watch for an increase. Mine suddenly jumped in 2018. A biopsy then confirmed it was cancer. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. During tests to make sure it hadn't spread, they discovered pulmonary embolisms, which can kill like a thief in the night. These might not have been detected otherwise. Besides getting tested, it is also crucial to select the best doctors you can get. The first doctor told me that, due to the embolisms, radiation treatment was my only option. That would have meant exposing my body (not just the tumor) to radiation. This would mean that it would be impossible to perform any abdominal surgeries that might be required in the future. There might be various complications (including cancers) down the road. No way I was going to do that to my body! I went to the best robotic prostate surgeon in the world (at Johns Hopkins). He worked with my hematologist (also among the best in his field) to do the surgery safely without the radiation. There were no problems with embolisms during or after the surgery. They got it out of there without exposing me to radiation. One of the reasons this doctor is regarded as the best is that he knows how to spare nerves and minimize trauma to the body. So everything still worked after the surgery. It was nice to not have to go around wearing a diaper!
