Without an understanding of your medical records, you are likely to research the term “prostate cancer” alone, which can lead to a bottomless well of impersonal information. With some understanding of your records, you will learn to research prostate cancer in context of your own biology – your own pathology, PSA pattern, imaging results, and prostate size, to name a few factors. 

The surprising finding, after 12 years, was that there was no difference in survival between surgery and watchful waiting in the Low-Risk or in the Intermediate-Risk group.  On the other hand, men who were in the High-Risk category did benefit with improved 12-year survival when treated with immediate surgery compared to the men with High-Risk disease who did watchful waiting.