Nephrostomy - Advice Please

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User

Posted 10 Jan 2022 at 15:32

My 88 year old father has had prostate cancer for over 15 years. He keeps things to himself, so I don't know his PSA/Gleason. Don't think he has really had any treatment, just watchful waiting. Until now he had been reasonably healthy, is independent and drives.

Last week he had a nephrostomy/catheter into his kidney - presumably because the tumour is impinging on his uretha and stopping him from passing urine.

Can anyone tell me how bad this situation is please? Does it mean that the tumour has spread or is it likely? What is his outlook? Is the catheter likely to be permanent, or will they offer him some other kind of treatment/surgery?

As said, unfortunately my father keeps his medical problems to himself, but I want to be prepared and have some idea of what's going to happen. Thanks for any advice or experiences.

User

Posted 10 Jan 2022 at 20:15

There is absolutely no way we can tell you just based on the little that you know. The kidney issue might be because his prostate is very enlarged and nothing to do with his prostate cancer at all, or it may be that since 2008 he has not engaged with standard treatments and the cancer has spread.

I think you will only get a sense of what is going on and how serious it is by asking him. No point you asking his doctors as they won’t share the info with you unless they have his consent. You do have his Gleason score and staging - at diagnosis he was Gleason reading of 7 (4+3) with a clinical stage of T1c.

Interesting that you think he has been on active surveillance all these years - in 2008 you posted that he had been having hormone treatment for a number of months. It may be that the HT was stopped when the oncologist realised that dad was not going to engage with radiotherapy, or it might be that dad did have radiotherapy but didn't discuss it with you.

Edited by member 11 Jan 2022 at 08:56 | Reason: added information

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 11 Jan 2022 at 01:19

Hi Laura, I looked at your posts from 2008. Did your father have ECT and no other treatment in 13 years?

I know things may be taking a turn for the worse, but getting to 88 he has done well.

Dave

User

Posted 11 Jan 2022 at 11:23

Thanks to all for your replies. I believe my father's faith in his unconventional treatment in 2008 may have been misplaced. I believe the ECT treatment did nothing, but he credits it with making it to 88 years old with PC. In reality, as an older diagnosis, it is more likely it was just slow growing and it's taken till now to really start making it's presence felt.

User

Posted 11 Jan 2022 at 22:29

Well who knows about the ECT. It is true it has not gone main stream but things can take time, randomised control trials is the best way to know.

If his longevity is attributed to it just being a slow growing cancer it is still a good lesson for anyone panicking about rushing in to treatment (though we are all different and just because one person survived 13 years doesn't mean we all will).

Dave

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