I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, gleason 3+4, T1, N0 M0, 3 years ago, and at that time the agreement between the urologists, my wife and myself was to embark on active surveillance. No problems were raised at all for the next 3 years, all PSA's were stable. My wife, being a retired health professional, and having read about this to the n'th degree, insisted I should have another scan to see how things were going. The urology consultant was OK with this.
Fast forward 3 months to now. The scan showed something 'that needed to be looked at under a microscope' - their words. So a biopsy. Results of this, much to their, and obviously my surprise, were now locally advanced to the capsule, Gleason 4+5, T3a, N0 M0. Not to the seminal vesicles or anywhere else thankfully. So much for stable PSA's. Thank goodness for the wife's persistence. Action was sprung into immediately, Bicalutamide prescribed to start THE SAME DAY, and first Prostap injection 2 weeks later, for at least 6 months, but almost certainly longer. Then radiotherapy, not for at least 6 months, and maybe a bit longer. The plan is to cure this, and although they did give me information about surgery, I could tell, without them saying so in so many words, they were leading me to this treatment plan. Given that I am 76, i have high blood pressure and slight asthma, a general anaesthetic probably isn't the best plan.
So here I am. I'd love to hear from anyone who is about to, or is in the middle of travelling this same road. As yet, I have no little to no symptoms from the hormone treatment, but of course it's very early days. Anything anyone can tell me, who is further down the road than I am.
The thing that's causing me the most frustration though? Travel insurance. I had a policy attached to a bank account, which now declines to insure me at all. I would have been happy if they'd just covered everything else an exclude the prostate, after all what's going to happen with it any time soon. The questions asked in the searches aren't the right questions, i.e. am I waiting for treatment, not really, in as much as I am not on a waiting list and could be called any time. I know I won't get radiotherapy for at least 6 months.
I have searched in vain for a policy that will exclude it, and if anyone out there knows of one that does, I'd love to know about it. I can get a policy, just for a week mind you, that costs half as much as the holiday costs. I'd not mind just going with the GHIC card as it's europe we're going, but of course you have to consider those unlikely events like having to be repatriated, not covered by the health card. Can you buy a simple policy just covering repatriation and nothing else? Seemingly not. I get the feeling sometimes that once you develop something like this, those 'out there' that make the decisions, think you should just stay at home and vegetate.
Anyway, rant over. I am really happy to converse with, and indeed rant with, anyone who is having the same or similar frustrations. Ranting is really good for you sometimes, especially with like minded people.