Psa 1500

Trevor_Boothe was diagnosed with a PSA of 13,000 and mets (spread) all over his body but lived for 8 years I think, thanks to hormone treatment and chemo. In that time, he also survived 2 heart attacks!

Hi Neil,

I'm sure, as an ex-firefighter, you will have encountered and dealt with numerous potentially dangerous incidents. Your acceptance of this set back and not allowing it get on top of you is indicative of the man you are. Your resilience and physical fitness will help too.

I don't know how long you've been married, but if your wife has been with you through your career, she too will have gained a similar mindset.

Good luck mate.

Edited by member 16 Apr 2024 at 22:58  | Reason: Additional text

Though one can't be certain until you have all the results, it is very likely you have prostate cancer and that it is spread beyond the prostate. The usual treatment at that stage is Hormone Therapy. It doesn't cure or kill the cancer, but it does make it dormant, and whilst it is dormant no matter how far it has spread, it doesn't do anymore harm. 

If you do end up on HT the first question is can you put up with the side effects? for most people the answer is, yes. Lack of libido is probably the worst side effect. 

The second question is how long will the treatment be effective? A bit of a how long is a piece of string question. I think five years is probably a reasonable average, at least two years is a reasonable minimum (occasionally it doesn't work at all though). The maximum has occasionally been, long enough to die of something else, I think 15 years would be a reasonable statement of the maximum it will last.

So there is certainly hope, perhaps not of living a very very long life, but definitely getting to the end of the weekend.

Hi Neil,

Best to avoid Dr Google IMHO.  There are plenty of members on here that have documented their journey, including me. HT has not been kind to me, but some men seem to get off lightly. Others may say loss of libido is the worst but I think by far the worst is joint pain, but not ALL men get this, maybe just little bit of aching. Loss of libido is sad but it’s still possible to have a sex life if you experiment….and of course you want one😉 I still have one but without libido it’s an effort…and TBH I’d rather have a nice cup of coffee!
Ive just finished my HT a year early and will have been on it 2 years rather than 3. Onco was happy to do this as  my PSA is low and stable and my joint pain is causing me issues. But I’ve got through it and I think your body adapts to it. If you stay fit and active and keep your muscles strong I think it helps a lot…I made the mistake of easing off during RT and that’s when my problems started.
If you are on HT for life you might be given HT holidays to allow some recovery of your body, but I’m not sure how successful this is as it takes some time to recover your testosterone.

There are other options of course…you might be able to have an orchidectomy(actual castration). There seems to be differing opinions on whether it’s the lack of testosterone that causes the side effects, rather than the drug itself, so it’s uncertain if you’ll be able to avoid side effects if you go down this route. But if I was on HT for life I would certainly consider it….but then what if a new wonder drug comes along to avoid the need to this damaging HT? Its all really a minefield and difficult decisions need to be made, this forum and other support groups such as Maggies can help you make these decisions.

If you can, as I said before try and do things to stop your mind wandering and thinking the worst. Once you have all your results and a treatment plan in place I think you’ll find it easier to come to terms with the disease. Although I am on a curative path I know full well that I might NOT be cured, so I just try and enjoy each day as best I can and try not to think of what ‘might’ happen in the future.

All the best,

Derek