Chris J's Journey

Be brave, my friend - you can always ask for the 1 month cartridge rather than the 3 month, and stop if you hate it too much.

Reading your post has prompted me to arrange a PSA test. I have decided that not having it is not fair to those I hold dear.

Take care

Bri

Gutted for you having to make this decision. Think I'd be in the try hormones knowing you can stop if you want camp.

Thanks again for all your advice over the past few years.

Good luck whichever way you go.

Cheers

Bill

Hi Chris, it’s funny but for some reason you came into my thoughts today and I recalled you saying you see your consultant around now. 
Hope that you get all the answers you need to make your difficult decision. I suspect, knowing you, you won’t leave till you get all the answers.
One day hopefully they’ll find something more targeted than the current HT treatment for future PCa sufferers.

I have 3 weeks till my next PSA & T tests. Hoping the PSA rise isn’t as great as the last time. HT seems to be taking forever to leave my system so looking forward to next Jan when it’s a year since it should have started to wear off.

Best of luck.

Phil

I really feel for you Chris although I can’t imagine what your going through.

I have to say I’ve not enjoyed my time on HT but...and it’s a big but, I didn’t get the physical issues much at all - still trained hard and ran a Tough Mudder. My real issue was my head, but for me it was mainly to do with past trauma resurfacing and me having to deal with that and understanding how it had affected me. And with the help of my counsellor I think I’m getting there.

So I personally feel you could stand a chance of not really noticing the HT. My libido did slip a bit but didn’t disappear completely. But a lot of that is to do with what’s in your head at the time.

I’d say give it a chance. You may be fine on it. 

Phil 

As a newbie I cannot not offer any advice but wish to send you a positive virtual hug and love especially for your kindness when I first reached out for some advice for my OH.

Feeling sad at your news 😢 

Kind regards 

Moozel

I’m not brave nor a coward , I’m not an inspiration ( Irun is !! ). I am a thinker , well educated and a bit of a risk taker.

I’ve actually not wanted to post for fear of unwelcome comments, but felt this huge thread needed updating.

Not once in this 5 yrs post op have I had the luxury of a tiny psa nor a glimmer of hope cure-wise. Even the much refused SRT was always explained as unlikely to be curative , so I took the QOL path and have no complaints that the last 5 yrs have been a great adventure for us all. And the nicest little job as school caretaker that I’ve ever had ( but just decided to hand my notice in ).

So 5 long years of watching my psa go stupid , at least 6 CT and Bone scans and 2 PET scans , all with nothing to show until recently. A true case of micro-mets for sure with last psa months ago at 440.

I’ve had a bit of a cancer bomb go off inside me this last 6 months. Multiple spine , rib and a hip met. Two large abdo lymph’s which have decided to travel to clavicle and a lung also.

It’s been 2 weeks of long talks with Onco , GP , specialist nurses and hospice councillor. At this point you realise just how specialised and empathetic and supportive all these people are and how neutral they are with no pressure. My GP is director of palliative care at a local superb hospice and has already secured me a place there and counciling within a week. He’s known me 8 yrs solid and my 28 yr history of mental struggles and bipolar. Seeing the state of me at the moment he feels we should treat me and my fears and wishes , rather than just the cancer. Most councillors say there is no right nor wrong and that you have to make your own decision. Ultimately you aren’t responsible to anyone nor have to justify yourself to anyone. The buck stops with you.

A close friend lost his wife to breast cancer. He told me at the end she wished to hell she hadn’t had all the treatments and felt she had just wasted time ill and depressed , and all the blue lights and pointless invasive procedures sounded horrible. I asked my Onco to his face if he thought I was a tit and he laughed really loud. He said he way preferred a challenge with an educated couple rather than someone who just did everything he was told.

In the next few weeks I’ll be getting a large single palliative dose of RT to ribs and spine which should cleanly end all this griping pain I have. Other than that I’ve stuck to the plan. No HT and chemo not available anyway. Big family holiday booked and hopefully some lovely trips with my wife over the next year. That’s what I love most.

Sorry for the epic diatribe

Love and wishes and support as ever to all going through this

Chris