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Help - confused about treatment!

User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 09:06

My 54 year old brother has just been diagnosed with locally advanced PC, PSA 150, Gleason 4+3, stage T3a. Seemingly no spread to bones etc on MRI/bone scan but onc surprised at this given high PSA and seemed to suggest it probably had spread but they just couldn't see it. I've already posted and had some very helpful replies but my brain is reeling and I have some further questions.

He's just been started on hormone therapy and had a 3-monthly Zoladex injection last week.  He won't be seeing the oncologist now till August and will have PSA readings in-between.  I understand that it's usual to have HT to see if it shrinks the tumours and then to consider radiotherapy but also that radiotherapy can be offered straight away alongside HT.  Can someone explain to me what the advantages of waiting for RT are over doing it straightaway? Is it because waiting makes it easier to target the cancer and thus render the treatment more effective?  Three months seems an awfully long time to wait to be seen again, especially as his disease is quite advanced.

I'm also wondering if he should go on a trial - is Stampede the most common one? I believe this may mean he gets access to newer treatments but on the other hand he may be put in a control group and not get anything at all. Would this mean he runs the risk of not being offered radiotherapy? Finally I've read the latest research about Docetaxel which seems very hopeful but it would seem that this treatment won't be available for some time to newly-diagnosed patients. The more research I do the more confused I seem to get so some advice from the horse's mouth would really help! I'm sorry this is so long, I just want the best for him and this site seems the best place to come.  All the best to you on your journeys x

User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 10:38
Dear Big Sis

From our experience, we were told that the HT shrinks the tumor making RT more effective and people are waiting 3 to 6 months now before it starts as the norm.

One point to look at is making sure that he gets onto the best RT machine available at the hospital, for us it was an IMRT but understand that this has been superseded now, perhaps someone else could comment on this.

Your information about Stampede sounds correct. It would depend if your brother is eligible for it, as a few other medical tests and questionnaires would need to be done. He may get the control arm ( which includes RT if he would be getting that as standard treatment anyway) or he may get to try the new drugs that you mention such as abiraterone and or Enzi.

In terms of the new results upon the chemo, I think that applied to men whose cancer had spread to the bones ( it gave them an average of 22 additional months) from what I understand the Stampede trial is already testing it with a group of men with cancer staged like your brother, to see if it offers them any advantage. it may take some time for this result to come through, so probably is not available at this time, but is certainly something that we will be asking about at next appointment.

It really depends if your brother has bone involvement, which I understand that he hasn't at the moment? It seems vague to say that they are unsure about this due to PSA, again others could help on this point?

The good thing about the trial is that you get many additional appointments and blood tests. I would suggest that you ask about it and speak to a nurse as soon as you can, you will then get a lot of information before the next appointment in 3 months time.

How great that your brother has got you in his corner.

I wish you all the best.

Alison

User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 12:36

Thank you for such a detailed reply Alison, it's made things much clearer. Wishing you the best.

User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 12:54

We were at the Royal London on Thursday, in the Urology Dept and were surprised to see two huge posters explaining about trials for anyone who was interested and gave details for making an enquiry.

Good luck Bigsis. It's good that little Bro has you backing him up !

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails
User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 16:06
Hi BigSis

Click on AWR1946 to see my profile, you can see the date order how I had my treatment. This may not apply to everyone but that's how it happened for me.

Arthur

User
Posted 17 May 2015 at 16:59

Hi BigSis,

A number of clinical studies have shown that hormone treatment prior to radiation treatment (refered to as neoadjuvant hormone therapy) is beneficial, particularly for those with high grade cancer (a Gleason score of 8 or higher). HT shrinks the volume of the prostate, which means that there is less ground for the radiation to cover (which in turn makes it less toxic to the healthy tissue of the rectum and bladder - and so hopefully fewer / lesser side effects). Another reason is that HT seems to "weaken" the cancer cells thus making the radiation more effective.

It is also likely that your husband will be offered hormone treatment post radiation (for 2-3 years).

Flexi

 

User
Posted 18 May 2015 at 09:09

AWR, glad you're doing so well. Thanks Flexi, I think I'll try and stop worrying now about his treatment and we'll just have to see how it goes. 

 
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