my brother in January, now me!

Hi David welcome to this site and sorry that you have to be here but we are all in the same boat as you either by being the patient or other halves or family, it touches us all.

I was diagnosed in Feb 2015 with PSA 63 Gleason 3+4=7 aggressive PCa confined to the capsule I was only offered HT and RT as my prostate is too close to the rectum wall with a risk of leaving a trace or breaching the wall, either way I did not have the choice to make.

I can only say that for me my PSA went down to 0.5 after six months on HT and following RT has dropped to 0.01 and undetectable, so am in a good place at the moment.

All the side effects of both HT and RT were tolerable although tend to get me down occasionally but my view,is it is better to be alive.

Although I have no libido (part of side effect) and have hot and cold flushes with general fatigue I am glad that I did not have to go through the ED and incontinence issues that so many others have after having a radical prostectomy. It would still have been my decision if a prostectomy had been offered.

There may be others on here that will tell you their story or experiences and once you have divulged all the information from all sources I am sure you will make the right decision for you, unfortunately only you can make it.

You can call the nurses on this site and talk to them for anything that you feel that needs explaining better, they are really knowledgable and will help you tremendously.

Best of luck with whatever treatment path you choose.

Regards Chris/Woody

Life seems different upside down, take another viewpoint

DW, I am sure the oncologist will explain - if he believes it would be true for you - that all other things being equal, surgery has exactly the same success rate as radiation & hormones in terms of total remission at 10 years, but is more likely to result in permanent side effects. I am always impressed by any hospital that routinely arranges for newly diagnosed men to see both a surgeon and an onco - the opportunity to talk through possible outcomes and impact is priceless.

Good luck with your decision-making

David, I will be on HT for another twelve months with nothing else planned but only time will tell as when the effects of HT wear off after another two years it is possible for my PSA to rise if there is some PCa surviving. No one knows if they are ever cured or if cancer will come back so it will be monitored.

I am 66 at present and have also started the add Asprin trials which will be for the next five years. If something occurs within that time it will be closely monitored and dealt with, I hope.

The hormone treatment has done and will carry on doing its job and I personally think that for my situation it has been the best way forward.

The side effects have been tiredness and some muscle loss, hot and cold flushes day and night, loss of libido and extreme tearfulness for no reason and also when seeing anything happy or sad. whatever way you go for treatment there will be side effects and as Lyn says there will be permanent side effects with surgery. Possibly prepare a list of questions for each of the specialists and see what you are told by them, it may be easier to make your decision then.

Best wishes, Chris/Woody

Life seems different upside down, take another viewpoint

Unfortunately, no treatment can 100% guarantee that no cancer cells have escaped even where the cancer is contained within the prostate, though in such cases the risk is much reduced.

This is not a recommendation but there are other treatments apart from surgery and radiation/hormone therapy that patients are not often informed about. This is largely because these are not generally available at treating hospitals and long term outcomes are not so well established. However, some patients feel these can have advantages. Cryotherapy and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound are two of these, the latter being an alternative where the cancer is localised, especially where it is on only one side of the Prostate. Of course, looking at other alternatives will be regarded by some as adding to the dilemma of making a treatment choice but for a few may provide a preferable option for suitable patients prepared to research alternatives.

I don't know if you'll see the same chap we see. (You're not allowed to say names on here) but he said my other half would need no hormones whichever treatment he chose. I think because his prostate was normal size.

He had brachytherapy Jan 2015. Although he's had a bad year with side effects. (Prostatitis and radiation induced cystitis) The good news is psa now 0.6 the consultant said if it's below 2 still in 18 months then there is a 90% chance the cancer will not return.

Also a friend of ours had brachy at Addenbrookes when he was 50. He asked whether he could have surgery if it returned. The consultant replied that it won't return. But to answer the question he said he would perform surgery but incontinence is a lot more likely (and ED)

All the best.

Edited by member 18 Mar 2016 at 11:05  | Reason: Not specified

Luther, thanks. Mine is probably 2b, one side only, with some PIN on the other side. So when did you have yours done, and any help on ED?!

dAVID

Thanks Al. Was Brachy an option for you? I understand that as mine is contained, is T2a/b, and Gleason is 3+4, PSA 13, I could possibly qualify for Brachy?

David

Didn't really discuss rt options , had decided early on to go for surgery. I don't think brachytherapy would have been appropriate anyway as mine is a t3b with some seminal vesicle involvement.

Cheers

AL

This wasn't mentioned but again probably not suitable for me. I understand that the side effects of hifu can be much less that other treatments.

Cheers AL