Dad just diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer

User

Posted 05 May 2016 at 22:41

My dad who is 86 has just been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Over the last five years he went to his GP for a check a couple of times as a precaution. The first check up in 2011 was fine but the second one showed a slightly raised psa level (not sure how much). His GP organised a hospital appointment for him in late 2014 early 2015. The consultant examined him and checked his psa level but and said he couldn't say he had it but couldn't say he hadn't. He put him on some tablets and said he would see him in a years time. That year was up at the beginning of this year and this time he said he thought he probably did have it and that they would scan him. He recently had the scan results which show it has spread to his right hip. He has had his first three monthly hormone injection and one radiotherapy treatment (I think he is only having one treatment). His psa level at beginning of year was 32 but consultant said it would have probably been double that as the tablets he was on would have halved it. His most recent psa level is 2.4 which is obviously encouraging. We are obviously very worried. Even though he is 86 and won't be around forever, he has always been a very fit man and looks younger than his age, and we don't want to lose him anytime soon. How long can we expect the hormone treatment to keep it at bay? Consultant said three, sometimes five years, but sometimes a bit less. This seems to fit with what I've read on the net. Would appreciate any advice/reassurance, are there any foods/supplements that may help? Is there anything that will limit side effects of treatment?

Many thanks.

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 01:25

The one shot of RT was probably to reduce any bone pain in the hip met and to reduce the risk of him having a fracture. It sounds like the tablets he was on were to relax his bladder and reduce prostate size to make weeing easier - these tablets are known to halve PSA readings so they look better than they really are.

There is no way to guess how long hormone treatment may last - the fact that his PSA has dropped significantly is a good sign but that's it. Some men on here have had 10 years on hormones, while for others they have only worked for a few months. Once the hormone stops working, they sometimes add an extra hormone that works in conjunction with the first, or they change to a completely different hormone. A small number of men will choose to be castrated rather than take tablets for the rest of their life. Some may have chemo but that might not be in your dad's best interests so they will offer treatments that they believe will benefit him but will not cause too many other medical problems.

Research tells us that 80% of men in their 80s have prostate cancer although many will die without ever knowing. It is more concerning in your dad's case because of the bone met but all you can do is wait & see how the PSA trends go.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 05:30

hi bobby
this is a worrying time for you and we will all try our best to help, if you are able please post your dads results ie Gleason score

am not as old as your dad but was diagnosed last march Gleason of 4+5=9 with PSA of 20, this dropped to 0.19 in sept now at 0.02, am on 3monthly HT injections and have had chemo
Have cut out dairy products, drink green tea and use soya milk in my porridge which I have every morning with some nuts mixed in for protein, cut out processed meat and red meat.

the HT will affect dad in loss of testosterone as this feeds the cancer some of the symptoms
dad may find his waist will grow due to the hormones I have gone from 30inch to 34inch trousers, his mood may change quickly and can become emotional for no reason, hot flushs basically most of the issues you ladies deal with

we bought a small portable fan for me to carry, cotton clothing

I am still working and doing a bit of running and I think keeping fit is important, and trying to keep as normal a life as possible

the problem with this cancer is it affects every man differently, the best you can do is what you are already doing for dad, if he lets you go with him to appointments, it changes everyones life in some way

on the main site is lots of useful info, toolkit book, info on dealing with HT, call the speacalist nurses for a chat they are their for us all and can recommend info to you

regards
nidge

run long and prosper

'pooh how do you spell love'

'piglet you dont spell love -you just feel it'

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 13:23

Thank you Lyn and Nidge for replying to my message, much appreciated. How would I get his Gleason score and what does it mean? He hasn't had a biopsy although the consultant did say they might do one in time.

I wish you both well in your respective battles.

Kind regards

Bobby

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 14:29

The Gleason score (G3+4 or G 5+4, for example) tells the medics how distorted the cells have become and thus, how developed and how agggressive it might be. You only get a gleason score by having a biopsy and since dad's cancer is so advanced, they probably think it is not in his interest to be exposed to a biopsy with the risk of infection etc. Whatever gleason it is, your dad's is clearly quite prolific and aggressive - they perhaps don't feel they need to know any more than that.

Staging is different - it tells the medics how far the cancer has spread and is written as a T - so your dad will presumably be a T4b which is shorthand for it has spread to the bones.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 15:08

Thanks Lyn for replying once again. Just one more question: on average how long would it take for the cancer to become metastatic?

Kind regards,

Bobby

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 15:24

I don't think anyone could tell you that. There are at least 27 types of prostate cancer - some will hang around in a prostate for 30 years and never become metastatic while others I think doctors suspect become mets very, very quickly. In hindsight, my father in law's cancer must have gone to mets within about a year but of course, we didn't know that at the time - doctors don't have crystal balls any more than the rest of us :-(

You asked about diet, supplements etc. People have very strong and sometimes opposing views on this but I think scientists would say cranberry juice helps with urinary problems and bladder irritation, and a prostate-healthy diet would include lots of cooked tomatoes, garlic, onions, broccoli and soya. Pomi-T seems to have some decent reviews in small scale research but probably a good idea to check he doesn't have any other medical issues that might contraindicate supplements like this. Reducing dairy, red meats and processed foods is also thought to be a good idea but on the basis that your dad is in his 80s, it may not seem proportionate to change his whole way of living now?

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 06 May 2016 at 19:19

Lyn, thanks for replying again. It has been very informative and a great help for someone just starting to learn about this disease.

Kind regards,

Bobby

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