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Recurrence rate a worry

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User
Posted 21 Aug 2016 at 00:17
Have locally advanced G8 which can only be treated with radiotherapy , having just been thru chemo rad for head and neck which has a relatively low recurrence rate am a bit concerned that UCL says it's one in three for prostate!

Any one heard any more encouraging stats?

Mart1n0
User
Posted 21 Aug 2016 at 14:10

Hello Mart1n0 just to say hello and bump your post for you

******

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails
User
Posted 21 Aug 2016 at 15:40

Hi Martyn

Firstly well done on your head and neck success. If you research Dr G you could well find better odds for G8 and T3b which might be comforting but are they more realistic? There are those past my G8 and or T stage who like I have beaten those odds via RT and mostly combined with HT for around the decade mark. But sadly there are those with far less staging who didnt make as long. Which all makes the odds from the experts a best estimate from the survival data to-date.



Do bear in mind there is life after recurrence as those above are a very good example of.
Good luck on your PCa journey

Ray

Ray

Edited by member 21 Aug 2016 at 15:53  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 21 Aug 2016 at 15:42

Hi Mart1n0,
it depends on the circumstances of each patient - generally speaking, radiotherapy and surgery both have a success rate (success being that the primary treatment works and there is no recurrence of the cancer within 10 years) of around 85 - 90% for a man with an early diagnosis. For locally advanced cancer, the stats change quite dramatically - some surgeons wouldn't be prepared to operate at all. And even if it is thought to be contained, they can put all the stats into a nomogram and find that the prediction of recurrence is much higher. Also if you are young, as you are, there is more chance of it coming back. My husband was diagnosed with a T1 Gleason 3+4 and PSA of 3.1 but the hospital calculated that even with surgery, there was a 55% chance that he would need salvage treatment. We thought it was probably a mistake but sure enough, 2 years post-op the cancer came back. Salvage RT at that point was predicted to have a 80% chance of working. Touch wood, he is fine 3 years later.


So when you say UCL is predicting 1 / 3 recurrence rate, is that from Mr Google or has UCL said that in your case, it is likely to recur because of where it has already spread?

Edited by member 21 Aug 2016 at 15:42  | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 22 Aug 2016 at 20:33
Thx Lynne, i have lymph node infection so the only treatment option apparently is HT followed by RT. Started HT Late April and PSA down from 27 to 1.4 by mid July, Onc has prescribed eight weeks of RT staring Jan so my body has more time to recover from the Head and Neck RT which was most unpleasant!
Thereafter two more years of HT and then I'll be all fine and dandy again!

M
User
Posted 22 Aug 2016 at 23:29

Ah, so the estimated 1/3 chance is based on whether only the lymph nodes in the immediate area are affected or whether stray cells have already started to move to more remote lymph nodes? The good news (believe it or not) is that the treatment plan being recommended to you is a curative or radical course - so they must believe there is a chance of eradicating your prostate cancer.

I think you will find that RT to the pelvic region is nowhere near as traumatic as RT to the head. John had his RT each mornnig on the way to work and never really thought much about it - didn't have any time off, still went to the gym every day, played rugby on Saturdays, etc. The only real side effect for him was an occasional nap at his desk! The HT was a different ball game - he hated it - but some men cope better than others.

Why did you have head & neck RT?

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 23 Aug 2016 at 09:32

Hi Martyn,


They gave me a 60% chance when I had RT for G9T3N?M0 back in 2008.


For a couple of years everything was fine, I was off all treatment even HT, getting my life and health back to normal.


Then it came back in 2013 with doubling PSA etc so it was back on HT.


Last year I had a second drink in the last chance saloon, they gave me salvage HDR Brachytherapy, yes you can have RT twice now.


They didn't give me any odds second time around, they have only been doing RT twice for a very few years and do not have enough patient histories to base any statistics on.


My Consultant is honest enough to admit that he doesn't really know what my target PSA should be after two bouts of RT, but he seems satisfied that at 0.2 over 12 months later is good enough.


Full detail in my profile.


:)


Dave


 

User
Posted 23 Aug 2016 at 20:46
Yes they are saying the idea is cure but UCL do state on their site the 1:3 recurrence so have to wait and see.
I had a small tumour just above my voice box and infected lymphs there too so standard treatment is chemo rad for entire jaw and neck area , not much fun.
I gather RT down below is far less strenuous so what about HT did John find so bad, been on it four months now and apart from the no sex bit doesn't seem so bad?

Thx

M
User
Posted 23 Aug 2016 at 20:49
Hello Dave

My you have certainly been thru it so full sympathy and admiration for sharing it.

Regards

M
User
Posted 20 Mar 2017 at 00:22
It took a while to commence but have just finished 8 weeks of RT

So what next then, I'm not due to see my Onc for three months no scans or anything just a PSA test prior to seeing him.

If that's it then the whole process has been an absolute breeze compared to the Head and Neck dramas!

Long term tho there is a much higher recurrence rate for vis H&N which rarely returns after two years whereas risks for locally advanced PC is never really eliminated apparently.

So answering my own question seems it's just Fingers crossed then!

M
User
Posted 20 Mar 2017 at 00:31
Just finished 8 weeks of RT

So what next then, I'm not due to see my Onc for three months no scans or anything just a PSA test prior to seeing him.

If that's it then the whole process has been an absolute breeze compared to the Head and Neck dramas!

Long term tho there is a much higher recurrence rate for vis H&N which rarely returns after two years whereas risks for locally advanced PC is never really eliminated apparently.

So answering my own question it's Fingers crossed then!

M
User
Posted 20 Mar 2017 at 12:59

Congrats on finishing this round of treatment. As you say fingers crossed it has all worked as expected.

User
Posted 23 Dec 2017 at 22:15

Lymph node metastases of prostate cancer above diaphragm often occur in the supraclavicular fossa on the left side (Virchow‘s node).

Edited by member 23 Dec 2017 at 22:16  | Reason: Not specified

 
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