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Off RT but still on HT

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 12:55

Hi all

Just a wee update on my journey so far, just finished RT after 7 weeks without many side effects. I thought I would come off HT so that I could get a clearer picture to see if RT had targeted the cancer cells successfully but was told that I would still need HT for at least another 2 years.

The reason given was due to the "high risk" of the cancer cells coming back somewhere else, was hoping that after RP, RT and HT the cancer would be driven out but it seems that there is little hope of this happening. Consultant advised me that there was a 60/70% chance of the cancer coming back.

A wee bit upset about this but hey ho I just need to get on with it, have to wait another 3 months for a PSA test now so going to try and put all of this to the back of my mind now and enjoy xmas. The one thing that gave me food for thought was the consultants percentage that he gave me for my survival rate in 10 years which was given at 40% to still be here. It certainly puts things in perceptive now such as work etc.

Anyway enough of my moans and hope everyone has a good xmas.

Sandy

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 13:02

Hope you have a good Christmas too Sandy and can set aside the thought of PC for the "festive" period. Not easy though when you have all this hanging over you.

I can understand your disappointment but having come this far and put up with so much already it must be best to kick the carp out of PC if you can.

All the best

Sandra

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails
User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 13:12

You've done amazing mate and faced it head-on. You've done all you can. Just enjoy Xmas and the next 3 months , then start again. You may be fine. It gets easier to take it one step at a time. You reach a point where you realise worrying is UTTERLY FUTILE haha. Face it , it's a waste of time.
I'll raise a glass or seven on Xmas day to everyone in the world suffering from this disease. Then get my latest psa result on Jan 4th which will probably have doubled again.
Best wishes
Chris

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 15:25

Hi Sanders,
John's predictions were similar to yours when he was starting salvage RT/HT but 5 years later his PSA is still bumbling along at between 0.04 - 0.09 so we are beginning to dare believe that the salvage treatment worked. Interestingly, he was supposed to be on HT for two years but gave up after 6 months because he couldn't bear the side effects.

HT or not, a PSA test at this point wouldn't tell you anything about whether the RT had worked ... it often takes 18 months to 2 years to get a new nadir.

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

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 15:53

Hello Sandy,

                  I am going on app. to see my consultant next week after a CT scan taken at the end of my treatment. 6 chemo's and on HT for the rest of life. He told me verbally the chemo had worked ; spread to my pelvis and a couple of lymph nodes. He tells also I have "YEARS"  left , whatever that really means. Not looking forward to my app. as concerned what else may happened!!!

Let's enjoy a couple of beers at Xmas.

 

Roy

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 16:32
Hi Roy

Hope all goes well with your appointment next week.

Having a few beers at Xmas sounds good to me.

Sandy

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 16:39
Hi Lyne

Yeah I was told to forget about a PSA test just now as seemingly it increases straight after RT.

It's just the not knowing what is going on inside. I'm a wee bit eager to find out but sometimes I guess sometime it's best not knowing.

So far my side effects from HT has been limited to flushes, although not too severe. Going for 4th HT implant next week.

Sandy

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 16:49

i was told rt does not benefit everyone about 1 in 10 people,anyone else been told this.

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 17:01
Hi

Nope this is news to me. I was informed that it would definitely be of benefit as the radiotherapy would eradicate any cells that were lingering around the pelvic area.

Who told you that.

Sandy

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 18:11

What do you mean radar?

When you look at NHS statistics they say over 90% of men diagnosed at an early stage will still be clear of disease 10 years after RT or RP so I guess that infers that fewer than 1 in 10 find that radical treatment doesn't work for them?

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

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 18:17

Sandy

Appreciate I'm biased here as extended HT could well be the reason I've done so well thus far. The disappointed feeling will fade. So go with that HT as long as you can always keeping in mind the first target of 10 years is still viable.

Keep doing well

Ray

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 18:52
Hi Ray

If HT keeps it at bay then so be it and I will keep getting the injections for as long as it takes.

The way the consultant was talking, he wants me to stay on Zoladex for at least 2 years then take me off it for a short period to see how things are.

But he doesn't feel the odds are very good and HT could be for the long term the same as yourself but it's a small sacrifice to make.

Looking at your PSA over the past years it doesn't look bad at all.

Sandy.

User
Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 20:48

radar,

I can't believe that such a statement would be made by a reputable physician!! As with any treatment, RT is more successful if the cancer is diagnosed early and is confined to the Prostate but even where it has locally advanced, it can, particularly with some HT, often delay the further spread of PCa. Then there are cases where men have had a Prostatectomy but RT has been given as a salvage therapy because the surgeon has not been able to remove all the cancer but the RT has completed the job, at least for a long time, (a friend of mine is in this situation). RT can also be used to alleviate pain in remote spots of PCa in bone, so can be of benefit. The most frequently used period to consider how successful a treatment is is over 10 years. Taken as an overall proportion, approximately up to a third of men who have RT will need salvage therapy of one form or another within 10 years but still have restrained the advance, at least for a time before possibly needing further treatment. The remainder, who do not need further treatment within this time frame or ever, benefit even more from having RT.

Barry
User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 00:48

Hi Sandy,

If you want cheering up, check out my profile, we have a lot of similarities:

I was diagnosed when I was 54 with Gleason 9. 

RT & HT were the only treatment options.  Incidentally you need a total of 3 years HT along with the RT.  Initially this is to shrink the tumour so they can focus the RT beams on a smaller target.  Then you need it afterwards to stop the cancer cells growing while they die.  (Look up 'adjuvant hormone therapy' on Google.)   

My consultants told me, because I asked them outright, direct questions, that firstly with Gleason 9 I was likely to die of PCa, and that the RT had at best a 60% chance of curing me.  Incidentally they define a cure as keeping me alive long enough that I die of something else. 

In the event it didn't cure me, but I have subsequently had salvage HDR Brachytherapy, so even if your cancer comes back you should be a candidate for that treatment, and while I am not counting my chickens that too has knocked the cancer back, maybe a cure, more likely an extra few years remission.

My last PSA test was 0.2 so I should live to see the swallows return this summer and I will then have survived 10 years post diagnosis.

So plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

:)

Dave 

User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 09:31

hi,yeah read your posts,but when i was dx in 2014 locally advanced t3b no mo sv+ my oncologist was not keen on me doing rt,i was shocked,but i said i have got to do it because there will always have been a doubt in my mind,i mentioned it to my macmillan nurse and she said probably side effects,then when i was due to start rt he said we are going for the cure,also i was supposed to be on zoladex for 3yrs after rt but my onco took me after 2yrs 5 months altogether,thats ht before during and after,i asked my macmillan nurse and she said 2yrs is what a lot of people do now and thats because my psa is 0.05,its all a bit confusing.

User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 10:09

Hi Dave

I read your story again and there is a lot of similarities in our journeys. I too was only given the HT/RT option due to T3B, G9 and PSA 32, I asked the consultant to enquire around the country about prostate removal but nobody would entertain me due to the fact that it was classed as aggressive and locally advanced.

A day or so prior to starting HT the only surgeon who could and possibly would carry out the Radical Prosectamony had just returned to work after being of long term sick, we chatted for about 3 hours before he decided that he would carry out the surgery and he did state at the time that Radiotherapy would almost certainly be required. Post surgery consultation did show that not all the cancer cells were removed so it was onto HT and then RT.

On the subject of Brachytherapy I was under the impression that I would not be suitable for it in the future, but he did state that there would probably be something in the next few years that would benefit me as we all know things are changing all the time.

I too like to know what is happening so I asked many questions that some people would rather not know the answers too, when asked about a successful outcome he just stated the facts that while they are trying to cure the PCa chances were stacked against that happening with myself which was due to the severity of the PCa. I have now come to terms with that assessment and am now looking forward to the future with some optimism as a lot of men on this forum have lived for a good few years after being diagnosed.

The one question that it did bring forward was do I carry on working or do I retire and enjoy life outwith work.

Onwards and Upwards.

Sandy.

  

User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 15:31

Hi Sandy

I was self employed at time of diagnosis with 7 years to go before retiring so should I retire now was the question of the day. I had a meet with charity nurse at hospital who advised take a year off and take it from there.
As work was physically demanding I retired. On that basis a good decision as fatigue was severe. However emotionally not so as I liked working. In the end we refurbished a property and did the same again etc as that way I could rest if need be.

Hope that helps a bit

Ray

User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 20:15

Hi Sandy,

I am sorry if I misled you, I hadn't been aware that you had a prostectomy as well as RT when I posted about salvage brachytherapy last night, so I am not sure that what I said was correct.

However as you say there will probably be something new along in the next few years, and that is very true.  When I had the initial EBRT back in 2009 it was very much 'last chance saloon' treatment, in the sense that it was the only curative option available.  However by 2013 when it clearly hadn't worked salvage brachytherapy had become available.

I suppose that there are many of us, in the early stages of diagnosis and treatment who are destined to live long enough to receive treatments that are only on the drawing board at the moment, like the testosterone flood and drought that was in the news last week.

:)

Dave

 

User
Posted 06 Dec 2016 at 20:42
Hi Dave

Yeah it's going to be interesting how the flood and drought process pans out.

Cheers

 
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