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Advice pls

User
Posted 26 Jul 2017 at 21:06
Hello,

I wonder if you can help? My dad received a letter today from our doctor saying he has staging of t3a and a risk score of 5. Also PSA 54. This means nothing to us and I'm completely freaking out!! He's 75. Very healthy. But does not have a spleen due to an accident years ago. He has a catheter that he has had in for over a month now due to retention of urine. Please can someone give us some advice. Very scared. Thank you so much.

User
Posted 27 Jul 2017 at 00:41

Hi Worried_formydad,

I assume the doctor is your GP and he is quoting from a consultant's report following biopsy and scan. T3A indicates that his staging is 'locally advanced' so his cancer is in the process of breaching one side of his Prostate. PSA is high but not fantastically so. Not sure about the risk score but usually a Gleason score is given which comprises the total of two figures indicating how far the cancer cells have changed from normal. He now needs an appointment with his consultant to discuss treatment options and to agree a treatment plan. I would expect either his GP to arrange an appointment or the Consultant to arrange an appointment via his secretary or admin.

I would strongly recommend Dad gets the 'Toolkit' from the publications section of the main part of this charity which provides a lot useful basic information about PCa and details various treatments, although all options may not be offered to him.

A PCa diagnosis is of course worrying but at Dad's age about 70% of men will have some PCa even if they are unaware of it!  I was diagnosed with a T3A at a similar age and with treatment am here nearly 10 years on and there are still further treatment posibilities should this be necessary.  Much depends on how early the PCa has beeen diagnosed, it's type, the effectiveness of the treatment and how well it works over time.  This like side effects can vary from one man to another even with a similar diagnosis.

I wish Dad well on his cancer journey.

I notice you have posted essentially the same post under another heading, possibly because you did not realize it takes the moderators time to approve a new thread (or conversation as it is sometimes called) and this leads to  delay.

I would suggest you delete the similar thread under a different heading as this can lead to lack of continuity. 

Edited by member 27 Jul 2017 at 01:05  | Reason: Not specified

Barry
User
Posted 27 Jul 2017 at 07:08

Hello worried and welcome

Essentially what Barry said really and just to say please try not to worry.

My husband was in his early 70s when first diagnosed and has been treated and so far all seems well with him.

I assume since you have a "risk" score (like Barry I wonder do you mean the Gleason score) and dad would only have got that from a biopsy and possibly an MRI scan organised by the hospital?

If so then dad will probably have received a follow up appointment. If you do download the Toolkit it will give you and your dad an idea of questions you want to ask and take a notepad and pen (or record the conversation) to write down the answers. You'll never remember it all otherwise.

I hope dad lets somebody attend the appointment with him as it can all be a bit confusing.

Life will settle down for all of you because at the moment you are all going through the "what if" moments. Once a treatment plan is in place life becomes more organised.

Don't despair and try not to panic. There are lots of treatments out there and even those men in the incurable camp can live long and full lives.

Best Wishes
Sandra

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails
User
Posted 27 Jul 2017 at 08:16

It may be that he hasn't had a biopsy but when he went into urinary retention they scanned him and saw a grey area that is bulging on one side (hence the T3). With some newer scans, the detail is so good that they can assess the likelihood that it will turn out to be cancer - this is called the risk score and goes from 1 (not likely to be cancer) to 5 (very likely to be cancer). If dad has not had a biopsy, it seems probable that the GP will now refer dad to a urologist who will biopsy the grey area to confirm the diagnosis.

My dad was diagnosed after going into retention, that was more than 15 years ago. There are lots of treatments available, no need to panic.

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

 
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