Newly disgnosed

User

Posted 06 Oct 2017 at 07:15

Hi;

Husband diagnosed yesterday with Gleason 3+4

2 out of 10 cores

1 3+3

1 3+4 (20%)

Psa jumped from 8 to 14 ( previous biopsy showed prostatitis ) so when it jumped the did a 2nd biopsy and these are the results

It's contained with no lymph involvement

We have been riding that rolls coaster of thinking all was ok and that it was prostatitis and are truly devastated.

No symptoms, husband 62 in good health .

So now after sleepless night we don't know what to do re. Treatment. Seeing nurse next week.

Husband had bowel cancer 12 years ago (rectal tumour surgery curative) I am worried adhesions may affect treatment choice?

If he could get brachytherapy then I think he would opt for that but someone said if prostate is small then they won't do it?

Just looking for any advice really re. Treatment etc?

Thanks so much

User

Posted 06 Oct 2017 at 17:03

Hi Jenny,
different hospitals have different protocols for assessing suitability for brachytherapy but I have never heard of a prostate being too small. The opposite can be true - brachy is not usually offered to men with a very large prostate.

Download the toolkit from this website, or phone the PCUK number and order one. It will explain the ups and downs of all the treatment options that might be available. But there is little point making a firm decision about the treatment plan until you have spoken to the medics and know what is likely to be offered in your case. It may be that your OH is advised not to have radiotherapy due to the previous cancer.

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

User

Posted 07 Oct 2017 at 08:35

Thanks Lyn;

We will take that advice.

Can I ask if you know of any links I can look at about RP and and everything it entails from a "real person experience" point of view?

I know it's a big op ?3/4 hours and tbh I am terrified of my husband going under anaesthetic but he is fit and healthy so I need to get a grip!

Thanks again

User

Posted 08 Oct 2017 at 20:41

Hi Jenny,

When you ask for a real person experience I kept a detail log of my treatment including the operation. If you want to read it scroll down to 16th December on the page linked below. It's quite a long page.

https://sites.google.com/site/myprostateprobleminlancashire/

Regards

Peter

Edited by member 08 Oct 2017 at 21:12 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 08 Oct 2017 at 23:32

Hi Jenny,
you can watch keyhole RP and Da Vinci (robotic) RP videos on Youtube - easy to find via Google. However, you don't know yet whether the op would be keyhole or open so don't watch so many things that you terrify yourself and then discover that wasn't what he would have anyway!

Peter has linked you to his description of keyhole RP. My husband chose open RP - the two ops are quite different in terms of what actually happens. Main differences:

Open RP - shorter time under general anaesthetic, no blowing the belly up with gas, longer time in hospital (often 5 days), longer time off work (up to 12 weeks depending on the nature of the work), much bigger scar, more risk of blood loss, no clips to get left behind.

Keyhole or robotic RP - longer time under general anaesthetic, operation is done with person tipped head down (so not suitable for some people with heart conditions), belly is filled with gas to make room for the operation, much shorter time in hospital, often (but not always) back to work sooner (average 6 - 8 weeks),, less risk of blood transfusion, more risk of clip migration

I think 3/4 hours would be pretty good for any RP - my husband was under for about 6 hours I think but that was because they found they had to redesign his bladder while they were in there.

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

User

Posted 09 Oct 2017 at 08:16

Thank you Lyn and Peter!

This is incredibly helpful

We are going through that weird phase of being miserable for 72 hours and are beginning to come out of that now thankfully having got support from this community.

We were hoping retirement would look slightly different when it comes next year but it's just a slightly different road that's all!

We are hoping to find out what T stage it is tomorrow.

One other question. Our hospital doesn't do robotic lap, am I able to ask to be referred to a centre an hour away and ask for a specific consultant? I wasn't sure as we live in Scotland.

Best wishes

Jenny

Edited by member 09 Oct 2017 at 08:22 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 09 Oct 2017 at 11:07

Not sure of procedure in Scotland but you could ask your GP regarding your last question.

Barry

User

Posted 09 Oct 2017 at 13:16

Thanks Barry - I will do that if we can't get an answer at the nurse led clinic tomorrow

Best wishes

Jenny

User

Posted 09 Oct 2017 at 14:44

Hi Jenny - you say "If he could get brachytherapy then I think he would opt for that" however you havent said if you are considering external beam radiotherapy as an option.

I have contained 4+3 and 6 out of 10 positive - after looking at the success rates of various treatment routes I opted for radiotherapy. The three main treatments - RP Operation, Brachy and Radiotherapy all have pretty similar success rates up in the 90% area for early diagnosis, contained prostate cancer. So keep your thoughts positive - those success rates are amazing if you think about it. The fact that your husbands prostate is too small for branchy may be an advantage to standard radiotherapy. Normally they like to give a course of hormone therapy to shrink the prostate down prior to radiotherapy - small prostate is good for RT but it proves problematic for brachy.

User

Posted 09 Oct 2017 at 16:15

Hello Jenny,

My Gleeson score similar to your OH, look at my profile to see what I went through after diagnosis .

Best Regards

James

User

Posted 10 Oct 2017 at 10:47

Just a quick update to this thread - thank you so much to those who replied its much appreciated.

We just been to clinic and they told us 10 cores taken

left side 2 cores Gleason 3+3 out of 5 (others negative)

right side 1 core Gleason 3+4 (4 cores negative)

Total tissue involved 3% (low volume)

its in the anterior part of the prostate Grading T2c

Bone scan next then referral dates for Oncologist and Surgeon. with a view to Robotic assisted Laparoscopy if there aren't too many adhesions from previous surgery.

She was pretty optimistic all contained but still hedged her bets quite rightly and no seminal vesicle involvement - does this sound good?

Best wishes

Jenny

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