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User
Posted 14 Mar 2018 at 17:54

Good afternoon all,

Its been a long time since I've posted, (August 2009 to be exact.) When we lost my amazing dad after his battle with prostate Cancer, now I feel like I'm about to re-live it all over again.

My brother who is in his early 50's has just been diagnosed, although he's not giving much away yet. He has said that his specialist has given two choices:

1: Radiotherapy

2: Removal of the prostate and surrounding tissue.

Is there anything that he/we should be asking his specialist.

Any advise would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you

 

 

User
Posted 15 Mar 2018 at 03:23

Hi Tessa,

Firstly, may I suggest you remove all or part of your name if that is your true name - it can attract unwanted attention.

I would have hoped that with the sad loss of your dad that your brother would have been tested about that time as his risk of PCa would have been higher. If this was the case and all was thought well at the time, it has to be hoped that his PCa has only just developed and is at an early stage. Unfortunately without his diagnosis we don't know the extent of his cancer. However, it seems to have advanced to a stage beyond which active surveillance has been suggested as an option.

As regards radiation, you could ask whether this would be on one of the latest machines and whether and for how long Hormone therapy would be given. You could also ask whether a combination of Brachytherapy and External Beam RT is an option.

With regard to surgery, you could ash whether it would be 'open' or robotic, whether it is thought possible to save one or both nerve bundles and the likelihood of needing RT to back up the surgery. You could also ask how experienced the surgeon was in performing the type of surgery on offer.

If your brother does not already have it, downloading or ordering a copy of the 'Toolkit' from the publications department of this site might be helpful.

Edited by member 15 Mar 2018 at 03:26  | Reason: Not specified

Barry
 
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