Surgeons generally will not operate if they don't believe they can get it all - spread to seminal vesicles doesn't automatically rule out surgery but they may have been able to see from the biopsy and scans that the tumour had broken through the capsule (hence the T3b staging). Also, surgery after radiotherapy is extremely rare as the RT makes the prostate very gloopy and fragile so it is hard to remove in one piece - higher risk of leaving bits behind, nerve sparing is impossible and much higher risk of inontinence.
They really should have explained to you at the appointment why they were recommending RT rather than surgery :-(
Gleason 4 + 3 doesn't affect prognosis as much as the T3b does.
Mmm think we have not had brilliant explanations so far. I will talk to hubby later and see if we should book a further chat with nurse to discuss further. Thanks
It would be quicker and easier to download the toolkit from this website, or give them a call and order a copy to be posted to you - explains it all very well, I think?
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