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Progressed and scared!

User
Posted 10 Jan 2019 at 16:07

My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 52 in April 2017.

Devastatingly it had already progressed significantly to the bones.

After hormone treatment and a cycle of chemo his psa reduced and we had 6 months of stability.

Unfortunately in June last year my husband started to feel unwell, aching, fatigued and just 'off'. His psa started to rise again and he was scanned. Results showed enlarged lymph and some activity in the base of the spine. He was prescribed Enzalutamide.

He continued to feel unwell and his psa kept rising so was scanned again. We were devastated to hear the cancer has progressed to his lungs and stumoch.

We are now on with chemotherapy again,  but this is making him feel very unwell and he is only two in with 8 more to go.

I'm frightened! I don't know what to expect, if this will work as it did before and we have a few 'normal' months, afterwards or if this is how life will be going forward. What are the success rates when the cancer has spread like this?

It would be good to hear from anyone going through this or who has been at this stage.

Thank you

JoSF

 

 

User
Posted 10 Jan 2019 at 19:10
Hi JoSF, do you have the details of his diagnosis, such as the diagnosis letter from the hospital to the GP? Does it say that he has adenocarcinoma? There are at least 27 types of prostate cancer; most behave in very typical ways and spread to stomach / lungs is very unusual. Some rarer types, including the one that commonly goes to lung, need different treatment ... for example, the hormone treatment doesn’t really work but it is very responsive to chemo
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 10 Jan 2019 at 19:25

Thank you for replying. I haven't seen that on any of his letters to GP but to be honest the letters aren't that detailed since first diagnosis.

His consultant is lovely but seems to be reluctant to go into detail, although I have to say I can't ask questions I want to ask because I don't want my husband to worry about me when he has all this himself. We are both trying to protect each other but I guess that's normal after 34 years together.

User
Posted 10 Jan 2019 at 21:07
Dig out the first diagnosis letter, or ask the GP for a copy. You are looking for words like ‘adenocarcinoma’ rather than ‘small cell’ ‘mucinous’ or ‘squamous’
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

 
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