Well, prostate cancer is so common that the procedures for treating it are well established, and seem to run like clockwork. Once you have the results of your CT scan and bone scan, you will have a clearer picture of where you are. Depending on the full diagnosis, you are likely to be offered either active surveillance, prostatectomy or hormone / radio therapy. The radio therapy will be some months away, I think, if you choose it. I had a meeting with a surgeon, and another with on oncologist, and they explained why active surveillance wasn't a good idea in my case, outlined the pros and cons of each course of action, then left it to me to decide. I went for hormone therapy followed by radiotherapy. My radiotherapy ended in November 2019, and after 7 months I had a blood test to measure my PSA, which had fallen from a high of 18 to less than 0.04. I guess you could say the treatment worked! The hormone therapy isn't pleasant, but if you understand what is happening to your emotions, your physical strength and your sexual response (not good!) you can cope with it. The radiotherapy is a bit onerous - I had 20 'fractions' spread over 4 weeks, Monday - Friday each week. It too has side effects, but they are treatable and will pass. During the whole thing, you should have a contact on the team who you can call, or you can ring the expert nurses at Prostate Cancer UK, or Macmillan for advice & information. Also, you should download or get a hard copy of the prostate cancer 'toolkit' from PCUK. Get a file, and stick every bit of paper you get into it! And above all, keep calm. Prostate cancer is very treatable if caught early enough. Best wishes for your journey - I know you didn't want to make it, but here you are.
Hermit
Edited by member 17 Jul 2020 at 09:38
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