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94 year old father

User
Posted 14 Dec 2020 at 17:34

Hello I am John’s and I have joined to seek advice about my 94 year old Dad who has metastatic prostate cancer. I am not quite sure where to post my specific query and any advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you,

John

User
Posted 14 Dec 2020 at 19:30

Just post here John.

 

User
Posted 14 Dec 2020 at 20:05

Thanks Chris. He was diagnosed five weeks ago after GP visit due to lower abdominal discomfort. They took blood samples and this showed a PSA reading of 142ug/l. He subsequently got mri, physical examination and radiological bone scan. Outcome was that he has metastatic prostate cancer which has spread to bones and lymph nodes. It was also indicated that there was a suggestion of something in his lungs but that was not definitive.

This was all explained to myself and Dad by really helpful consultant urologist at Perth Royal Infirmary (Scotland). Dad was started on Bicalutamide and nine days later he got his first dose of Prostap. That was approximately two weeks ago. Since last Thursday Dad has been experiencing moderate pain in his lower abdomen and lower back. Otherwise he is reasonably OK, he is eating, body functions normal and he manages to walk out in the morning to get Mum’s newspaper. Dad is registered blind due to macular degeneration and is also partially deaf (he was a gun loader in the war). 

The advice I am looking for: is it possible that this pain is due to testosterone flare following the Prostap injection? In addition, if not, could Dad deteriorate quite quickly and what things should I look out for and what things do I need to do? Mum is also unwell with CHF but between myself and my two sisters we are able to support them quite well and they are a very close and spirited couple.

The only other thing to add is that I called one of the specialist nurses from this organisation; she was immensely helpful, kind and knowledgeable but I just want to see if I could get any other opinions or thoughts.

Thank you,

John

User
Posted 15 Dec 2020 at 14:25

Can any one help John ?

User
Posted 15 Dec 2020 at 14:40
Hi John, if dad took his bicalutimide tablets then there should be no tumour flare. The pain could be linked to the mets but could just as easily be psychosomatic - being told you have advanced cancer would cause anxiety to most people - and / or could have been there before but now he knows he has cancer, he feels more able to verbalise the discomfort he is experiencing. Other explanations include side effects of HT - both bicalutimide and Prostap can cause muscle and joint pain which might explain the backache. Also, as the tumours are starved, there could be some jingling of nerve endings which the brain interprets as pain.

Having got to such an age before being diagnosed suggests that while the cancer is advanced it may not be that aggressive - it could have taken 30 or 40 years for it to get to this stage. On that basis, you may find that his response to the HT is excellent. It is hard to predict though.

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

User
Posted 15 Dec 2020 at 16:36

Hello Lynne,

Thank you so much for such a helpful reply which makes sense to me. It is very kind of you to respond so fully.

Very best wishes,

John

User
Posted 18 Dec 2020 at 08:48

Just wanted to give a brief update: Dad’s pains have eased. I was also lucky enough to speak to his urologist who was very helpful and said we shouldn’t be overly concerned. He did confirm a couple of things that LynEyre suggested so for now I will sign off and let things take there course. Thanks for everyone who took and interest and offered comment, not least the specialist nurse Lisa from here who spoke to me on the telephone.

 
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