diagnosed last week !
Anterior abnormal area, 10 out of 13 cores Gleason 3+4=7 (10% pattern 4).
Perineural invasion present, maximum cancer length 13mms, maximum percentage core involvement 80%.
MR scan show possibility of T3a N0M0.
Benign feeling prostate.
PSA 8.
(Above cut and pasted directly from biopsy constants letter)
I’m 51 generally fit and healthy with absolutely no symptoms at all, and never had any problems with my water works or ED.
Would still be none the wiser had it not been for a very efficient GP calling for a check up scan following a bad bout of prostatitis (told it’s not linked at all)
Biopsy consultant has told me active surveillance isn’t an option and like many on here I now have the difficult decision surgery or brachytherapy - no mention of any HT
My initial thoughts with no “official “ information to hand other than from here and google was surgery, being an engineer my thoughts where why waste time treating it with a radioactive seed😳 when you can just cut it out and be done with it.
Having now had consultations with the surgeon and oncologist I am now more confused than ever
If what the oncologist says and the info in the Brachytherapy booklet he gave me is all fact?
Why on earth would anyone put themselves through the surgery???? Apart from the very obvious reason “it’s cancer😳 just cut it out and get rid of it in one go” I’m struggling to find another reason why people would choose surgery. Plus there seems to be quite alot of people on here that have had surgery then have needed to have RT and HT anyway as it wasn’t all removed first time round.
Or am I missing something vital?
Success rates appear to be similar for both.
Days off work and recovery appears much shorter with Brachytherapy - 2 separate days in hospital with a few days feeling rubbish and back to work the week after, with the surgery it’s a major operation(with its associated risks) much longer in hospital, catheter in for 10 days + and weeks of work.
Both appear to have similar risk of ED and long term water works problems.
And going down one route seems to preclude the use of the other if it isn’t 100% successful with both ending up needing hormone or external radiotherapy.
Surgery seems really popular for men in their 40’s and 50’s and less so above 70
The above 70 bit I totally get (recovery) but can’t understand why it is so popular for the younger chaps , please help as I must be missing something
Thankfully I’m covered by my wife’s work health insurance so either treatment hopefully shouldn’t be affected by COVID.
Thanks
x
Edited by member 13 Jan 2021 at 23:05
| Reason: Spelling