What a 28 days that’s been - Just diagnosed

John

If you have private then ask your oncologist if Proton Beam Therapy is an option.  www.therutherford.com/treatments/proton-beam-therapy/

I have just over a week ago finished the treatment so its way too early to tell how succesful this has been but I'm told its the Rolls Royce of the Radiotherapy world and this is just as effective if not more than surgery.    I have so far had little to no side effects apart from discomfort peeing and an urgency to go which 4 days after the treatment has already subsided and I'm not even getting up during the night.    My PSA will be rechecked in 6 weeks.    I just could not recomend enough the level of care that the Rutherford in the North East has delivered and each visit (I had 7 Fractions every other day) was nothing that I dreaded.   I'm not sure how ED will effect me and as I said its too early but I know that I do have sensation already.

I'm sure that I read somewhere that this in years to come will replace surgery and my oncologist told me that the success rate in my case would be just as good as surgery.    I almost feel a fraud in that here I am being told one minute  I have  prostate cancer  that needs medical intervention and now I'm through treatment and to be honest I have very little side effects and nothing unpleasant has happened.

Take care and all the very best

He was of the same mind, just wanting to be free of cancer and sod the side effects. His attitude is still the same now. Urinary continence is getting better all the time and now he is pad free except when he worries he's going to get stuck without a toilet but it's really just a confidence thing. But even when he was still using pads all day, he said, if this is what I have to put up with for ever, then it's a small price to pay. But as I say, he's now pad free. He also supports the saying....there's no sex in graveyards. So for him he has brushed them off easily. Not all men feel like this, this is why it's,such a personal journey.

Very important if you go for surgery, is your choice of surgeon. You can use the BAUS website and check what your local surgeon is like. You need a high volume one, 100 per year and one that also does a fair amount of T3s. You don't want one who specialises in T1 or T2 and doesn't touch 3s. Our surgeons greatest percentage of work is with T3 so we felt confident going in.

Within 6 weeks you will know whether the surgery has been an success, in the form of undetectable PSA ( of course you have to join the 3 monthly stress we all 'enjoy' of subsequent tests.

Also you get the histology result, which tells you exactly what you had inside you. Some men are bang on the same as the biopsy, some are upgraded and a few are downgraded.

I am not an advocate of one treatment over another. This was just our path but it's been ok so far. Today he was re roofing a 10m kennel hauling heavy duty tarp about, so life does go on.

If the biopsy cores were taken from the area that was causing concern on the mpMRI, and they have all come back clear, then it seems safe to assume that you do not have cancer - or if you do, it is small and certainly not as extensive as you feared. Once the shock has worn off, you will hopefully feel able to celebrate being the 3rd person on here in a short period of time to get a PI-RADS 5 and then the all clear. You will certainly be aware now of the importance of annual PSA monitoring!

Chris

Hi John,

Good news. Incidentally I was made aware after my biopsy, ..prostatic calculi.

Never heard of them at the time, and the person said, maybe inflammation and prostatitis.   I never had any Pirad info, my op was 6 years ago.  These deposits are only rice grain sized it seems yet can cluster.  I never had any symptoms.  It seems they can cause dull perineum pain, again inflammation etc..  I believe you should be able to request digital images, maybe have to pay. You would then need obviously someone to interpret.  At least you have a PSA baseline.

Regards Gordon

Best wishes,

Chris

JOHN - it is hard to eat cheese cake when your told it is fruit cake but just listen the Dr’s and go with the flow.  Get the PSA checked regularly and SMILE....... you are ok.

Great news and I hope it continues to be nothing and all clear.   

Now live life to the full and enjoy........ :-)

But please keep in touch touch and let us know how you get on.

My heart genuinely goes out to each and every one of you,

I’m one of the lucky ones,for now I have been told I need my PSA checked every 3 months to monitor why it’s raised and make sure there are no changes.

I will be raising money by walking 11,000 steps a day in March and will also be doing ‘Run April’.

I feel like I’ve dodged a bullet for now but have also experienced some of the trauma you have all been put through by this vial condition.