Dad recently diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer

User

Posted 07 Jul 2022 at 09:45

9 seems too low for PSA so assume it is the Gleason score. Cancer cells are graded according to how far they have deviated from normal cells, the lowest being 3 and the most advanced being 5. The most numerous cells are shown first out of 5 with the next most numerous second out of 5. These two components are then. added together to form the Gleason score. With a 9 this could be 4+5 or 5+4, the latter being the worse as more cancer cells have shown the highest grading.

Gleason is a useful measure of the make up of the cancer in the Prostate derived from biopsy. What really makes more difference is the staging which denotes as well as can be assessed with an insitu Prostate, whether the cancer is well contained within the Prostate, is in the process of breaking out, or has done so and spread elsewhere and possibly location.

Barry

User

Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 23:10

@MariaMC - it’s 4+5 Gleason. I think it’s a way of grading how aggressive the cancer is. He’s in relatively good spirits, eating well and doing lots of cycling. He looks quite well, it’s hard to believe he’s got cancer. How is your dad doing? Feel free to message me if you need a chat. It’s all just so shitty, isn’t it? X

User

Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 23:13

Thanks Barry. It’s Gleason 9 (4+5). It has metastasised to his bones (hip, thoracic spine, sacrum and ribs). His PSA was 700.

My dad has left his folder and black book with me to read over the weekend. I don’t want to, but it might help for me to read it. Thank you for your explanation, it’s really helpful. My dad is sort of planning for the worst but taking good care of himself and doing lots of cycling. It’s all very surreal but I suppose none of us know what’s around the corner, cancer or not!

User

Posted 14 Jul 2022 at 14:36

You are on the right path. In metastatic prostate cancer, hormone therapy is the first line of treatment and most patients respond pretty well to the treatment. Once the prostate cancer becomes hormone or castration-resistant it may have switched to chemotherapy later on.

User

Posted 23 Jul 2022 at 18:19

My father, aged 75, has been recently diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, metastasised to his bones, with a PSA of 839 ng/ml. It came as a shock to me.

He was mainly complaining of back aches, which led him to visit an orthopedist. This is how the whole story unfolded.

He will start hormone therapy next week and biopsy will take place as well. No other organs seem to be affected. His oncologist seems to be optimistic, whereas I sometimes feel devastated.

We have to be patient, for sure.

Edited by member 23 Jul 2022 at 18:22 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 23 Jul 2022 at 21:34

Hormone therapy will almost certainly knock the PSA to single figures and solve the back ache problem, but only for a few years, then a stronger drug will be used. I'd be slightly surprised if he lived until 85, I'd be surprised if cancer killed him before 80, but that is because he is already 75, and even without cancer his life expectancy is 87.

Dave

User

Posted 27 Jul 2022 at 20:56

My psa in late March just over 2000

Last blood test result about 4 weeks ago 3.5 and feeling positive your not alone be strong 💪

User

Posted 03 Sep 2022 at 07:51

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis Phil and thank you for your comment.

I hope you’re doing okay!

User

Posted 03 Sep 2022 at 07:52

Sorry to hear about your dad’s diagnosis, Teta. It sounds a lot like my dad’s.

How is he doing now?

User

Posted 03 Sep 2022 at 08:17

Update on my dad’s situation.

Dad has gone on his trip around France in his van. He was going to take part in a clinical trial of a drug with some awful side effects, but he wasn’t eligible. No chemo yet, he’s on degarelix and enzalutamide (the latter was recently started a second line of hormone treatment).

Still no bone pain. He’s eating Brazil nuts and drinking pomegranate juice (as per Macmillan’s advice) and continuing to cycle a lot.

Bill Turnbull’s death has knocked my dad for six, sadly. What an inspirational man he was.

Edited by member 03 Sep 2022 at 09:15 | Reason: Info slightly wrong

User

Posted 04 Sep 2022 at 12:29

He is on hormone therapy (bicalut tablets 150 on a daily basis, xgeva and arvekap injections monthly, at the moment) and his PSA was about 188, two weeks ago, that he got tested. That is a decrease by almost 80%! No bone pain anymore, full mobility. We even traveled together, spent ten days at our cottage and also swam. But he gets tired more easily. Nice that your father's treatment goes well, as well.

Edited by member 05 Sep 2022 at 20:48 | Reason: Not specified

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