Scared about bichemical relapse

Hi Brunette, well it is definitely not good news. The only consolation is, it started from a low level, so most of the cancer was removed meaning most of it was in the prostate. If you are lucky the cancer will show up on scans and it can be targeted with radiotherapy, better news would be that it only shows up in one place and that is in the prostate bed, you will just have to await the tests.

Yes Christmas probably will cause delays, but in the grand scheme of things probably not long enough to make a difference. The MDT may advice hormone therapy should be started immediately, this could reduce the chances of the scans spotting the cancer, but it will put the brakes on the cancer until treatment can start.

Do you have his post operation histology report, not that it will change anything, but it may give some clues as to whether all the cancer was removed near the prostate.

Good morning,

I can't add anything to what Dave's said, other than add my support and wish you and J well.

Hopefully the help and advice you'll be given here will alleviate some of your fears and sense of isolation.

Adrian

You need to ask:

What scans he will be having to re stage his prostate cancer, I would be looking for a PSMA PET ASAP.

Assuming this shows disease suitable for salvage radiotherapy you then need to know when will he will start HT and what protocol. (I believe from my own recent consultation it will be either 6 months of injectable or 2 years bicalutimide tablets).

You should also ask if lymph nodes will be included I suspect for his age and g score they will be.

Hi Brunette,

I haven’t logged in for a while but noticed your post. I had a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in July 2015 at age 55, staging was T3 a. Some 14 months later my PSA jumped from undetectable to 0.3 then 0.7 with a doubling time of just over 4 weeks. 
I had to wait for scans (MRI followed by choline F18 PET scan) before my oncologist would start hormone therapy. I had hormone therapy for 27 months and radical salvage radiotherapy in 2017. I’m still here albeit with a number of side effects. I’m awaiting my latest PSA result. I was warned I likely had micro metastasis. 7 years  on from recurrence my last PSA result was <0.1 in September. Fingers crossed last weeks result is still <0.1.

I’m only replying to give you and your husband hope that this recurrence can be addressed.

Read my profile for more information, it’s quite long…..

Wishing you both all the best.

Hi Anne,

I can’t really add to what’s already been said about the reoccurrence after RP. I wasn’t given the option of RP because there was too much risk of recurrence….we seem to think differently in Scotland 🤷🏼‍♂️

I can imagine how tough it is having already been through the surgery only to find that more treatment is going to be needed, but you are certainly not alone on here, many men require SRT after having surgery. It’s good though that you have a plan B in the form of SRT should it be required, something that those of us who had HT and RT don’t have. It’s always at the back of mind that when I stop HT (after 3 years😟) if my PSA starts to rise then it’s probably HT for life..or for as long as it keeps working anyway. That REALLY scares me. I’m fortunate though that I have incredible support from my local Maggies Mens Support Groups. You say you are ‘feeling very scared and alone’. This site helps with that, but I’m wondering if you would BOTH benefit from trying to find a local support group where you both can go along and talk to someone face to face, and maybe your OH would benefit from joining a support Group if there is one? Or, have you thought about phoning the specialist nurses in PCUK. I’ve used them and they are wonderful…they will give you all the time, support and advice you need.

all the best moving forward,

Derek