RP VS Radiation

Hello mate.

Surgery or RT?  Is the most asked question on.here. There is no definite answer to which is best.

For low grade, low volume PCa, generally the outcomes and side effects for both treatments are very similar. However the outcomes for individuals can vary enormously, some sail through either treatment, others struggle.

I opted for surgery, however, if the cancer meets the criteria, I'd have now gone for RT with only  5 sessions and no HT. I don't  know whether this would be an option available to you.

Best of luck whatever you chose.

Edited by member 25 Sep 2024 at 14:17  | Reason: Typo

Hi,

The above is true.  It could be added that radiation can have longer term effects if you're younger and live long enough.  Also older people may not be fit enough for surgery which needs a couple of hours on a table sloping with your head down.

The idea of over 30 days of radiation and hormones for 6 months seemed far worse than the couple of hours asleep plus 6 weeks healing,   to me.  Although as said, you might not have that now.

Surgery gives a number of clear binary answers, such as psa = near 0 almost immediately,  full pathology, my gleason was increased.  That said, I would be more torn if asked again especially if I wasn't panicked.

Good luck, Peter

Hi Whitey

I guess you know by now that nobody who has had prostate cancer treatment can provide a definitive answer. We all follow the latest developments, particularly in the treatments we have had and read about other men's experiences. This can be more confusing than helpful at times, but obviously it helps to talk to and listen to others. On my part, I can only comment about my experience and how I feel about my choice now. I had prostatectomy over 12 years ago, cancer was well contained in the gland with good margin, my urologist was very experienced in robotic surgery but encouraged me to consult other specialists. Getting 'rid' of the tumour and the possibility of a permanent cure was probably the deciding factor for us, notwithstanding the risk of incontinence and ED. In the event, following a rather an eventful surgery (6 hours!) and not very easy recovery (catheter for over 5 weeks!), I now have recovered with 99.9% continence (urine leakage is, for us, not a serious problem). I suffer from ED but because I had surgery at the age of 72 we were thinking of finding a solution to that problem anyway. We - it was a joint decision - think made the right choice; hindsight is a wonderful thing! One of the major issues with this disease is obviously it effects couples' sex lives. If you are, young and fit and lucky to have a successful nerve-sparing surgery you may not suffer from an ED problem, incontinence is not too serious an issue, if luck is on your side. In any case there are many options to re-establish your intimate life. We found a method which suits us and are now living a happy and a fulfilling life.

Do your research, talk to as many specialists as you can, you have come to the right place here to get great support from others who are going through various stages of treatment and making the best of their lives. I wish you well. This disease, terrible as it is, is survivable. You are relatively young and can expect a good outcome. Good luck.

I have written at length about our experience which you may like to read at the following link:

https://community.prostatecanceruk.org/posts/t28948-Re-establishing-Sex-Life

Edited by member 26 Sep 2024 at 11:08  | Reason: spelling correction

I think nearly everyone feels better once a treatment plan in place. With only 3 months of HT hopefully your side effects will be minimal.

15 years ago, radiotherapy was nowhere near as accurate as it is today.

Hi Whitey,

I took the Brachytherapy route mainly because i didn't fancy the knife.I think most of the guys on here would agree with my results over the last 8 years as being very good with only some ED problems but at 78 would ED have been any better without Brachytherapy .

My PSA was 2.19, Gleason 3+4=7 if you click on my Avatar you can see my journey so far. My only other comment is try to speak to members on here about how long to stay on AS as a few of them left it to long.

John.