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User
Posted 19 Aug 2025 at 21:39

Hi

My husband was referred to cancer pathway on 3rd July with enlarged lymph nodes and PSA of 648.  T3 N1 M1 a He has had CT scans and biopsy and we have today been told his Gleason score is 5 + 4  He has started hormone treatment and had his first implant of Zoladex last week  

However we are still awaiting oncology appointment 7 weeks after referral  is this normal  We have two specialist urology nurses who have given us scan results and biopsy results  Is it right that you have to have 3 months of hormone treatment before starting adjuvant therapies 
Feelng concerned  

Thanks for reading

 

User
Posted 20 Aug 2025 at 06:00
For a serious cancer like this I would expect adjuvant chemo, radio or 2nd line hormone treatment to be being considered by the oncologist. The only exception might be if your husband is too elderly or frail to tolerate additional treatment.

Chase medical secretaries and your urology nurses for an update and consider a private second opinion.

User
Posted 20 Aug 2025 at 14:30
Hi SAFX, my OH was diagnosed at a similar level and I understand the worry. What will be most important is how well your husband responds to the hormone treatment. If his PSA comes down really quickly in a month or two from starting the hormone treatment then that is good news. If the PSA is slower to come down then it is more serious and could indicate some hormone resistant cancer cells are present. Three months of hormone treatment or more before radical treatment is usual. My OH had his final diagnosis March 2023 and started radiotherapy in May 2023. After 6 months of hormone treatment his PSA was 23 down from 264, which was not good. You can look at my profile for more detail of his treatment and his response.

Good luck and keep asking questions, the support in this community is really helpful.

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User
Posted 19 Aug 2025 at 23:24
Sorry you join us due to your husband's diagnosis. He is on HT which will restrain his cancer and will hopefully shrink it. Zoladex implants can be either a 28 day version (nominally one month or a 3 three month version). I would expect that at some point his PSA will be taken to assess how he is responding to the Zoladex, which could be ongoing. Timing and possible additional treatment would be unhelpful speculation I feel.
Barry
User
Posted 20 Aug 2025 at 06:00
For a serious cancer like this I would expect adjuvant chemo, radio or 2nd line hormone treatment to be being considered by the oncologist. The only exception might be if your husband is too elderly or frail to tolerate additional treatment.

Chase medical secretaries and your urology nurses for an update and consider a private second opinion.

User
Posted 20 Aug 2025 at 14:30
Hi SAFX, my OH was diagnosed at a similar level and I understand the worry. What will be most important is how well your husband responds to the hormone treatment. If his PSA comes down really quickly in a month or two from starting the hormone treatment then that is good news. If the PSA is slower to come down then it is more serious and could indicate some hormone resistant cancer cells are present. Three months of hormone treatment or more before radical treatment is usual. My OH had his final diagnosis March 2023 and started radiotherapy in May 2023. After 6 months of hormone treatment his PSA was 23 down from 264, which was not good. You can look at my profile for more detail of his treatment and his response.

Good luck and keep asking questions, the support in this community is really helpful.

 
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