My 93 year old father has been diagnosed with a “ low - intermediate “ grade of prostate cancer. He has had a bone scan ( clear ) and biopsies. 5 of the 22 ‘cores’? had cancer cells. His PSA is 23.1. He has PI-RADS 5 lesions. He has Gleason 3+4 - 73% of cancer cores. His liver is fine.
He has been put on Casodex tablets (50g ) and told he will have to take one a day for the rest of his life. It seems that these tablets are usually given alongside injections which Dad has not been offered. He will be seen again in three months.
He's been told the side effects of the pills will be like going through the menopause. If he can’t cope with the side effects, they will stop the pills, but not said if there is an alternative.
He has not been offered surgery or any other options - I assume this is because of his age. Nor has he been given a Macmillan nurse to support him ( as I was when I had breast cancer and my late mother had when she had lung cancer ). We understand there is a pandemic and the Nhs is stretched to breaking point, but feel somewhat abandoned. Dad has tried to get a doctors appointment in order to ask him what it all means, but he is only able to get an appointment by phone ( no visits to the surgery are allowed ) and by the time he gets through, all the appointments have gone.
Can you give us some idea of what these numbers/words etc. mean? Looking on line it says Casodex is prescribed for advanced prostate cancer, is this the case?
Dad is normally very fit, he swims and goes to the gym regularly. He had both knees replaced before the pandemic and has found this diagnosis devastating. He is very tearful and just wants some idea of how long he has left or whether these pills will cure the cancer - or at least give him a reasonable life.
Stephjc ( daughter)
