Stage 3 prostate cancer, having bone scan but shouldn't he be having liver and lungs scanned too

Hello Squeak,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Megan, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

Welcome to the online community. I can see that you have joined the Carers only forum, New to the Community forum, and Supporting someone with incurable cancer forum and I hope you have been finding these communities supportive.

I am sorry to read that your father has been diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer, although it is good to hear he has already started hormone therapy which is known to be a very effective treatment for prostate cancer in addition to his planned radiotherapy due to start after Christmas.

If he has not already, please do encourage him to contact us should he want to talk or have any general questions about his diagnosis or treatment, he would be most welcome.

Although prostate cancer can spread to any part of the body, most commonly it spreads locally within the pelvis, to the bones or the lymph nodes.

The MRI pelvis is usually the first scan undertaken and can show the T stage, bones and lymph nodes within the pelvis. So this test alone does give his hospital team a lot of information about whether his prostate cancer is localised, locally advanced or advanced.

A full body bone scan checks for spread to bones which is a common place for prostate cancer to spread to, and therefore an important test to undergo.

Additionally, a CT scan can be completed to check the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and you can ask the hospital team if this scan will be completed as part of your father’s staging.

In some cases, a person might not need a scan if their PSA level is low and previous results suggest that the cancer is unlikely to have spread, but in short it is common for most people to undergo all three tests for complete staging of prostate cancer.

I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes, Megan

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

Ref MD/HM