Awaiting radiotherapy for prostatic cancer

Hello Dkes,

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to our online community.

My name is Carole and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can see from your profile that you have joined our online prostate cancer forum. I hope it will be a good source of support for you.

It’s normal to have many questions after receiving a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Waiting to see the oncologist can be an anxious time, and we understand how important it is to understand waiting time targets. It’s only natural to want to ensure that you are seen without delay.

Cancer Research UK have this information on waiting times.

I’m not sure where you live but in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland the current targets are:

• no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent suspected cancer referral and the start of treatment
• no more than 31 days wait between the meeting at which you and your doctor agree the treatment plan and the start of treatment

There are many factors that can influence the treatment that’s recommended for you, including the Gleason score, your PSA level, the stage of the cancer and your general health.

Hormone therapy is often given in combination with radiotherapy and is sounds as if this has been mentioned to you.

Sometimes it’s given before, during and after radiotherapy.

However, I’m not sure from your post how long you have been on hormone therapy, and we unfortunately, have no access to medical notes.

We would recommend that you get in touch with your urology clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and ask them to discuss your treatment plan with you. They may be able to explain what was recommended for you at the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meeting.

This should help you to understand when your radiotherapy is likely to be, and when you should expect to see the oncologist.

If you don’t have a CNS, your GP or the consultant’s secretary may be able to give you more information.

Unfortunately, as we are not part of your hospital team, we can’t say what type of radiotherapy is likely to be recommended for you. However, Prostate Cancer UK have developed this guide, which might help to explain how and why specific treatments are recommended. It might be worth looking at this before your oncology appointment as it makes some suggestions about questions to ask.

Some people find it helpful to talk to others who have had a similar diagnosis, as they understand what you are going through. Prostate Cancer UK may be able to arrange for you to speak to or email one of their trained volunteers. You can read more about this service here,

And if you’d like to talk to one of the nurses on our Support Line, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We often find that we can give more detailed information after speaking on the phone, as it allows us to ask questions about individual situations.

I hope this is helpful.

Sending best wishes,

Carole

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.  

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