A hi from me and request for advice

Hi HH and welcome

I was diagnosed with PC at 60 and they were pushing for surgery. I was well aware of potential side effects with surgery so went on active surveillance for a while before going down the Radiotherapy  route.

Their thinking is that RT can produce cancers further down the line so why risk it.  Well I was prepared to risk it and eight years later things r OK.

I should say that not everyone has problems with surgery  so could be worth considering as u r young at 54. See what others say.

Good luck 

Steve

Hi HH and welcome

I've just read your post and although I am not knowledgeable enough to give advice I can relate to your situation. I am 58 and was diagnosed in Dec: PSA 5.3, Gleeson 3+4. I too was offered surgery straight away but looked for other treatment due to my wish to preserve my present active lifestyle for along as possible. I was referred to UCLH and assessed for HIFU treatment which was I found not to be suitable for as my PC is multifocal ie too many little bits for them to aim the Ultrasound at. Following this disappointment, I was again offered surgery but also seed implant Brachytherapy which I underwent 10 days ago. Please speak to other guys on here and also your consultant, many people have to travel outside their local area for treatment as I did and all of our cases will differ from man to man. Please get in touch if there is any more you need to know about my case and see my posts & replies from others 

Best wishes

Dave 

Hi HH and welcome

I've just read your post and although I am not knowledgeable enough to give advice I can relate to your situation. I am 58 and was diagnosed in Dec: PSA 5.3, Gleeson 3+4. I too was offered surgery straight away but looked for other treatment due to my wish to preserve my present active lifestyle for along as possible. I was referred to UCLH and assessed for HIFU treatment which was I found not to be suitable for as my PC is multifocal ie too many little bits for them to aim the Ultrasound at. Following this disappointment, I was again offered surgery but also seed implant Brachytherapy which I underwent 10 days ago. Please speak to other guys on here and also your consultant, many people have to travel outside their local area for treatment as I did and all of our cases will differ from man to man. Please get in touch if there is any more you need to know about my case and see my posts & replies from others 

Best wishes

Dave

A lot depends on the TNM stage of your disease (tumour, nodes, metastases).

A lot also depends on which doctor you are talking to.

A urologist is a surgeon, and will generally advise surgery, where feasible. An oncologist may well select radiotherapy.

But - depending on what stage you are at - there is usually a choice, and you should be given the opportunity to hear both sides.

Again, depending on stage, both routes can be very effective, and statistically, there's little difference between them. But the sied effect profiles are very different, especially long term. And Prostate cancer can be a 25 year experience.

It's also well worth reading the 'toolkit' for general advice.

Hi HappyHacker. I was 50 at diagnosis and consultant gave same explanation, I had surgery, was recovering okay but found it had spread so further treatment which has other side effects.  My understanding is that side effects are similar re radiotherapy and surgery, radiotherapy after surgery is possible, surgery after radiotherapy is difficult and not likely.  Make sure you ask lots of questions, you will be living with the consequences, given the choice again I wouldn’t have changed anything, that is the point you need to get to, where no matter what you decide you’ve weighed up options and chosen your path with knowledge.

Thanks everyone for the replies - it’s really useful to hear accounts from all of you, and I wish you all well. I am seeking as much knowledge as possible, from as many sources as possible, so I make an informed choice. Your replies are a really vital piece of the jigsaw. My thanks again.

Worth adding that the long-term prognosis is virtually the same between surgery and radiotherapy, though this does vary a bit depending on the stage of the PCa.