Advanced Prostate Cancer and the Expected Life Expectancy

Hi Paul 82.

Good afternoon, I was diagnosed with Metastatic Prostate Cancer last June 2023.

I'm am currently on HT which has brought my PSA down from 1000+ to 0.9. crazy.

I can see that you was 38yrs old at the time how are you doing now if you don't mind???

I am 58yrs young this year and I will be here for many many years to come hopefully!!!

Prostate Worrier.

Hi Munster, thank you for your reply.

we are 2 years down the line now, we are a lot wiser to PC than we were, thankfully. 
my OH is doing ok, determined to be here as long as possible and live life to the full, he obviously gets down times, especially when he is really tired or his back really bad but he’s slowly getting used to the new norm.
he went through treatment and so far no spread above the pelvis, he had a CT and MRI done 5 weeks ago but as yet we have heard nothing, not sure if this is the norm and if no news good news or if like previous scans we wait for a couple of months to find out the outcome, it’s always a stressful time. It’s great to hear positive posts so thank you.
I hope you are doing well

kind regards x.

Hi Jnc 

PSMA PET scans are the standard in Australia. This scan, I believe is a lot reliable than a CT and MRI scan. It is highly sensitive but still has some limitations as it does not pick up tumours below 4mm in size. 

Perhaps your husband’s oncologist may consider this scan as an option for your husband.

All of the best.

Munster

To add on to your post, the PSMA PET CT needs a minimum PSA to give reliable results, normally above 0.2, but preferably above 0.4. The difficulty comes with men whose cancer is a non secreter type.

Correct, I had 4 consecutive increases over the last 12 months. At 0.23 the PSMA PET scan was clear. My Oncologist is waiting for my PSA to hit at least 0.4 which is expected to be 3 months later. Even at 0.4 it may still not pick up anything.

Whilst I have mixed DAC which may not secrete PSA, mine fortunately does. 

Hi, I’ve just been reading through these posts from two years ago, it seems like such a long time ago also reading my own posts and remembering how new it all was then -( my partner hadn’t even had his biopsy ) I remember that feeling of stomach churning fear and confusion at that time. It’s been quite a journey since then. I hope you are all doing well. Sending hugs to everyone that helped me get through those first weeks . 

L

AS a recent member of this group, coupled with a recent diagnosis, the two years aspect caught my attention.

I am used to dealing with figures and as part of my general fretting on the diagnosis I have I looked at survival rates. I started to do a little look at the way the figures were made.

It appears that, certainly in America, they take the total recorded diagnosis by year and work out a five year rate by measuring deaths in time from diagnosis, stripping out those that died from things like, well, my driving.

To do that, of course, they are looking at people who were diagnosed 5 years ago.

Some of the treatments available now, especially at the advanced stage, weren't even in clinical trials 5 years ago.

Since I started looking at this (30/04/2024 when I received my initial diagnosis) I have noted 5 new developments, either just approved or entering Phase 11 trials, which are likely to improve rates again. For some people - those on the existing trials - this blasted cancer has disappeared entirely, at least as far as we can currently tell.

So, 5 years in the past gives us a direction, but 5 years in the future, God willing, should be even better. It is possible that 100% 5 year survival is within sight although, of course, nothing is guaranteed. 

I looked up all sorts of stats at the beginning of this journey in trying to find reassurance. I got a lot of info which helped my husband make his treatment decisions but I also got a lot of stress and anxiety. The stats might say you will survive x number of years but you could die in a road traffic accident in y number of years!

So, I took my thinking, some would say, into depressive philosophy! We none of us have much certainty about our death other than it will happen one day. The diagnosis made us confront our own mortality, in fact!

But moving on from that,  we realised we have to enjoy and appreciate each and every day that we have together and let tomorrow take care of itself. I think it’s brought us much closer together! Certainly I don’t really look at the stats these days.

Yippee, hi WW I fully agree with your last paragraph, my wife and I are frequently going for short mid week breaks always somewhere we haven't been before or not for a long time.

It's a wee bit harder now I'm on chemo but still worth it, get out and enjoy life, to pot with anything else 

Ulls, that's what me and Tracey are trying to do, get out as much as possible .

As WW said:

Worriedwife said:

The stats might say you will survive x number of years but you could die in a road traffic accident in y number of years!

I've never thought of it like that before.