Help!

David, it wasn't a rambling post.  It is a lot to get your head around.

When you go to see your Oncologist make sure you have your wife with you.  I always found this a great help.  You get questions prepared.  I know that if I had been on my own, the questions would never have been asked.

Welcome to the forum anyway.  Plenty of good advice from personal experiences from lots of men (and their wives).

At first I was ashamed to cry, but now, I don't care what anyone thinks.

Do you have a Maggie's Centre near you?  They are great for advice.

Hi Davo

I understand your feelings of being overwhelmed. The shock of being diagnosed hits you like a train - particularly as you are relatively young. 

Nothing about PC takes time, and that's nothing to worry about as it's slow growing. That said, you seem to have made your decision, so why see the RT consultant? 

My initial reaction was 'I want this out of me' so I get why you may have made your decision. 

Patience is the key, I believe, so speak with the RT consultant and then make a final decision.

Hope this helps

Regards

Stuart

Hi Davo 

A couple of things here.  Your stats seem quite low so T3c 

Is a bit unusual.

T3c would indicate that the cancer has spread outside the gland  . Good news that there are no bone mets, still potentially curable.

Could be worth checking where the cancer has spread outside the gland, MRI should show that.

Sometimes you can be better off with Radiotherapy and HT if outside the gland. When you have another meeting suggest you ask them about having surgery becsuse of T3c and if RT would be better.

I know it's worrying when first diagnosed but it does get better especially when u have a treatment plan and u understand what is going to happen

Best wishes

Steve 

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and I completely understand about feeling overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in.  You may want to get things going as quickly as possible, but I think you have time to reflect on your treatment options. A meeting with an oncologist is important so that you understand all your possible treatments. Every course of treatment may have adverse side-effects, including surgery. It's a delicate topic, but surgery can lead to erectile dysfunction which may not respond to medication. I'm not saying that to scare you - it's just important that you make an informed choice.

Hi Davo, 

My husband is in a similar situation to yourself, he got his diagnosis on Sept 5th and has just seen a surgeon on Oct 7th, he’s yet to see an oncologist to discuss the radiotherapy side of things, he too thinks he wants surgery but the CNS said they like to make sure you have all information available to ensure you make an informed decision. On Friday, the surgeon said you can’t have a prostatectomy after radiotherapy but you can have radiotherapy after a prostatectomy. Apparently you get more side effects. 
The first few days are hard, your world has been turned upside down and there’s a lot to get your head around.
Wherever possible, I made sure we had something to do to distract my husband, eg weekend away, meals out, even cinema, anything to get his mind off this horrible subject. If you feel like talking or reading about it though, do so, there are so many helpful people and books that I found mostly put our minds at rest. Just think about that date, it does come around quickly, you can’t really do anything before then but if it gets too much, I found Prostate UK helpline nurses to be a godsend. Their number is online.

I hope everything goes well for you

Hi everyone and thanks for all your advice- it's very much appreciated. I've never quite managed to work out quotes on forums so I won't try on here! 

My wife has been brilliant. Apart from when I've been for the scans, she's always with me. Good job really as I tend to forget what I'm told! Feeling a lot better today. I spoke with another  CNS and I've actually got an appointment next week to see the surgeon- I just hadn't been notified yet. I'm really sure I want the surgery as I feel it's the right way for me. I know there's potential side effects, but so does paracetamol if you read the leaflet! The CNS told me about the surgery then RT but not RT then surgery. 

The 3c diagnosis is apparently because it's in the wall as well as the gland but currently no further than that. 

On the plus side, my 'danglies' aren't aching as much as they were a week ago so that's progress I suppose! 

Thanks again- helps a lot just to write stuff down sometimes. 

Davo