Hormone Treatment

I am pretty much in the same boat (no pun intended) as Seamus the only difference being a higher initial PSA and a later diagnosis. The delay in my RT was caused by having an indwelling catheter for 10 months whilst waiting for a TURP but after RT - All is good.

Brian.

Dear Seamus

Once again thank you for taking the time to respond. That is very informative. 

Rens

Thanks Brian. Your post and the one from Seumas made me reflect that some of our cancers are more aggressive than others and perhaps you must accept that we need to throw everything at it. 

It's a tough old gig dealing with cancer.

Thanks for the anchor-agement!!

Rens

HI Rens - Not only do Seamus and I share a love of greyhounds we are both members of the Gleason 9 club - not somewhere where we wanted to be!! It's a strange old world.

I have always said this PC affects each and everyone of us differently. I also believe a positive attitude is half the battle. Good luck on your treatment journey and keep in touch.

Brian.

Thanks Brian. I used to go to the dogs at Walthamstow in my bachelor days. In bygone years I would have been at Cheltenham this week. Keep that boat afloat!

Rens

This is an interesting thread which I’d like to contribute to. I had a prostatectomy in July 22, but unfortunately some cancer cells had entered my left lymph node. I was then put on a course of two-year HT with RT after the first four months. Just before I’m about to start RT, my latest blood test has shown a PSA of only 0.05 - which is excellent! Here is the question - do I still need RT with such a low PSA? Indeed, do I really need to continue with HT? My oncologist is bound to advise me, but I was wondering what views on here might be.

Hi Busibaz , my answer would be Yes & Yes! The purpose of the initial HT is to shrink the prostate and the cancer by starving it of testosterone. The RT will then disrupt the cancer cells (and some surrounding healthy tissue unfortunately). The final part of the HT will prevent the cancer cells from recovering from the RT and they will gradually die off over the next few months.

I was Gleason 9 when diagnosed in 2018 with T3A N0 M0 and a PSA of 15 by the time I started HT in October of that year. My PSA had dropped to 0.4 by the time RT started and dropped again to 0.1 by the end of the 20 sessions. Three months later it was undetectable and remained so until six months after the HT finished. It has now been stable at 0.2 for over a year, so I am currently in remission.

I hope that helps.

Hi Busibaz - Seamus has stolen my thunder - again!! - He's right and I am 100% in agreement with him, you do need the RT and yes you should keep on the HT and those two treatments combined should see off the little sods for good.

I have the same diagnosis as Seamus but am 3 years behind him in my treatment but have gone down the same path although only finishing my RT 8 weeks ago. All is well and for a treatment which is aimed to be curative it's well worth it for peace of mind!

I also hope this helps.

Brian.

as others have said def yes, u can't cure PC with HT,  PSA  prob low because on HT but if u came of it doubtless PSA would go back up.

RT is the easy bit and hopefully will sort your situation

Steve