Dad's diagnosis and his future

Hello Misslily  A warm welcome to the group - I am so sorry to find you here - but it's the best place for help and advice.

You are asking foe experiences - I am a T3aN0M0 with an initial PSA of 182. I am on Hormone Therapy for 3 years and received my Radiotherapy in January of this year. You can follow my entire journey (I did have a couple of other issues on the way) by clicking on the icon of the beach.

I hope the cancer hasn't spread and the treatment he is on will be fine. I hope his bone scan goes well on Friday.

Feel free to ask any questions you have - however trivial - we are happy to help.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi have a similar but slightly more favourable diagnosis PSA 6.9 T2c N0 M0 Gleason 8.

I am on the same pathway that is being recommended for your father and I'm 71 years old.

I've finished radiotherapy and am on my third hormone injection.

I'm coping well so far and am able to get on with life pretty much as normal. My side effects from the hormones are minimal, at the moment. (touch wood) although this may change as I progress through the treatment.

So don't despair its possible to have a good quality of life on this treatment pathway and depending on the type of disease achieve a cure.

At your fathers age you need to be thinking carefully about the balance between quality of life and benefits/side effects of a curative treatment. I will write more when I have time.

Best wishes and good luck

Rob Booth

Hi Miss lily

Fingers crossed bone scan will be clear.

Then fairly straightforward and potentially curable.

HT to stop the tumour for growing further and then RT to finish it off, .

Hope all goes well

All the best 

Steve 

Misslily,

Has your dad got someone to accompany him to the scan on Friday.  It is a very simple process but like all treatments/tests can be daunting the first time.  Once you get the results things will start to look brighter with a well planned treatment plan.  Ask any questions here and you will get honest first hand experiences. Good luck for Friday.  David

Hi Misslily 

I was only 71 when diagnosed in 2018 with Gleason 4+5=9, T3A N0 M0 and a PSA of 11 (risen to 15 by the time treatment started). I also had three years of hormone treatment and 20 sessions of radiotherapy in early 2019. It is nearly two and a half years since my last Prostap injection and my PSA has been stable at 0.2 for 18 months now. I just had a PSA test today but won't know the result until Monday at the earliest.

I am now 76 and walk 30-40 miles every week, swim a mile twice a week (pool not open water!) and go coastal rowing as often as the wind and tides allow.

I assume your Dad has had a biopsy as he has been given a TNM grading, so that's the worst part over with. It's important at his age that he keeps as fit as possible and walking every day is a great way to do that.

As everyone else has said, please come back with any questions as someone here will be able to give you an answer.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Can you tell me how long you take HT before you feel first side effects? 

That’s probably about like ‘how long is a piece of string. We are all different in the way we react to treatments and all start from a different starting point.

ED was the first thing I noticed.  I can’t recall how quickly it started but was like turning off a tap (that had been available on call for 50+ years).  I thought it would really bother me but it took away all my desire so has never been an issue (Mrs David2017 was pleasantly surprised I think).

Hot flushes within a few weeks, sometimes intense but not really a problem.

Weight gain.  Having played sport and been fit all my life, never really a problem before, but not easy not to put on weight.

Manboobs over the years.

Overall nothing I can’t live with or turn a blind eye.

Hope that helps.

David