Newly Diagnosed. Upset, angry and terrified

Hello Liz - you have turned the proverbial corner and taken back control of your lives, I am so very pleased for you both. There will still be  lingering anxieties but you sure are getting there! Enjoy the rest of the summer and ouch the PC to the back of your minds until October :) well done and a big hug for you both!

Thank you very much. It certainly had taken time but I slept most of the night don’t know whether it was the Sauvignon Blanc or just sheer relief . TBH even OH looks better . Hugs right back and thank you for your words of wisdom 

Liz & OH 

XXX

 Worriedwife has suggested that I might be able to put some numbers on recurrence rates of prostatectomy Vs radiotherapy. Help. The difficulty is that both techniques have improved considerably over the years, as has the accuracy of the original diagnosis, so I thought I would try and see if there are any figures based on the latest techniques. I have brought the response back to your own thread so that you can keep the information together in one place. From the attached paper it indicates that the outcomes from both techniques are similar in terms of biochemical recurrence but the time to biochemical recurrence (if it is going to happen) seems to be a lot quicker with surgery compared to radiotherapy. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00066-023-02192-5

Just to add to WW's excellent post, it is possible to have radiotherapy in the same area but it depends on the initial dose of the first line of treatment. The standard has been between 60 and 72/74 Gy which is getting towards the top of the limit but recent developments have reduced the radiotherapy sessions to 6 x 6 Gy for some men. Also very targeted salvage radiotherapy is being used on recurrent mets as new imaging techniques allow for them to be pinpointed accurately. I actually asked our oncologist how many times you can have radiotherapy in the same area and his response was 2/3 depending on the type.

I think that you need more information before you can make a decision on which treatment is best for you and at the moment some of the pieces of the jigsaw are still missing. It is a good idea to speak to a surgeon, once you have all your results, and find out exactly what type of surgery is proposed, whether it would be nerve sparing, how many of this kind of procedure have they carried out...... A surgeon would have a vested interest in promoting their expertise. For radiotherapy you need to speak to the oncologist as to what is available in your area - not all areas offer Brachytherapy but this should not stop you from having it if you are prepared to travel. Also some machines and systems are better than others. Learning more about the treatments available will help you gain some control and help you come to terms with your diagnosis.

Hi John JPMJIG . There is a brilliant book which you can download for free which explains how to survive prostate cancer. It answers many questions in easy to understand language.

https://issuu.com/magazineproduction/docs/js_prostate_cancer_guide_for_patients_ezine

 JPMJIG Just checking in on you to see how you are today?

Hi AH, I’ve been in bits today. Anxiety, fear and panic at their highest levels. I may need to visit GP to get someone to help. I have my CT scan tomorrow and I’m terrified that it may reveal severe spread maybe even to bones. My mental health state is bad. I’m not taking this very well. God knows how I’m going to be if I’m told it’s spread badly. It’s a living nightmare to be honest. 

There must be a macmillan nursing service near where you are attached to your hospital .it might be worth a call .take care and keep in touch with our wonderful group 

Liz & OH XX

Hello JPMJIG

Sorry to hear that your stress levels are so high. Somebody once gave me some very wise words:

The past has happened and can't be unhappened

The future is mere conjecture and might not happen

To worry about the past or th future is therefore a waste of energy

It's much better to stay in the here and now

So, I would suggest you try to stop thinking about what might be (as it might not be) and concentrate your energy on just getting through today, this hour, this minute. 

Where you are now is horrible but you are reacting to the news pretty much as we all did. We are here for you and will hold you close until you have come to terms with everything. Please remember that , whatever the final results, there is a whole armoury of treatment out there which the medics can and will throw at this darned cancer.

The Macmillan Cancer Support telephone number is 0808 808 00 00. Please consider ringing  them , too. They are open until 8pm tonight!

I hope all goes well for you tomorrow. I have never had a CT scan so don't know what happened and I also don't know whether or not you might have to wait for results.

Look after yourself, try not to worry and remember we are all here for you

xxxx 

Hi JPMJIG.

I'm very sorry to hear that you are struggling with things currently.

Yes I was in your shoes this time last year and yes I could have done the "what ifs"

But there's one thing that I learnt following my Stroke in 1998 it was that staying "Positive" is the only way forward believe me.

I do hope that everything goes ok for you tomorrow & please try to "stay positive" as this will help you "greatly"

Prostate Worrier.

Hello John JPMJIG .

I am not going to tell you not to worry because you are not in the right frame of mind at the moment for that kind of advice but I do think that you need to speak to someone who can help you put things into perspective or you are going to make yourself ill. Macmillan do have resources to help you but you need to ring them on 0808 808 00 00 , and preferably this evening before 20:00.