About to start treatment nervous

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Was told on the 9th june had cancer and it was aggressive gleason 8 4+4 , urologist suggested surgery would probably be best after bone scan result.

That was clear got meeting with surgeon/oncologist on 27th but thinking surgery to remove all best.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Msrk

  • Depending on the full breakdown of your test results, it is possible that you have ALL the options.

    This page gives a lot of information - .www.cancerresearchuk.org/.../decisions-about-your-treatment.  Read through the page and the links and you will understand more about the pros and cons of each option.

     Then the support pages on this website will reinforce that understanding.

    I have 2 friends who have had surgery. One was plain sailing, ticked all the boxes, recovered quickly.

    The other was told after 12 months that the surgeon had not got it all. Now he is going through the same level of radiotherapy that I had.

    Make sure that you make an informed choice, because you will be stronger for it.

    Steve

    Changed, but not diminished.
  • Hi Marker

    Do u have any PSA figures and what does the MRI show, the more info u can give the easier it is to give an accurate answer 

    Steve 

  • Hi

    I would check with the surgeon that they are very confident that all the cancer can be removed. If there is a strong chance you will be needing radiotherapy following surgery I would opt for radiotherapy as my primary treatment.

    Radiotherapy and surgery have similar cure rates so you need to be thinking about side effects and going through two primary treatments is going to give you the side effects of both.

    I was Gleason 8 (4+4) and my MDT recommended radiotherapy for this reason. While I could have pushed for surgery they advised that there was a good chance I would be needing radiotherapy following surgery so I was advised to make this my primary treatment path.

    That's my two bits !

    Best of Luck whatever you choose. Rob

  • Have read that if you have RT and it comes back surgery is not a good prospect

  • Hello Mark ( 

    Surgeons work out of Urology - Oncologists work from oncology - you should have a meeting with both prior to making your treatment choice.

    * Yes if you go down the Radiotherapy route - if it comes back surgery is harder but not impossible.

    * Here's a link from the NICE guidelines showing the success rates for surgery and radiotherapy

    NICE Recommendations.

    There are some interesting figures at 13.7!

    I hope this helps.

    Best wishes - Brian.

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    1. Have got meeting with surgeon then oncologist this friday 27th will see what they say
  • Hello Mark ( 

    I wish you all the best with both meetings. If it helps here's a list of questions you may want to ask - pick out the ones you feel important to you and your family

    Questions for your Team.

    Best wishes - Brian.

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  • Thanks have done some reading already but its hard to work out whats best

  • Hello Mark ( 

    And that my friend is the $64,000 dollar question. We are all different, we are all human and we know what we want - just how to get it is the hard part and it could be a life changing choice.

    I would be making a list of the pros and cons of how each treatment affects you and your partner and will do in the future, plus a list of questions for your team. Use trusted sources, Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan (not Dr Google).

    Some of us have our journey in our profile (click on my name or avatar for details) and you may find reading some of these help.

    Best wishes - Brian.

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    Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

    Strength, Courage, Faith, Hope, Defiance, VICTORY.

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