What is coming next ?

Sounds really good from what you’ve said. Without any details about what has diagnosed him as stage four it’s had to say much.

There may have been a biopsy and a scans and a gleeson score to grime up what his cancer is. If you know that would help.

Just on HT is the least of all treatments for prostate cancer. His comorbities will be important to know for a better understanding. The prolfile page (the green dot beside your forum name) could be useful to jot down a few facts to allow the experienced to give you a better answer.

I’m stage four, three years in but I wish I had your dads diagnosis.

Try not to panic, life is good and years are the best prognosis.

But ask away when you’re needing support. We are here.

Hello MIKL 

Everything sounds to be good - the Hormone Therapy is working well.

The issue with Hormone Therapy is that some people become "Hormone Resistant" and the HT stops working and the PSA rises - this tends to happen (If it does) around year 4/5. 

Your father's team have everything in hand - if and when the HT stops working there are plenty more tools in the toolbox.

For now keep on enjoying life.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hello MIKL, I’m pleased to say that none of us can really tell you what is coming next for the simple, but wonderful, reason that medical advances in tackling this disease are continuing! We have seen these advances first hand as each generation in my husband ‘s family has had this prostate cancer diagnosis.over the years.

so, my husbands grandfather died without any treatment that we are aware of. My husbands father was diagnosed at stage 4 and offered hormone therapy which gave him a good quality of life for about 4 years. My husband had his PSA monitored for 8-10 years and we watched it slowly creep up before diagnosis and treatment with the intention to cure. He was offered genetic counselling and testing  due to the family history of PC and also early deaths from breast cancer in his mother’s family. Our 4 adult grandchildren have annual screening.

my husband finished his treatment in May 2024 and his PSA remains low. But, crucially, we know that, should the PSA rise, he will have access to sophisticated scans, first and second line hormone therapy, chemotherapy, possibly more radiotherapy etc with even more sophisticated drugs out there and yet more research going on.

There are many people here who are living a good quality of life due to the medical advances over the years. Greater awareness of the disease thanks to both famous people and, also, the ‘men in the street’ talking about their diagnosis also means that PC is being diagnosed at earlier and more treatable stages. 

we none of us know what advances will be coming down the track ( or other illnesses etc) . From my own perspective, I think the next big advance will be the offer of regular universal screening for all men in a similar way to the breast screening for women! 

I do, of course, acknowledge the lives lost to this cruel disease and the side effects of the treatments and remember, with fondness, the companions who have contributed to this forum but have sadly lost their battle with this disease. But, throughout our own experiences, I think the message has to be one of medical successes and hope.

This means that I hope your father continues to respond well to the hormone therapy but also that I hope you can be reassured that there are many treatments out there should the cancer evade the control of this. I hope, too, that all your father’s close male relatives ( sons and brothers) are aware of his diagnosis and the need for them to have regular PSA checks.

I wish you and your father all the very best on this journey!