Dad got his treatment plan - any advice ?

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I’m posting on behalf of my dad after his recent meeting with the urologist and oncologist, and I was hoping to hear from anyone who’s been on a similar treatment path.

The plan is 6 months of hormone therapy – starting with 3 weeks of tablets, followed by 2 injections given 3 months apart. Radiotherapy will begin after the first 3 months, with 4 weeks of treatment. The doctors have said they don’t expect he’ll need any further treatment beyond this.

My dad’s details:

Gleason 7 (4+3)
5 cores taken, all 5 positive
60% pattern 4, 40% pattern 3
T2c with some risk of T3a
PSA 13

We’re feeling reassured by the plan but, as you can imagine, a bit anxious about what’s ahead. Has anyone (or a family member) gone through a similar course of hormone therapy and radiotherapy? We’d really appreciate hearing about side effects, how manageable they were, and any tips that helped along the way.

Thank you so much — reading others’ experiences has already been a huge comfort to us.

Grundo 1 month ago

Hi CD, haven't spoken for a while

That looks ok to me, stats not particularly high , good he's only on HT for 6 months, side effects seem to affect everyone differently but 6 months shouldn't be too difficult

So this will probably sort it, actually stats similar to mine when I started treatment in 2017

Hope all goes well and best wishes for 2026

Steve.

David2017 1 month ago

Hi Concerneddaughter13fd2e84 as Steve has said, all sounds very straight forward. Hopefully side effects of HT won’t be too bad. Expect fatigue and hot flushes from HT but generally not too bad. RT is completely painless but he will need to get his body prepared for each session. Wind is the enemy so watch his diet, also depending on full or empty bladder (do you know yet?) the preparation is key. Other than incredible sense of deja vu and boredom (and more fatigue) it should be straight forward.

Best wishes, David

Please remember that I am not medically trained and the above are my personal views.

Amplitude 1 month ago

Hello Concerneddaughter13fd2e84 Good to hear he has a treatment plan now. David2017 is spot-on with his experience. Just take it day-to-day. There is a compiled list of pre-RT useful knowledge here: "What do you wish you had known before starting Radiotherapy" if you haven’t already seen it. My main issue was fatigue towards the end of the 4 weeks and for some time afterwards. My bio goes through everything in a bit more detail, although the RT was ‘full-pelvic’ in my case, covering lymph nodes and seminal vesicles too.

Buzzers 1 month ago

Hello Concerneddaughter,

I was 67 when diagnosed as Gleason 7 (4 + 3) with a PSA of 7.6 & T2aNoMo & my treatment was 9 months HT (initially Bicalutamide & then 3 x 3 monthly Decapeptyl injections, so not too dissimilar.

It took about a month before I started having any side effects, but generally there wasn't anything too difficult to cope with - more an inconvenience - & these improved once the HT had finished & worked it's way out of the system. If it helps at all, you can read my journey on my profile.

Fatigue can rear it's head during treatment, but I found keeping fit & active really helped so it didn't cause me any issues. If you have any specific questions then ask away - more than happy to help.

Best Wishes

Brian

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Dad got his treatment plan - any advice ?