Dear all
I am sad to have to join your community, but there seems to be a lot of help and support here so I was wondering if I could benefit from some of your experience.
My 75 year old father was initially was diagnosed in December following a PSA of 57 with locally advanced cancer into a lymph node. With a PSA that high, we were expecting metastasis and unfortunately a PSMA PET scan has confirmed that the cancer has spread to the abdominal lymph nodes. There is no (visible) bone spread which is good news. His Gleeson score is 9. He is otherwise healthy, no other medication and no co-morbidities.
He has been on HT for about 4 months (we have not had a PSA test since to see how this is working) and seems to be doing OK, the fatigue being the only side effect to date.
His consultant has suggested combining the HT with darolutimide. I am obviously extremely grateful that such a new treatment is available to him, and I understand there is great hope with it in extending life expectancy whilst minimising side effects.
At this stage, the consultant is reluctant to recommend chemo as part of triplet therapy. I think this is because of my father’s age and weighing up quality of life with life extension, particularly considering he is already 75.
He is also not willing to do RT, which I am struggling to understand. I understand that he cannot get to the abdominal lymph nodes, and that RT would not offer a curative option, but I have read on here several tales of men being offered RT despite metastasised cancer. Is anyone able to shed any light on why this might be?
I am trying my best to support my parents, whilst obviously trying not to interfere too much.
Any thoughts or experiences would be extremely helpful – particularly any tales of hope, which I know my family would find very comforting. We are very aware that there are no guarantees with this illness, but hope is always to be welcomed.
Thank you
Jenny
