New diagnosis T4

Hi Size4feet .  Yes.  Positive points are:  body scan and CT clear, so probably confined to pelvic area. PET scan only showing suspicion of cancer outside the gland, in the pelvic area.  Already on HT, so cancer will be sleeping due to lack of food in a few days time, so the pressure is off.  Your hubby will probably not be suitable for removal surgery. This is not necessarily a bad thing.  He will probably have full pelvic radiotherapy (I had this).  Radiotherapy kills cancer.  Check out my profile : I think you will find it very encouraging.  AW

Oh, one more thing.  This may well be T3a or T3b after those suspicious areas are properly classified, signifying locally advanced cancerous growth.  T4 denotes distant metastasis.  Radiotherapy is computer aided to target effectively so if it’s just in his pelvic area (T3a or b) then he could be on a treatment pathway with curative intent.   AW

Hello Size4feet 

A warm welcome to the group from me too, although I am so sorry to find you joining us. I hope the two posts above from Alpine Wanderer have helped to reduce the anxiety somewhat.

A few general points for me:

* Are you aware having a cancer diagnosis at 53 puts your husband into the "free prescriptions" group if you live in England (they are already free in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)?

* Hormone Therapy can weaken your bone structure so it's worth asking for a prescription for Calcium and Vitamin D Tablets.

* Again Hormone Therapy can increase the chances of growing a pair of male "moobs". If he's worried about this he needs to speak with his team - it's something you can't reverse later. There is medication to stop it.

* Finally HT can cause shrinkage of the penis. (penile atrophy). To keep this part of his body in good condition he needs to have a word with his team for the appropriate medication.

I hope the above helps - and if you have any questions, however trivial someone on the group will have the answer.

Best wishes - Brian.

Thank you. Will read bio xxxx

Thank you Brian. Will buy calcium and vitamin d now!!! I will make sure the other half asks about moobs and shrinkage etc… thank you

The calcium / vitamin D pills I get on prescription are called iCal.  The pills to prevent atrophy are usually Tadalafil 5mg per day.   AW

Hi Size4feet , just to add to the other posts, don’t take any other medications (even herbal) without checking with your medical team first.  

Hello Size4 feet, I feel for you!  We are now coming up to the 4th anniversary of my husband being told his MRI showed almost definite prostate cancer. I was to totally , totally devastated and so very frightened. We had to jump through all the protracted diagnostic hurdles to get the full picture. There were long delays between tests and results and the ‘dollops of bad news’ kept coming in. I remember getting the hormone tablets and almost pushed the first one into him because the nurse specialist told us that as soon as he started taking them the cancer would stop growing! I don’t know whether it’s really an immediate effect or whether it was within days but knowing we were doing something, anything to stop its progress felt like a fantastic step forward. 

Then he was transferred from urology to oncology! At last we had a treatment plan! We were told he was being treated ‘with the intention to cure’. This was music to our ears until I realised this was not a ‘guarantee of cure’. So, I carried on worrying ! My husband had watched his paternal grandfather die of ‘prostate problems’ - cancer being a taboo word in those days. Then we watched his own father die of it.  However, the excellent care we received from oncology (after appalling lackadaisical care from urology) was in itself reassuring and we settled into the treatment. How treatment has, and continues to, progress!

slowly my emotions settled and we plodded on. I realise now that the very worst of this journey was where you are now - in the midst of the diagnostics!  The radiotherapy and hormone therapy are now behind us. He had 6 monthly PSA monitoring which seems to come around all too quickly and raises the anxiety levels. He does have osteoporosis because nobody prescribed the calcium and vitamin D . When I queried this at the start of the hormone therapy they told me it wasn’t necessary. I wish I had pushed harder for this. 

we’re nearing now the end of a wonderful summer. I have not seen him this fit and active for years! He has more energy than me! I finally ‘retired’ this summer and we have been sticking to a regime of ‘weekly outings’ We are now looking to book a couple of winter holidays to somewhere warm - one before and one after Christmas. Next year we have 4  milestone birthdays in our family! We’re looking forward to celebrations! 

a cancer diagnosis is scary, the treatment is not the nicest but there are also many many positives! It made us appreciate each other more as we fought together, it made us appreciate our family and friends more and it made us appreciate life! There is life with a cancer diagnosis!

my only proviso is to advise you that prostate cancer does seem to have some family tendencies. If your husband has sons or brothers, then he should advise them of his diagnosis so that they can get tested regularly. Because there is a strong history of both prostate and breast cancer in my husbands family we were referred for genetic counselling. Although no known cancer genes were detected , we were warned there may be as yet, undetected genes they had not identified. Our daughters have annual mammograms and our sons have annual PSA tests so any problems can be detected early.

I hope you and your husband will soon know the ‘full picture’ and life will settle as you embark on your treatment plan and, like us, find that life can still be lived to the full - you just learn to appreciate it more! 

xxx

Thank you. 
This is really lovely to read, thank you for sharing. 
I guess I’m already looking forward to a time we don’t feel so bruised, but mostly that we will have a time when that happens!!!