Decision time

Hi 

Sorry about your husbands diagnosis. Good for you for taking your holiday. My hubby got his diagnosis of prostate cancer yesterday. There is a shock involved on hearing the cancer word and i know there is a longvwsy to go. We are back at hospital next week to talk about options. Though he will be having CT and MRI scans also. Iam so glad i have found this forum and grateful for replies that i received yesterday. It is good to talk. 

Hello bar711

Welcome to the prostate group, though I imagine it's not really would want to be.

It's good to hear that you and your husband have got over the first hurdle and decided which treatment option to take.

Irrespective of pros and cons radiotherapy (RT) with hormone therapy (HT) is as equally effective as surgery, if that was the other option.  Similarly brachytherapy if that was another.

All being well, in the UK there are 2 rules for cancer.  The 31 day rule states that 95% of patients should start treatment no more than 31 days after treatment decision.  The 62 day rule says 85% of the rest should start within 62 days.  There is no guarantee that everyone will meet these targets, but they are there.

RT and HT treatments are, like any cancer treatment, not without their challenges.  Hopefully this community and Macmillan can help you meet these challenges during treatment and recovery.

I will post again later with some information I can't access on this particular device.

Well have to say the nurse really took his time going over the points more than once as he thought my husband did not really understand full treatment even offered a second appointment but my husband said he made up his mind .  He got letter to hand into his doctor and his hormone therapy starts Monday so great no waiting . Can't wait to get all covers on bed to myself let the sweats begin   He did say that it could be 7 weeks of radiotherapy which I thought was a lot but it seemingly is the same amount but just taken over longer period is there an advantage doing this. Ie would you be less tired 

Yes I cried for weeks but after Mri and bone scan results somehow although would have loved better results we now feel that we can go through this journey with others help and asking lots of silly questions which you feel are important . Keep positive and cry if you need to x

Glad that treatment is starting on Monday....feeling that there is a plan i think makes you feel better. My husband is a very positive person but I had a melt down yesterday at work. Im not too bad but then in the middle of the night my fears come. Thats normal i guess. Its reassuring to havd this forum. 

I had radical prostatectomy a few months back. Unfortunately not all cancer removed (elevated psa). I'm currently waiting for scan and next steps

The point being there is no wrong or right answer, do what's right for you and your husband.  Sometimes this forum is exactly what I need and sometimes I need time away.  Learn to see when it helps and when to walk away for a short time.

Treatment is a long process and you need time away from cancer as well as understanding the next steps. The waiting at times is unbearable learning to switch off is essential.

Some days I cry, other days I am able to keep things in hand.  Accept and try to spend time away from the c word. Sleepness nights for both partners are unfortunately par for the course. Be gentle with yourself and do what is right for you

I wish you both well on this journey that we unfortunately are on

Hi bar711 & Strawhead.

You can see my journey through diagnosis and treatment in my profile. At the moment my PSA is undetectable but I will still be on HT for another two years. It's when HT stops that things are likely to change, if not before. I am currently on 3 monthly PSA checks but that will change to six monthly checks in October.

My wife has been very strong throughout but I still cry without any obvious reason occasionally. It's important to have an occasion to look forward to and we just celebrated our golden wedding last month which was our target for survival throughout the diagnosis and treatment path. I have just about conquered the hot flushes with sage, evening primrose oil and one 50mg Cyproterone acetate tablet every day.

Although it's a long way from home, we found Maggie's Centre was a great help as was the Macmillan caravan which visited our village during the lead up to a treatment decision. Try to get to Maggie's or your local Macmillan centre which will probably be attached to you cancer treatment centre.

Good luck to both of you in your journey and keep in touch through the forum it's a great place to talk.

I became obsessed with Mrs Google in the middle of night when I couldn't sleep for over month then I just stopped and felt better for it .i also think having that holiday where no one knew of illness was a boost  my husband is retired and has read only one booklet that he got with first diagnosis he won't go to meetings but he has a good group guys who support each other as golden oldies have had many ailments between them ha  honestly I thought after 50 years married I wouldn't survive on my own but the dr laughed when I told him and said get that rubbish out your head and enjoy all good days so if you have a bad one you know a good one will follow  hope your hubby gets good results 

Well hopefully things start to improve for you. I googled world to start with and appointments I between and waiting for results certainly made me sleepless and fatter with tea biscuits toast throughout night whilst hubby snored night away and I walked away from computer until he decided what treatment and did sleep better but getting advice on what to expect next helps me support my hubby     Hoping to find sunshine at end journey but I'm sure I'll see some rain getting there 

I think it is very hard for the wives. We are at the start of our Cancer trip. My husband is a very positive person. I do google things a lot which sometimes scares me to death but this group is great because its people who are dealing with varying aspects of this disease.