Locally advanced and moving quickly with MDT's

Hi Steve

You don't say what the Psa is, also do u have a Gleeson from your biopsy yet?

If it is locally advanced you will probably be better of with Radiotherapy and HT.

You can ask about surgery when u go tomorrow, see what they say.

So HT to get the psa down and shrink the tumour (s) followed by 20 sessions of RT.

Cure still possible as long as it hasn't spread elsewhere.

Good luck tomorrow , let us know how it goes.

Steve

PSA WAS 82.4 ON DIAGNOSIS. Urologist said that it had not spread further and not to any organs or bones, just locally to the seminal vesicles. Didn't give a Gleeson. Will post what happens tomorrow,after I get back.

Hi Steve

Your stats are very similar to mine. 

When I met with Oncology, the only option I was offered was HT followed by 37 RT sessions. I will continue with HT until the end of this year - 2 years in total.  When I queried what other options there were, I was advised the one offered was the best for my situation.

I can understand why you want to get rid of it - I suspect everyone does! - but they did say the procedure was intended to cure me. 

Hope your meeting goes well!

Regards

Stu

It's well worth reading the 'toolkit' for general advice.

Hi

First see what they have to say, take someone with you, two people are better than one. They may offer a few different options, the thing is do not rush your decision, if you don’t understand what their saying ask them to explain. 
The thing is things are starting to happen, which is good, do not worry or stress, PC is very slow to grow, so like I’ve said take your time and listen to what they say.

take care keep safe.

Joe

OK. So update this morning is No Op. Been given Bicalutamide for 3 weeks, after week 2, I go for an injection. Then in about 3 months, if my Psa is down enough, then External beam Radiotherapy for a month. After that follow up hormones and checks.

They decided not to operate as I have a couple of underlying conditions.

Sounds like a plan.

With a little local spread (T3b?), I reckon RT+HT is a better bet than surgery for most people, anyway.

Mind you, I'm probably biased (T3a, RT+HT).

Sounds like a good plan Steve, as Heinous says probably better anyway for T3.

Hope all goes well 

• Steve

Any idea on life expectancy after HT +ERT?

How long is a piece of string?  

It's a fair question, and I'm sure we've all asked it, but we're all different, and the only honest answer is "It depends"

1. It depends on where you were when diagnosed (T?N?M?)

2. It depends on how old you are.

3. It depends where the tumour is.

4. It depends how aggressive the cancer is.

5. It depends on pre-existing conditions.

6. It depends on the accuracy of the diagnosis - modern imaging is great, but can still miss 'micro-mets'.

7. It depends on the skills and resources in radiotherapy.

8. It depends on how your body reacts to the therapies.

... that's off the top of my head, I'm sure I could find another dozen without too much effort!

so the range of possibilities is from some 5 years (early recurrence and a less than perfect response to treatment, to 30+ years, if you are 'cured', even though you'll never know for sure that you're cured until the post mortem.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific: your doctors, who know which 'depends' apply, and how much weight to put on each, might narrow that down for you. A little.

But for PCa caught before it metastasises (TxNxM0), over 50% of men will die of something other than PCA, with a median survival of about 15-20 years (All these stats are approx. - I haven't checked the latest figures. Think of them as 'ball park' figures).