Treatment for PC at advanced age

Hi Peter R, sorry to hear about your dad, PSA is a guide, which is why the ultrasound.

The inability to pee was what started me on the numerous checks, at the urology appointment you should be given a specialist nurse so if you need answers post appointment, a full rundown of his diagnosis and treatment options, that will take age into consideration.

All the best Ulls

Thanks Ulls,

That is what I need really, a point of contact for us both, especially when I head back to Oz

Hi PerteR, if you can't get to speak to your nurse both Macmillan and prostate cancer UK provide extremely good help lines

Thanks

I was concerned that there was no evidence of that sort of help so far

The consultants usually don't tell you about support groups we found a lot from the noticeboards around the hospital.  If your Dad manages to get out it may be worth his while also getting to his local Maggies Centre if there is one near you as it is great for support in all things.  Prostate Cancer UK specialist nurses have a helpline on free phone number (from land lines) 0800 074 8383 and are open Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri from 9am to 6pm and Wed from 10 am to 8pm.  You can also e mail them from the contact details on the prostatecanceruk website.  We found them invaluable during the early stages as it was almost impossible to contact my keyworker nurse at the hospital.  I met her once and managed to get her to send me a copy of some document a few weeks later but after that just couldn't contact her as she was so busy.  I imagine that that situation is much worse now that we have problems with Covid and a huge backlog.  You can also contact your Dad's consultant's secretary to ask questions but be aware that they have been and probably some still are working shorter hours and shorter weeks or job sharing with another secretary during Covid and sometimes working from home so may not have details to hand or a job share secretary may not know certain things so would have to contact someone else so you may find yourself waiting on phone calls that take a while to come and maybe do not come at all, so you have to contact them again to get answers.

We found Tenovus Charity brilliant too and had regular telephone calls from them asking us how things were progressing and asking if we needed any help with claiming for benefits or any other help.  We felt this would be a great help to those facing this on their own.  I think we continued to have phone calls up until about a year or so after treatment had been completed.  I do hope they continue to do this.

Let us know how you get on with the appointment on Tuesday.  If you could let us know his current PSA details and any other test results/scan results that he has had recently that would always help us to advise on courses of action. 

Hope everything goes well for you as it is a very worrying time.

Thanks so much.

I am very grateful for your advice. I will see what I can find about most recent results.

Hi PeterR,  I'm not sure what you know about treatments.  His psa wasn't that high although it isn't a fully reliable measure and could mean a number of things including benign conditions.  Some men have surgery to help passing urine.   At his age I'm not sure what they'd offer but I wonder if an MRI would better and give more information.   I'm not sure if a biopsy would offered an 88 year old, he'd likely need some nursing afterwards depending on his state.  An alternative could be hormone treatment if it is cancerous, to shrink the growth.  Most people tolerate hormone treatment but it does have side effects.  Does he have a home help or a visiting nurse.  The nurse visited me after my operation but I said I didn't need any help.  All that might not be a great help but perhaps might create a thought.  All the best Peter

Thanks, every little helps.

He did have a biopsy a couple of years ago, but I have only recently got access to test results etc via patients know best etc.

I will try to find the report.

Thanks again

It's so good of you and fantastic that you are able to come over to be with your Dad at this time,

I would think it most likely at this age that he would be offered Hormone Therapy (HT) as main treatment.  Anything else would depend on his pre-existing conditions and how fit he is generally and of course the PCa itself - tumour position, possible spread etc..  Though he may need more invasive procedures to sort out his current problem - no way we can guess at  anything else .  You won't really know until he has had the consultation on Tuesday and the results of any other tests/scans that may be suggested then.  They may also organise a Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) Meeting to discuss the treatment options so these will include Oncologist, Radiologist, Urologist and any other medical professionals that may have to be included - for instance if your Dad has a heart condition this may include a Cardiologist.  This can mean treatment options will not be given for a couple of weeks - though Hormone Therapy (HT) may already have started.

We do have a gentleman at our Walnut Club at our Maggies Centre who was given both radiotherapy and chemotherapy for PCa in his mid eighties and coped very well with the help of his wife.  He was and still is quite fit for his age.  I also shared the radiotherapy waiting room with one gentleman of 84 who was also having radiotherapy for PCa,  lived on his own and coped really well - though I don't know how much help he had from District nurses or "home helps" afterwards. This is something you would have to discuss with your local social services department if it is felt necessary if your Dad does go on to have other treatments.

Of course if it turns out not to be PCa but an infection or other benign prostate condition then none of this may be necessary.

People have been so helpful, thank you.

Dad did start goserelin implants but this was stopped I think due to effects on his heart ? I will be asking for clarification.

A MDT sounds like the answer as he is juggling long standing heart issues,myeloma, anaemia.

I have about 4 weeks left here.