Treatment Plans ?

Hi and sorry to hear.

A bit puzzled I must say.

Not sure about stage 3+, stage 3 is normally when the cancer has pushed thru the gland edge.

Def not helpful if the nurse said at best two years which looks like they have retracted, good job.

Do u have any PSA figure to give us and do u know what the MRI actually says about any spread outside the gland.

Good job that you're on HT to hold any spread back.

Looks like they're just monitoring the PSA which is not that helpful if that's all they doing. May be worth getting a second opinion.

If u have any stats that would help, also see what others say 

Best wishes

Steve 

I had a PSA of 23 iam 60

Is that 23 with the HT, if so what was PSA before u started HT

Thanks Steve for the response they didn't give me any details on the MRI they just said it hasn't spread up my spine as of yet, i don't think they know where it is its all getting me right knotted and frustrated plus the anger, its a good job iam not a drinker but its just as bad being a thinker 

My original PSA before treatment was 19 then moved to 23 and they have not told me what the latest result is from my last blood test 2 weeks ago

So that's not too bad.

Stage T3 a is just broken thru and t3b is in the vesicles, u could try and check that.

It's good that there are  no bone mets.

I feel that they should be having a treatment plan for you, try for another opinion.

You could go private for just an opinion or ask your GP for another referral.

Keep us posted

 Steve 

That seems really odd and quite frankly a vague diagnosis you've received. My partner is a stage 3b, which seems logical that that would be a 3+? I think, like Steve says that a second opinion would be a good idea. I think to say "two years at best" and then tell you not to worry  is an insulting thing to say, especially as it doesn't seem to be backed up with any solid evidence as to why. I am not surprised you feel like you are going over the edge. I think the answer to your question "should I give up"  is no certainly not. You can go for a Private consultation which will cost you around £485 at the Royal Marsden. Or another good hospital near you. Just phone them to find out about an appointment.  You will then have a consultant go through all your scans and tell you everything you need to know. You will be paying for a good hour of their time and they will advise you of the options available to you. I can highly recommend the Royal Marsden. My partner and I were in a terrible place wondering what was going to happen as we were and still are waiting for our NHS consultants appointment . His scans were gone through to the minutest detail and we were shown the cancer and everything was clearly explained. Though the news was not great we understood more about it and what was available to fight it. What hospital are you at by the way? What area are you living in?

All the best L

Prostate cancer T stages don't seem to map well to cancer stages, and I'm not even sure it's consistent.
Stage 4 (incurable) is represented by M1, and not necessarily just T4.
I was T3aN0M0 and this was variously called Stage 2 and Stage 3 in different places.
I'm wondering if Stage 3+ might be referring to something like T4NxM0, but that's a guess.
You don't seem to know your TNM staging.

You certainly have a right to know your precise diagnosis, and exactly what your treatment plan is. Not everyone wants to know, and they might have been uncertain if you did or not, and you can't untell someone if you discover they didn't want to know after you told them. If you do want to know, ask to speak with your clinical nurse specialist (CNS).

You should not need a second opinion just to find out what they already know. What you might want a second opinion on is if you are suitable for a curative treatment path if you aren't being offered one currently. It's not always obvious if a curative treatment path is right or not, in which case that discussion should involve you in the shared decision making.

The treatment you are currently on, hormone therapy, would be correct at the moment both in the case of incurable prostate cancer, and also if they were to try for a cure, so you don't need to worry that you're on the wrong treatment just now, but you may want to know and even have some say in the future treatment plan if there might be any options.

I agree with everything that Andy says, just a big question mark over how this cancer centre is operating.

All he's been given is labels for blood tests, how is he supposed to sort that out, GP I suppose.

The easiest way out of this is to go to GP ,say not happy and ask for a referral to a different hospital.

I changed hospitals twice because wasn't happy.

I’m so sorry to hear of your very understandable distress. I assume you are dealing with an NHS hospital? If so, all Hospital trusts have a Patient Information ( sometimes called advice) and liaison service ( PILS or PALS). Their contact details will be on the trust website. Can I suggest you contact them and tell them what you have told us? Our own experiences of care have not been brilliant at times. Each and every time the PILS service have sorted out the logjams in communications very quickly and very much to our satisfaction. 

the other thing I would advise, if you have not done so, is to take somebody with you to your consultations. That person will probably be able to recall the bits you might forget, understand the bits you don’t, ask the questions you don’t think to ask etc. when you are being bombarded with bad news it’s really difficult to take everything in.

finally, no, please don’t give up! there are lots of treatment options out there!