I am sure there are many on here with experience of this - Unfortunately ( or fortunately for me) I don't have experience myself other than my brother in law was diagnosed at 54 with Stage 4 PCa and it did metastasise to bones and brain. With good treatment and - treatment is changing all the time, he had a good 10 years post diagnosis and actually survived another heart attack during that time - it was a heart attack that took him into hospital at 54 and when he had his first PSA test which unfortunately led to that diagnosis. Sadly he died at 68 but in that time he had many trips across the US in a camper van with his wife and his consultant often sees his wife and two sons at Prostate Cancer Charity events and often tells them that now there are so much more treatment options available for advanced prostate cancer the he would likely have been able to have given him a few more good years - arbiraterone is the treatment he thinks would have given John this - although of course, there is no way to be sure that this would have suited John or worked but it does show that advances are being made in treatments and combinations of treatment for cancers.
I am sure someone will be along soon with their experiences and I am also sure they will ask for a little more detail of your circumstances such as age, PSA, etc and what treatments you are having or have had.
Initially 4 was ago was at drs with chest pain, was admitted to coronary care & a CT scan showed lesions on his spine. His PSA was very high so he has had his first Hormone injection. MRI showed lesions on spine, pelvis & rib. His heart was clear so was discharged last week. On Tamsulison 400mg - one at night. Has an apt for a prostate biopsy on 5th June then will see the Oncologist re treatment. He is 72 & relatively fit.
my husband is going for a biopsy in the morning & hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for an appointment with the oncologist. We’ve got a lot of info from this group so should have a better understanding of the questions to ask. Thanks
Hi JFM Mets are scary but can be treated in so many ways these days. My profile shows just how many and some I haven’t even listed. Just remember each PC is different and individual treatments work for some and not others. Don’t be put off by side effects some get them some don’t. Some get a cut finger my little luv gets an arm amputation but he won’t die wondering and nearly 14 years later he is still here being the annoying bugger only he can be. We live each day like there is no tomorrow and enjoy the moment.You can and will too.
I found out 3 months ago, following 7 weeks of 'sciatica', that it was prostate cancer which had fractured a vertebrae, which was then pressing on the cauda equina nerves, and I was lucky not be paralysed.
I'm dealing as much with the loss of the full mobility I always had as I am the diagnosis, as I'm left with some walking difficulties and pain in the left hip, plus it appears some of the bone cement which is squirted into the spine during surgery has migrated to my lungs through the blood, so I have 'metastasised' cement too. Ah, well.
Such a diagnosis is a huge shock. I got mine laid on a trolley in an A&E corridor while awaiting a bed for 16 hours and was made to lie flat due to spinal issues. Back then I thought I was a no-hoper, that I am only treatable, not curable, and the radiotherapy I went on to receive was only palliative, 5 fractions, so I never got to 'ring the bell' while everyone clapped.
I know I'm dealing with it now by thinking the end is off in the distance, still over the hills and far away, perhaps due to an element of denial, but I feel otherwise healthy and my bloods are okay, and was told I may have 3 or 4 years, but that nothing is guaranteed.
Whatever your situation, you have to carry on, this cancer has crept up behind and stabbed you in the back and you should not remain on the ground, floored by it, letting it win, but instead get back up, seek treatment, and carry on, doing the best you can to keep healthy, mind and body, so that your immune system can fight back.
Hopefully some new biomarker or enzyme will be discovered which determines which men survive longest and this will become a new drug in the near future. And there is nothing to say that you won't be one of those who respond so well to current treatments that you are still around 10 or more years later, as can be the case.
I find black humour helps me too. I'm on Degarelix and Apalutamide. The other day I came home with £9k's worth (3 month supply) of Apalutamide so they must have faith in my survival. Felt like the Estate's drug dealer and wondered if I needed to hide this 'stash' under the floorboards. Nothing else is anywhere near that value in my lowly abode. Because the therapy can cause bone thinning over time I have to take Alendronic Acid, a pill each week, where I have to remain bolt upright for half an hour afterwards and drink water, so I thought "I've dropped Acid" for the first time too.
Don't let it get you down, and have escapism through occupying your mind with other things where you can.
Hi, It was interesting to read your story so far and it has given me a push to write my husbands information on my profile. I haven’t completed it but at least it’s a start. My hope is that it may help someone else. Throughout his journey he has been positive, we have had Many days of years but also many of laughter.
He is currently continuing with the degarelix and now his second month of enzalutamide. The fatigue is causing a bit of an issue but working on how best to cope with this.
