Post prostractomy , hormone and radiotherapy

Good Morning Tony

I am so sorry to read of your issues. I do hope the course of radiotherapy has worked for you.

"Palliative Care" for prostate cancer is the term used when a cure can't be found and it focuses on relieving any stress and pain caused by the cancer. It's a term used to include pain management, coping strategies, social, practical and family support.

In a nutshell (no pun intended) your continuing treatment and medication will be prescribed to ensure your personal circumstances are catered for lifelong. There is no set treatment plan and it's designed around the individual's care and needs.

The Radiotherapy will have made you fatigued and the best way to fight this is exercise. The need to use the toilet more should reduce as time goes by.

I do hope the above helps, please keep us posted as to how you get on.

Best wishes - Brian.

Thanks Rob, is palliative care for end of life ?

Hello Tony

NO - "palliative care" in prostate cancer is the term given to care where no active treatment is being given - but treatment is being given to prolong life.

Palliative care can be given for years depending on your condition.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hello Tony .

Sorry to hear about the relapse but hope that the radiotherapy is successful for you. I am surprised that you have been given the impression that if you have a recurrence after radiotherapy then only palliative care would be offered which is NOT just for end of life care. My husband is on the recurrence rollercoaster for his advanced prostate cancer. We know it is not curable but it is certainly treatable and maybe for many years. There is a special scan called a PSMA PET CT scan which can better detect where any mets may be lurking and if in isolated spots then additional radiotherapy is often possible. There are also different forms of hormone therapy which could be offered. From there it could be chemotherapy plus the newer hormone therapy. After that there are additional radionuclide therapies depending on where the cancer has spread to. Immunotherapy is a possibility as could be trials. As you can see there are a plethora of treatments available and that is at the moment. Prostate cancer is a very active area of research so who knows what may be available in the near future.

My advice would be to get on with living life to the full and worry about any recurrence as and when it happens. You are still on a curative pathway and are experiencing this little hiccup which is fairly common for men opting for the surgery route.

Thx Rob

Many thanks for response.

The person who rang me from Christie’s was really negative.

He has just rang me again and given a full explanation at last !

That's unusual for Christie's.

I have been under Christies at both Oldham and Manchester for the past 2 years and indeed still am and have found them to be brilliant with my care and treatment.

I hope you are now Ok with the explanation from Alwayshope and the full explanation from Christies.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Tony , sorry to hear your cancer has returned.  We had a thread on the use of palliative care a short while ago.  Personally I think there is a difference in perception between the medical people and us non medics.  Palliative care (as Millibob said) is used by medics to describe treatment which cannot currently be cured.  However, us non medics associate palliative and end of life as being the same thing - which it is not.  I was horrified to be sent on a palliative treatment path years ago.  I was convinced I wouldn’t make the next Christmas.  Hope this helps, best wishes, David

Hello Tony,

I agree with all the comments here in response to your question on palliative care. It scares the whatsit out of most people when they first hear or see the word as it is commonly understood to relate to end of life.

However, this is most definitely not the case. I think it is a pity that many in the medical profession use the word but don't explain what it means in reality. 

I wish you all the best.

Derek.

Thx Derek