Age 45 - prostate cancer diagnosis

hi Bill

had my surgery on 11th November and the catheter was removed on the 19th at Royal Marsden Chelsea.

i have not suffered any issues with incontinence which was a majour concern. The ED issue has not been an issue either as taking tablets prescribed.

The wounds are taking a little longer but i am not complaining

i cannot thank Mr Charlesworth enougj for the nerve sparing he managed 

Update:

Pet scan is clear. Bloody hell. Nerves are shredded. Thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement.

I know the nasty stuff is still to follow, but this feels like the first good news in a while - so will take the win for now and not treat every phone call with terror for the first time in a month. I stupidly didn’t ask what stage. But maybe he didn’t know. He said no sign it had left the prostate.

Next up, oncology and urology appointments in a fortnight to discuss options. All thoughts/advice/sensible questions welcome.

all positve Smac contained is great news 

Hello Smac43feff 

Well that's great news and i would think that leaves you with the choice of 3 treatments.

Surgery, Hormone and Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy.

My personal advice would be to research each treatment and the associated side effects as to how they would affect you and your wife. Have a list of the pros and cons of each treatment and and do your research from trusted sources, Cancer research UK, Prostate Cancer UK and Macmillan - Not Dr Google!

I would say brachytherapy may not be offered as it's not available in every area but you are suitable for it.

Please do ask any questions.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hello, my husband, who is 60 in January, asked for a test in December ‘24, as he had generally not been feeling well. His brother had died 15 months before of advanced PC (he had bone metastasis). Shawn was diagnosed at the end of January - Gleason 7, some further tests followed, including PET CT scan to check if it had spread but it hadn’t thank god, and then radical prostatectomy in June (the time delay was due to the fact shawn had to close down his business -long story, landlady had died, family needed to sell the farm - and the surgeon was ok to wait for a short period as long as it wasn’t too long). Just waiting for next results as the previous one - second after the operation - was elevated but surgeon thinks it could be due to a calibration issue (but it doesn’t stop us worrying!). Sending you the very best of wishes ️

Hi - Sorry to hear this, its a shock.

I was diagnosed in June 2024 and had my prostate removed 6 months later. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, with not too much time to get my head around it.

My advice - stay active, eat healthy, continue your life. I came out of the operation feeling relatively fine and was back running after 4 weeks, cycling after 8 and snowboarding in 12. Start pelvic floors now, I had no issues there. ED has been a bit of an issue but a year on and I'm close to being back to normal with tablets. 

Life will change for a while but don't hide from it, find a good friend to talk to about it, for good or bad it's the new you. 

Stay strong.

Hello, 

My husband was just diagnosed yesterday at age 47 with Gleason score 7 and PSA 3.34. We are also feeling alone with our age group… we are in disbelief to get a cancer diagnosis in our 40s. We have 2 young children, I am so concerned. What treatment plan have they offered you? My husband MDT are meeting next week. 

Hi Mia  he’s been caught early: keep that firmly in mind. Browse through the various bios on here. Believe me, he is probably safer now than the untested man in the street. If it’s confined to the gland, focal therapy may cure him - yes, cure - and you can look forward with confidence.  Even if it returns after a few years, you still have the option for more focal therapy (as he will be closely monitored, so it should be caught early again) and heavier treatments could always be used (if needed) much further down the line.  Don’t forget, too, that research is uncovering better lesion identification and less intrusive treatments and more effective treatments all the time.  So, hopefully, it’s a case of keeping ahead of the curve.    AW

Hello Mia (Mia (47e2d819ae2342e5b2c41be1c8c3ef4a)) 

I am sorry to find you joining us - Gleason 7 and a PSA of 3.34 sounds very treatable. It's very possible that your husband will qualify for a number of treatments so you need to be prepared for the MDT meeting - it's possible he would be able to have surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy or brachytherapy so you don't have to accept the MDT's treatment path.

As Prostate Cancer is a "couples cancer" you need to research each treatment, it's side effects and how it would affect you both. Use trusted sources for your research, Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer research UK and Macmillan, not Dr Google.

Also with a cancer diagnosis at age 47 you qualify for free prescriptions.

Do come back to us with any questions, no matter how trivial.

Best wishes - Brian.

He had 2 x 3 + 4 and 1 x 3 + 3 lesions. I went into the consultation hoping for all clear and worst scenario focal treatment with HIFU. The consultant said because on opposite side of the prostate, he recommends taking it out. He also also to hubby, even if begin, I would take it out. I feel he is pushing surgery. He did say he wasn’t a HIFU expert so now I want go see one. Has anyone on here had HIFU on 2 or 3 lesions with Gleason 7? He didn’t tell us what % of the 4 were present as well.