Decisions, decisions...

I was diagnosed with Gleason 7(4+3) in June 2018,had 6months hormone treatment and 24 sessions radiotherapy in the january2019...that I regret....erectile dysfunction has got progressively  worse since then apart from a couple of other problems like change of bowel and urinary habits...on the other side of things I haven't became incontinent which I was scared of if I had had the operation...saying all that I do believe you should get treatment sooner rather than later,it may be slow growing but it's still cancer in your body at the end of the day

Thanks Palmy5, most helpful to hear your experience and these are the dilemmas we have to face I guess. It's a huge decision I'm finding.  Hoping you remain healthy and cancer free.  

Hi Altoj

I found the NHS Predict Prostate tool useful to reinforce my decision.

You enter your starts and it will give you 10 and 15 year survival rates for conservative (AS) and radical (RP/RT) treatments. It will also tell you the likelihood of side effects.

https://prostate.predict.nhs.uk/

Best wishes

David

Unknown said:

Anyone else struggle with deciding best option.  I'm finding it difficult.

Few find it easy. While neither sound brilliant, both are pretty effective, and for me, the decision was made looking at the side effects - both long term and short term. I reckoned that radiotherapy would be my best option, and I've never regretted it.

But you're not me: Both treatments can have major effects on your life, and you need to think about which effects you can most easily live with.

Take a look at the 'toolkit' for general advice.

Thanks David, went through this with oncologist but not surgeon so will have a go.

Cheers Heinous, that's very reassuring to know you chose a good option.  Thanks for the toolkit.