7 months on update after 344 PSA

Hello julesnew59  Julie - Well that's some journey over the last 7 months - your support for him is immense and I am sure he appreciates it - you know what we men are like!!  Having a positive attitude is half the battle and even though he's "A worrier" you appear to be on his case.

There are a couple of other forums on the Community you may want to join for that little bit of extra help and information and the links to these two are here:

Chemotherapy forum 

Carers only forum 

To join these two forums, just click on the links provided.

If you need any extra help and support don't forget our support line on 0808 808 00 00 (8am to 8pm 7 days a week)..

I know we have some forum members on "Triplet Therapy" so now your post is back at the top of the forum, I hope you get the information you are after. If I can do anything else for you please give me a shout.

Kind Regards - Brian.

Hi julesnew59 , Julie.

Good to hear that the PSA has come down and things are contained. My husband also has widespread lymph nodes mets but nothing in the bones. The cancer had erupted out of the capsule and was restricting the ureters so pigtail had to be inserted to allow kidney to drain, although one kidney was damaged permanently. He was diagnosed in July 2020, put on Bicalutamide and Prostap injections. He had 33 sessions of EBRT to the prostate area but nothing to the distant mets which were controlled by HT. Recurrence in distant lymph nodes occured after 18 months so he was switched onto Enzalutamide. This worked well for 18 months but then another recurrence so he had 6 sessions of chemotherapy last year. This dealt with some of the lymph node mets, but not all, so he is now having SBRT over 5 sessions to try and deal with them once and for all. With all this treatment I would say that the biggest impact has been fatigue and loss of strength caused by the injections and not by the Bicalutamide and Enzalutamide. He has his emotional ups and downs, and hot flushes eased off after a while. The side effects from the chemo, particularly the brain fog, started to ease after a month of completing treatment but can last up to six months. Yes he did, and still does feel better after the chemo, although his current treatment is causing real fatigue which should ease up once completed next week.

As to prognosis, he was initially told possibly 6 months because he has a rare aggressive form. Now they will not commit but are amazed at how well he is doing (he is 80). This is partly because we are fighters, the cancer has responded to treatments he has had, and partly because of the treatments available, with more in the toolbox further down the line if necessary. Some men last a lot longer before recurrence, into the years. In between treatments we just get on with life and make the best of it.

Thank you this all very reassuring my husband 62 and I am hoping to have him with me for a good more years we will not give up fighting or at least I will make sure I don't and that will give him encouragement.  They have not mentioned any further scans etc so I am hoping this just happens if the PSA starts to rise again or he has further symptoms in other areas he has the widespread Lymph and bone which they said was shown up in shoulder back and hips. He does seem to be managing though but does get a fair bit pain but he has always had a really high pain threshold he has worked right through from diagnosis which I think its his way of dealing with things. He wants to just keep working so I see this a positive for him as he gets to exercise, engage with his workmates and it has to be better than being in the house with 4 walls. I am just waiting until he starts recovering from the chemo and we can slowly start and do more at weekends and spend more time doing things. His saving Grace his pottering in his garage with his car that's when he is happiest. So as you rightky say get on with life and make the best of it. tks x

Hi julesnew59

I am glad to read that your husband is doing well.

I am at the beginning of my journey and I have responded well to the HT injections & tablets 

My original PSA was 1000+ & it is now 0.2 which is amazing.

I know that things will potentially change in the future but I am up for the fight.

I do hope that things keep on track for you both.

Prostate Worrier.

If I were you I would push for a scan 2 to 3 months after the last chemo session, simply to reassure yourself that there has been some shrinkage. This may also help with travel insurance costs if you intend to travel.

If pain becomes a problem then targeted radiotherapy can help. My husband also went through a pain management course which taught us how to use painkillers properly, as well as learning different techniques to help control it. He has also had a lot of benefit from going to an osteopath who treats him holistically.

You may have read on other threads that it can be very wearing and tiring for the other person in the equation, the partner, so it is essential that you look after yourself. We use this forum to vent as well as gaining valuable insights into what our menfolk are going through. There is help and support out there for ANYONE who is having to deal with a cancer diagnosis and, as a princess recently said, - you are not alone.