Request for positive stories to give us hope

Hello CCG .

Welcome to the family. You will find that there are many stories of good news from people who have prostate cancer with spread to lymph nodes and bones, but also with a dose of realism. My husband was diagnosed in July 2020 with a particularly rare and aggressive form spread to distant mets but he is still here and we have a good quality of life. Until your father has his bone scan and biopsy the doctors will not know what is going to be the best way to tackle the cancer but, as our oncologist says, he has plenty of tools in his toolbox. It can feel like a rollercoaster at times but once the initial treatment has been sorted life does return to normal. The Bicalutamide will have started getting the cancer under control and now the injections will stop the production of testosterone which feeds it - make sure that your father has a testosterone test within 3 months to check it is working. From there a range of therapies are available and your father will be monitored regularly to check they are working, and if they are not keeping the cancer under control then there is something else to try. Over the last few years a whole range of new treatments have become available and others are being trialled. No matter what the stage of the cancer most are now classed as treatable, even if there has been spread.

The most important thing everyone will tell you is that the hormone therapy can cause fatigue so the fitter your father can get now the better.

As a starting point I have put a link to PCUK on how prostate cancer is diagnosed. This is a good starting point to find out the grading system and treatments. Please ask any questions and join in the conversations and we can help you more when your father has his results.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information-and-support/prostate-tests

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and your story with your husband gives me so much hope!

Thanks for the advice on the testosterone test, I wouldn’t have thought of that. Can you book it through your GP?

Yes, it can be done alongside a blood and PSA test.

Hi CCT

I can only tell you how my fight is going, first we are all different, PC affects us in different ways, in my case I had scores across the board that would make you eyes sparkle, that was nearly eight years ago. I had everything they could throw at me, yes it knocked me for six, but I came through it.

Now my journey starts again with ten treatments of chemo. So all is not lost with your dad, there’s many medications out there, plus trials with new treatments happening all the time.

Once all your scans etc have been taken, then his team will sort the best plan of action, their very good at their jobs and have seen all this before, so he will be in good hands.

Stay safe

Joe

Hi Joe,

thank you so much for sharing your story and so amazing to hear. 
really appreciate the hope you have given me and my family x

Hello and welcome. Have a read of our profile to see how positive the treatment has been 

Thank you Shar, your story is very positive. How lucky you met that paramedic!

is your husband able to stop the hormone injections given the PSA level? Or that has to continue after chemo?

Hi CCG , read my bio.  Seven years and still going. Take care.  David

This is an ongoing debate. There is one school of thought which says that intermittent hormone therapy may reduce the incidence of hormone resistance, plus improve quality of life even for those with advanced prostate cancer. Other oncologists will recommend ADT for life, monitoring with PSA tests and then changing treatment when resistance is evident in scans. It is a question to be had when discussing treatment options with the oncologist who should be able to give you the reasoning behind the recommended course of action. One criteria as to whether hormone therapy can be paused is if the PSA level is below 0.1 after initial chemotherapy and combined ADT treatment. Again it is a balancing act dependent on what the initial treatment is and what the stats are when first diagnosed, plus what the patients wishes are.

Amazing story David, thank you so much sharing. Really appreciate you responding to my post. Take care x