Advanced prostate cancer

Hi Prosleg

Good afternoon and welcome to the prostate family I'm very sorry to meet you in these circumstances but anyway it's great to have you here.

I had my Terminal Prostate Cancer diagnosis last June 2023 which had also spread to my bones "bummer"

My initial PSA was 1000+ & I was put on Hormone Therapy (injections and tablets) straight away.

The PSA has now dropped to 0.9 which is mad but great news.

Chemo was mentioned initially but seems to have been put on the back burner for the time being due to the dramatic drop in my PSA.

There are many members who have been put on to Chemo as well as Hormone Therapy who will be in touch very shortly.

Please please let me know if there is anything that I can help/support you with further.

Prostate Worrier.

Thank you for your reply mine sounds similar I was diagnosed in January this year and put straight on hormone injections.369psa but they advised chemotherapy and had my first infusion three weeks ago Thursday. And have a further 5 to look forward to not.

any advice would be good

msny thanks Jamie 

Hi Jamie.

My husband has advanced prostate cancer with spread to distant lymph nodes and an odd lesion behind the pancreas. He was diagnosed in July 2020 and is still going strong and has been through EBRT, 6 cycles of Docetaxel, SBRT plus different antiandrogens along with 3 monthly Prostap. Trying to get an idea of prognosis is difficult because no one knows how your particular cancer is going to respond to the different treatments. The fact that your PSA has dropped so significantly shows that it is working and don't forget that the hormone therapy affects the cancer cells no matter where they are in the body. We have had discussions with our oncologists about what happens next and have been assured that there are more tools in the toolbox. Is there anything in particular which you want advice on?

That's what I'm on now docetaxel .

im only 52 and not sure about work etc I've been self employed for 36 years .

sounds like your husband has had a few different treatments.

how was he with the docetaxel?

please send him my best wishes

diagnosed advanced p.c mets hip/spine/rib and sternum  

treatments are improving all the time

i was told i'm incurable but they can control it 

that was 5 and a half yrs ago , i'm still working too 

exercise and positivity are crucial in fighting this 

My husband has had quite a few treatments because he has a rare aggressive form of prostate cancer so atypical. Many people find that their first round of treatments keep the cancer at bay for a lot longer, sometimes into years.

He had docetaxel last year and had quite a few side effects from loss of taste and hair to fatigue from days 3 to 8. Neutropenia developed in the first cycle and had to be countered each cycle and then the red bloods dropped at the end of the second cycle so different injections were added in. What we did find was that the side effects in the first cycle were repeated in each subsequent cycle, only reduced because they added in more supportive therapy before the actual docetaxel was given so make sure that you tell them about all of your side effects when you go for your next infusion. He did recover quite quickly after the 6 cycles ended and felt good. I must admit I kept a close eye on him whilst he was having the chemo by taking his temperature twice a day to check for infection, along with his blood pressure and oxygen sats. We also adopted COVID type precautions by avoiding anyone with bugs and wearing a mask in crowded places. The Docetxel did it's job and eliminated a lot of the cancer but because of it's aggressive nature he had a recurrence earlier this year so SBRT was added to tackle the hot spots.

Hi Prosleg.

Many thanks for your reply yes they did mention Chemo at the initial appointment but as things changed in terms of my PSA that seemed to be kept for a later date but I didn't want to rock the boat so soon.

I have put you some links below for you and I do hope that they are helpful???

Please please come back to me if you require any further help/support???

Prostate Worrier.

Chemotherapy explained

Work and cancer

Work and cancer FAQs

Work and cancer resources

Hi Prosleg.

Many thanks for your reply yes are journeys are very similar apart from the Chemo which my consultant seems to think that I am not strong enough for but to be honest I haven't changed much since diagnosis.

Here is some info below for you I do hope that this is ok???

Prostate Worrier.

www.macmillan.org.uk/.../chemotherapy-easy-read

www.macmillan.org.uk/.../understanding-chemotherapy

Hello James (Prosleg) 

A warm welcome to the Macmillan Online Community from me - I know you don't want to be here but it's a great place for help and advice.

I see you have had some cracking advice from Alwayshope and anubis so all I would add is we do have another forum you may find of help and the link is here-

Chemotherapy forum 

Just click on the link I have provided and it will take you there.

Remember the Support lie is also open on 0808 808 00 00 (8am to 8pm 7 days) if you need that little bit of extra help and support.

If I can do anything for you please let me know.

Best wishes - Brian

Thank you for that information