Hi I am facing surgery for removal of prostate or Radiopaphy trying to link up with anyone who has been through it.
What is the likely timeline from meeting consultants to treatment (op)?
What is the recovery timeline experience /like?
Best incontinent products?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Fogster , welcome to our little group. Before we can add comments it is useful to know your PSA results, Gleason score and Staging (that’s the TNM numbers). Have you started on any treatment and your age. Your question is one of the most common ones, so you will get lots of help. David
Hello Again Fogster
So with those figures you could have Surgery, Hormone Therapy/Radiotherapy, Radiotherapy or Brachytherapy. Not all treatments are available everywhere but you can have them!!
Don't rush into surgery, do your research - get yourself a pen and paper (old school!) and write down the pros and cons of each treatment as to how they affect YOU! Use trusted sources for your information such as Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan (not Dr Google). I will start you off with a few links:
Surgery to Remove The Prostate
Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer
We are here for you and have "been there - done that" so feel free to ask questions, however trivial they may be.
Best wishes - Brian.
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Hi Fogster
Welcome to the club that no one wants to join. You've come to the right place for advice and support.
I had a slightly elevated PSA in April 2023, very similar stats to you. Aged 61. Had prostatectomy in September 2023. I think that was reasonably quick for the NHS (but I didn't think that at the time). Some people on here will have waited longer. It all depends on where you live and how the consultant assesses your cancer severity and location. Recovery speed also varies a lot between individuals, mine being pretty quick.
Feel free to ask me anything about my experience. Others can help with HT/RT option. Whichever route you choose, with those results, you are heading for a complete cure.
All the best
Cliff
Fogster Thanks for the stats. Think you have had a couple of great replies already. If you want to know more about any option just ask. Remember that Prostate Cancer is very slow growing and Gleason 7 isn’t that aggressive so there isn’t a mad panic, so take your time.
Same here. No symptoms but having annual PSA tests due to family history of PC.
I'm afraid the NHS treatment tracks are not worth a light in many parts of the UK. This is a target for treatment and as you will know the NHS is not hitting any of its targets.
On the positive side, it took me a long time to get my MRI, biopsy and bone scans done before the local hospital team (MDT) referred me to a surgeon at UCLH (July). I committed to surgery immediately and the surgeon said the op would be within 8 weeks. In fact it was less than that. This is in London and timescales will differ depending on where you are.
If you have already had all the diagnostic test done, you are more than half way there. My advice would be to press your MDT for appointments with a surgeon and oncologist as soon as all your test results are known. They won't let you choose an option until you have seen them both for their respective advice on treatments.
I was very stressed about the time everything seemed to be taking, but I need not have been. As David has said, the reality is that PC is very slow growing and a few weeks or even months delay is very unlikely to make any difference to your treatment outcome.
Cliff
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