OH diagnosed this week

Hello Rosiejane and welcome from a wife. This is the most frightening part of the journey whilst they are doing all the tests but a Gleason 9 puts your husband into a higher risk group. Before you agree to any treatment can I recommend that you look at the pros and cons of each of them. List what side effects are important to you and be sure that you can live with them both short and long term. In order to determine whether surgery is the correct route you need more information from the MRI and biopsy reports. Prostate cancer is usually slow growing so don't be rushed but there is a very good statistic that 98% of men die with it, not of it. I have attached a link to a book which you can download for free which explains the diagnosis process and then gives you the options for treatment. 

https://issuu.com/magazineproduction/docs/js_prostate_cancer_guide_for_patients_ezine

Please ask any questions and we will try and give you honest opinions based on our own experience plus point you in the direction where you can get information. Things do get better once you have a plan that you are happy with.

Thank you will take a look, we have been told it is aggressive.

Hello Rosie  (Rosiejane) 

A warm welcome to the Macmillan Online Prostate Community, although I am so sorry to find you here.I am Brian one of the Community Champions here at Macmillan. I am on my 4th year of my personal Prostate Cancer journey.

A cancer diagnosis of any type is the worst part of the journey along with the testing and waiting for results. Once you have a treatment plan life will settle down into the "new normal".

Gleason 9 is an aggressive cancer and surgery would be fine as long as the cancer is totally within the Prostate Gland itself and not trying to escape. It's probable that at present you are under urology and have only been seen by a surgeon - there are other options including Hormone Therapy/ Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy. You may well be offered these when you meet an oncologist - don't rush into surgery. As Alwayshope said in the post above, look at the pros and cons of each treatment as to how they affect your other half.

Please feel free to ask any questions, nothing is too trivial - you will get answers.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Rosiejane - it doesn’t have to be prostatectomy.  A dead cancer cell is dead whatever the number.  Prostatectomy and radiotherapy have similar success rates.  If it looks like it’s confined to the prostate (it may well be, as it’s a low PSA) then brachytherapy or brachytherapy combined with external beam radiotherapy may do the job even better.  Remember, you’ve only spoken to urologist and surgery specialists.  You need to speak to oncologist and radiotherapy specialists too.    AW

Hi Rosiejane, sorry to hear

I always have this feeling that once outside the gland and T3 is,  particularly with an aggressive Gleeson then could be better off with HT and RT to give a double blast, just my opinion through.

One downside to this is if cancer comes back surgery very difficult, other way round no problem, RT after surgery although potentially more side effects.

Do give much thought, potentially more side effects with surgery although obviously not always.

Best wishes 

Steve 

 Grundo - a very concise and true summary.  You can tell it’s not your first rodeo.   AW.  

Thank you AW for those nice words, never really been into rodeos thoughprob rather walk up Snowden

All the best

Steve 

Still going up Crib Goch and down the miners track?  AW

I didn't say I'd been up Snowden , however, I will go one day , still plenty of time......well hopefully

There's a perfectly good train, then you just need to walk up to the trig point for the photograph and down to the cafe for a coffee before riding it back downhill. .