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Hello Liz the scan results will normally be within 3 weeks in my experience though have heard of them taking longer.

I had the same Gleason score and had the surgery followed by radiotherapy 2 years later and now await further treatments (possibly hormone therapy) . I found the oncology department in Bath very helpful and usually quick to respond any phone calls . Dont hesitate to call the medical team with any fears or queries I found them very approachable. 

It is a lot to take in and there is a lot of help on here the Macmillan nurses are good to chat with also.

Best wishes to your partner and stay strong together.

Thank you so much for your reply it really helps 

Best wishes 

Hello Liz (Liz9697) 

A warm welcome to the Macmillan online Prostate Community, although I am so sorry to find you joining us here.

A Gleason Score of 7 (4+3) with treatment of Hormone Therapy followed by Radiotherapy sounds like a "curative pathway" to me. The bone scan is routine to check on a spread. Do you have his PSA score and TNM staging from the biopsy?

In a nut shell the Hormone Therapy will put the cancer cells to sleep and then the Radiotherapy will kill them off - simple. Radiotherapy is normally 4-8 months after the start of Hormone Therapy. Here's some information for you:

Hormone Therapy For Prostate Cancer.

Feel free to ask any questions, however trivial, you will get answers.

Best wishes - Brian.

Sorry to see your post but you will find great support here. There’s a huge amount of experienced patients and partners and from them you should be able to calm your fears. When I was diagnosed via urology 2.5 years ago my gut said panic but my head said wait for a diagnosis. You’ll also want a prognosis; that’s a very personal issue and likely to be a best guess. Take time to ask questions to the experts and afterwards this community, we are all learning, we are all together. Keep strong and come back for anything.

I can tell you that this becomes a lot easier once there is a treatment plan.

If surgery was ruled out then there is likely, as mentioned above, to be some time on hormone therapy before radiotherapy follows up.

In my case, there was six months hormone therapy before the radiotherapy, which has just finished. I have a further two years of radiotherapy to go. This is because I have a more aggressive form of the disease than your partner.

You have time to ask questions and consider your options before deciding. You might find that the video linked below reassures you on this:

https://youtu.be/aotF2SPzCmU?si=SrjEVOpC5toiznyl

There is lots to learn, and much to ask questions about, but the above video suggests that our watch phrase at the diagnosis stage should be :

I wish you very well indeed.

Many thanks

Curable pathway.  Read a few of our radiotherapy brother’ bios on here and he should be reassured.   AW

Hi Liz9697 . There is a lot to take in at the beginning and it all sounds very scary as we fear what the future might hold but things do settle down once you have a full diagnosis and a treatment plan. This can take a little time but it is best to gather all the information so that your husband gets the right plan tailored for his type of prostate cancer. If you want to understand more about the different types of treatment available I have added a link to a book which you can download for free. 

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

The hormone therapy does come with a range of possible side effects as the testosterone levels drop and in particular your husband should think about his penile health from the beginning if this is going to worry him or you. This is very much a couples disease and it is just as important that us wives and partners look after our own health whilst dealing with it and help is available for the whole family. Exercise with weight bearing exercises can help minimise the muscle loss caused by the hormone therapy plus it boosts the mood. Ask any questions and we will try and help.

Hi Liz9697 ask your consultant about prescribing 5mg of Tadalafil (tablet a day) which encourages blood flow to guard against penile atrophy. It’s a low dose of “viagra” type, so should help prevent erectile dysfunction (ED), so bedroom action can still be possible (and fun for both of you), even if he has no libido.  In a strange way, I think it brings a couple closer together as they fight the (temporary) barriers to normal sex (try not to take it too seriously and don’t put any pressure on performance)…..we had one session which we ended early, and had a cuddle and giggle about it instead: the  following session a week later was back to normal!  AW

Good reply, and the hugging and giggling is reminiscent of an experience we had. You gotta laugh sometimes.