Prostate cancer T3B

Hi Stella and welcome 

Sorry to hear but good that treatment started already, stop it in its tracks.

RT and HT Def the best bet.

At least only in the vesicles and not in nodes which would make it more tricky.

Still potentially curable and PSA and Gleeson not particularly high so not mega aggressive 

Best wishes 

Steve 

Hello Stella (StellaStarf4a76e) 

A warm welcome to the group although I am so sorry to find you joining us - we are a decent bunch.(I would say that!)

I have had 3 years HT /RT and due to a biochemical relapse I am back on the old HT!! The hardest side effect I found was fatigue but got over that by taking the dog for an extra walk when I felt tired (he didn't object). The fatigue will creep up though.

As for the other side effects you don't always get them all and they didn't affect my day to day life. Three points I would make are:

* Long term HT can weaken your bone structure so it's a good idea to ask your GP for a prescription for Calcium/Vitamin D tablets.

* The HT treatment can help you grow a decent pair of "Moobs" and if this is a worry again the GP can prescribe medication to stop this - I found out late so have a cracking pair but it doesn't bother me!! .

* It's also a good idea to ask the GP for a supply of something like sildenafil or tadalafil to keep the blood flowing through your penis and help combat ED.

I am almost 4 years into my journey and you can read my profile by clicking on my user name or avatar - I did have a few complications on the way.

Feel free to ask any questions, however trivial and join in any conversations.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi StellaStarf4a76e welcome to the forum. 
My husband was diagnosed with T3B with an initial PSA of 115. It’s important to say that every man’s journey will be different because of the many variables that they present with. Like initial PSA and Gleason score. Which will affect T3B’s if they are higher. So reading other men’s profiles with T3B will not necessarily mean that your husband will follow the same path. But you will find ideas and treatments that you may want to discuss at your next meetings with your consultant and this research can be very helpful at understanding where you are . (You can read my husbands profile by tapping on the icon or name.) He is now in his third year from diagnosis and there has been some ups and downs along the way, but overall he has pushed forwards with a determined attitude. 
Best wishes for you both.

Lx

Thank you very much. Food for thought.

Thank you. It’s nice to know we are not alone

It may not be 3 years. If he responds well to hormone therapy its quite possible he will come off after 2 years. This is what happened to me (I was told originally 3 years but my psa was undetectable and stable on hormone therapy).

Also current research suggests the sweet spot for hormone therapy is 18-24 months and continuing to 36 months will not affect the clinical outcome.

However, there will be side effects. The impact on quality of life is an individual thing and difficult to predict until you are on the medication.

Best of Luck Rob

Thank you  

Hello StellaStarf4a76e Sorry to hear about your husband’s diagnosis Stella. I completed similar treatment back in July so if you would like to read my profile it details the effects of radiotherapy and hormone therapy which I experienced. Everyone is different though, of course, so good to read others’ experiences too.

There is also an article covering “What Do You Wish You had Known Before Starting Radiotherapy”, which lots of people have contributed to and which you might like to read too. That was posted a month ago in the General Discussion section.

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_types/prostate-cancer-forum/f/general/300926/what-do-you-wish-you-had-known-before-starting-radiotherapy

I’m off for the next Zoladex LA injection in a few minutes! I wish him well with his treatment.

Amplitude

Hi StellaStarf4a76e,

There is little new I can add to what other forum members have said.  I am at a very similar stage to your husband.  I was diagnosed on September 22nd with a Gleason score of 7 (3+4 and it does matter how those numbers are displayed in terms of aggressivity) and a PSA of 7.2

My first Zoladex injection was on October 15th and I have noticed some mood swings (but I'm a moody swine anyway) and what feel like hot flushes (but at work we have the heating on now that the weather is cooling) but nothing major yet.

The bicalutamide, in my case anyway, is only for 28 days.  I just read the side effects online and I can identify with a couple of them: a drop in heart-rate (from a typical resting 60 bpm to 54 bpm and occasionally as low as 48 bpm) and 'pounding in the ears'.  I have shocking tinnitus most of the time and I have for years, so maybe I'm looking for problems but I only just read about this.

I stay focused on the planned RT and the results I hope for next year.  It will need dietary changes to be as effective as possible and I don't kid myself that it's going to be easy.  I trust the people who are treating and supporting me, and I get huge benefit from the reality checks I get on this forum.

I wish you and your husband strength and courage, and I'd encourage you to return here whenever you are told, or read, something that doesn't quite make sense to you.  The wealth of experience here continues to be a comfort to me and I hope it does for you.

Best wishes,

Chris

Thank you