Need help!

Tamsulosin is a drug that helps flow and is regularly used to stop blockages, that would be prescribed if your dad needed it, which it sounds like he does.

An enlarged prostate is very common and the enlargement causes the hole in the middle that the urethra goes through to be trapped, hence the stop start peeing symptoms at the start of a problematic prostate issue.

Yes this is the way things are, but hopefully there’s an easy solution to his problem.

Good luck

Hello Zoya. First of all don't panic. Your dad is experiencing a very similar situation to a friend of mine at the moment so I will repeat what he has been told. He also has a very large prostate which is narrowing the urethra and making it difficult to pee at times so he has been put onto tamsulosin - in his case he has been told to take it at night as a temporary measure until he can have a small procedure called a TURP which will shave the size of the prostate and make it easier to pee in the future. This has delayed his radiotherapy but in the meantime the hormone therapy is shrinking the cancer and holding everything at bay. 

Just as important as the Gleason is the prostate density which is the relationship between the PSA and the prostate volume so in your dad's case is below 0.15 and considered good news. In the meantime your dad has given a catheter in order to prevent kidney damage but I would expect this to be a temporary solution to fix an immediate problem. Can I suggest that you look at the profile of our community champion Brian Millibob who experienced a similar problem at the start of his journey.

In answer to your question -life is never the same after a cancer diagnosis and in many cases it can be better as it makes you reassess your values and learn to live life to the full. The hormone therapy does impact quality of life for many men and to what extent depends on how long your dad is on it for but it is certainly doable with the right positive attitude. If your dad is Gleason 7 and has been told he is to have radiotherapy at some stage then he should also have been told how long he will be on the hormone therapy but also whether he is being treated with 'curative intent'. If this is the case then life will get back to a new norm. In the meantime your dad needs to try and get as fit as possible as this will help him deal with the possible side effects from treatment.

Hello Zoya1 

Welcome to the Online Community, although I am so sorry to find you here.

I started my cancer journey with an enlarged prostate and a catheter - this has now been sorted out and I feel great. The issue is the prostate grows into the urethra (wee pipe) and blocks it. Urine builds up in the bladder cand crushes the kidneys if nothing is done about it. (If you click on my name or avatar you can read my journey and how this issue was resolved).

The answer is a TURP operation where the bit of the Prostate growing into the urethra is shaved off. It's quite a common problem in us "older blokes". Here's a link for you:

NHS - The TURP Operation.

I think my friend Alwayshope has answered your other questions but if you have any questions about the TURP operation or if you need to ask me any questions regarding this or the catheter - please do so.

Best wishes - Brian.

My dad has been on the tablets Tamsuloin for years. Even before he had cancer. But this randomly happened