Diagnosed this Month

Welcome to the forum where you can feel free to ask what you like and get an experienced soul give you time and answer your looking for. This is totally anonymous so please feel comfortable to give accurate details which will help us understand you better.

At first there’s too much info and all you want to know is how the hell it got there. You will have good and bad days and the tissue boxes should be at hand in case the rawness of this disease trips you up and lands you on your bum. This is also a couples disease and your partner and family will be affected seriously too. The written info you’re given is black and white but here you will have the colour and body put on the bones of this cancer which has already floored you.

Try not to google much. You obviously will but the “facts” online are not all they seem to be. So beware the keypad. Try and stick with NHS Hospice or MacMillan notes on the subject though there are reports elsewhere that are occasionally fantastic sources. But be careful.

If you happy, sad, angry or confused come here and lean on us. We are already some way down the path you’re treading so we can help and support you.

Ask away and get a clearer mind.

The treatment plan will put you in a better position sand narrow down your search for information so be patient.

And even if it’s a mental, financial, sexual or physical problem, we can help.

Good luck Spurscol1981 

Ah! Mr U 

I am also awake in the middle of the night! Still trawling info on Alp readings of course. 
L 

HiSpurscol1981  Welcome to the forum, I can’t really add anymore to Mr U excellent reply. Just Hi, and that you have come to the right place for support. These next few weeks will be incredibly stressful for you and your wife, but things will start to settle and fall into place. 
L

Hello Spurscol1981 . Yes, it is a huge shock when you are told and the news occupies your thoughts a lot. That will reduce with time.

Looking back I found the CancerUK booklet to be a good read when I found it on a table in the waiting room. Accurate information presented very clearly, without any waffle. That suits me when I’m looking for information!

As well as reading our personal experiences there is a NICE document which pulls everything together in an evidence-based and unbiased way. With your diagnosis it’s also worth reading, if you haven’t already.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng131/chapter/Recommendations#localised-and-locally-advanced-prostate-cancer

I’m no expert on PCa but it does sound like you are through the worst part of this journey, having tests and then waiting for results, and, once treated, your cancer will most likely be gone for good. One day you will look back and what you are going through now will all seem like a blur…!

You may be asked to make a decision on which treatment route you prefer. Given the expected results in the NICE document that’s a very personal choice. There is very good advice on this forum about that. Sometimes not an easy decision and your open-mind is a brilliant way to start. Once made, the light at the end of the tunnel will be on, and you will start to feel much better. 

You should rest up and have a break. The answers will come when you least expect them. Zzz

Good morning  Spurscol1981 (13a2c24e0d7445b89187fd827dfacf2a) another relatively early riser here. You are young and able to fight this better than most. Actually your statistics from diagnosis to biopsy aren’t that bad and you should be on the curable route. Read plenty of bios on here to see how people got on. You look like a good candidate for brachytherapy boost (you can get a referral on the NHS if your local hospital doesn’t do it) for instance.  Aged 44, be careful about side effects: you’re going to live decades more so beware the idea of prostatectomy followed by radiotherapy to “mop up stragglers “.  Sounds belt and braces but you get two different sets of side effects added together. But it’s a balancing act. If surgery was guaranteed to do the job for you in “one and done” style that would be perfect. Maybe ask about PSMA PET scan so confirm )as accurately as possible) no escape from the prostate gland?  Good luck and stay with us we are, truly, a band of brothers (and sisters).  AW

Hello, welcome to the forums and the PC club. I'm a fellow 'youngun' (in the context of men with our disease) as I was also 44 when diagnosed. 

Nearly three years later, I'm still doing well, staying healthy and thankfully feeling relatively unaffected by side effects (I'm on life long Hormone Therapy as a stage 4, but have also had chemo and radiotherapy).

My bio gives the full low down, but feel free to direct any specific questions at me - or any of us - and good luck on your journey. Plenty of help and support is available, here, for you. 

Thank you all for your replies and encouraging words. I read with interest your bios and blogs alike. Some with gallows humour which made me chuckle a bit for the first in 3 days so thank you! I’m starting to think that hormone and radio therapy might be the way to go for me now. I can see many cons to each treatment, especially removal but it does seem that most go on to live their lives in a relatively acceptable if not changed way post treatment. I really do appreciate you all taking the time to offer your replies and advice. 

Hello Spurscol1981 

A warm welcome to the group from me too, although I am so sorry to find you joining us. As others have said - all treatment routes will be open to you - all with a "curative pathway" (I love those 2 words! ).

It's time for pen and paper (or a spreadsheet as you are a young un!). List each treatment - surgery to remove, brachytherapy and hormone therapy/radiotherapy and all the potential side effects as they would affect you AND your wife (this is a couples cancer).

Use trusted sources for your research - Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan (not Dr Google). Ask us any questions - we are all happy to answer and plenty of us have our personal journey in our profile (click on user name or avatar).

Best wishes - Brian.

Indeed they will Mr U I do like to prep though.