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You are not alone. I still remember the phone call from my doctor telling me I had PC.
I highly recommend you join the prostate cancer forum on healingwell.com.
It is a large community of folks that I think you will find some comfort in. Every form of treatment is discussed and you'll surely learn a great deal.
There are a lot of different treatments, but for now all of that is way too early.
First we need to know what the biopsy report says. Like what is your Gleason score? And how many core samples came back with PC.
I had a Gleason score of 9 and 12 out of 12 core samples indicated PC. My prostate was removed in 2014. In 2018 my cancer came back, so I started hormone treatment then and I did radiation treatments all last summer. I am still on hormone treatment.
Barking
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer some 17 years ago at age 60. While I cannot remember all the
numbers", I was offered 3 courses of treatment. Do nothing, radioactive seeds, and removal. I opted for removal. Other than erection issues (or lack there of....LOL), it is the best decision I made. I am alive and well. Take your time, Explore all alternatives as they have changed since my tim. Get 2nd opinions. It can be gotten thru. My hopes are with you.
As Willie Nelson said. Here I sit with a drink in my hand. I am not cold. I am not wet. I am not hungry. These are the good times.
Gleason score was 7 (3+4) 5/12 positive with one they called atypical suspicious for adenocarcinoma. Right side was 4/6 with one showing HGPIN.
I'm waiting for the Prolaris genetic test on one sample.
I taped our discussion (with permission) and have not gone back an listened to it yet.
I appreciate all comments.
Just diagnosed, and feeling overwhelmed with treatment options. Would like some input form guys that have gone thru this.
My husband was just diagnosed during the summer with a gleason score of 6 and 3 samples. He researched and decided on proton therapy due to lower risks involved vs. removal or traditional radiation or even seeds. He will be starting this month in Jacksonville but there is a proton center in Knoxville TN. It involves 8 weeks 5 days a week. The treatment itself takes 5 mins but the prep before takes some time (involves drinking water to fill your bladder). Do the research yourself to decide what to do. His doctor wasn't keen on the proton because he would lose a patient and the money from doing traditional radiation or removal but my husband had researched it well and talked with many others who had proton done and decided this was the option for him.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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As other have said it varies greatly and no two people will be exactly the same in condition or treatment. Mine has been removed in surgery and now getting chemo for 6 months after some of the removed lymph nodes showed positive.
There are a lot of different treatments, but for now all of that is way too early.
First we need to know what the biopsy report says. Like what is your Gleason score? And how many core samples came back with PC.
I had a Gleason score of 9 and 12 out of 12 core samples indicated PC. My prostate was removed in 2014. In 2018 my cancer came back, so I started hormone treatment then and I did radiation treatments all last summer. I am still on hormone treatment.
Hubby had a very high gleason score, some samples, just like you were 9 and above, but I don't remember any as high as 12. His first urologist was sure the cancer had spread to his bones: not the case. Anyway not being satisfied with the doctor for many reasons, he switched to one many in our church has used. The new doctor, suggested due to hubby's age he forego surgery. He did the hormone treatments and the radiation. That was 2012 i believe. It did leave some side affects due to the hormones. His legs became weaker and other sexual changes occurred but the fact he is cancer free now made everything worth it. He also had the seed inplants.
Hope all goes well for you and the hormones don't do a lot of damage. Good luck.
My husband was just diagnosed during the summer with a gleason score of 6 and 3 samples.
Thankfully his Gleason score is not too high, and they only found cancer in three locations.
He is very fortunate.
Quote:
... It involves 8 weeks 5 days a week. The treatment itself takes 5 mins but the prep before takes some time (involves drinking water to fill your bladder).
For my series of radiation treatments, during the first visit a group of nurses put a catheter in me and they filled my bladder with a pre-measured amount of a 'dye' fluid. In my case, my bladder was about half-full. Then for all the rest of my treatments, I was tasked to show up with my bladder at the same level of 'fullness'.
My bladder is not exactly a calibrated instrument. I can not tell you if I have exactly 1 cup of liquid in my bladder, or if maybe it is closer to 2 cups of liquid. For each treatment, they scanned my bladder first and so long as I was 'close' they continued with the radiation. But a couple of times, I was not close, and so I had to drink more and wait.
I like my oncologist, the radiation staff are very friendly, and the facility is nice. But there were a lot of patients waiting for treatment. A large portion of the patients are Canadians down in the US for medical tourism. As they tell it, Canada has a shortage of oncologists, so their waiting lists are very long. They find they must travel to the US to get treatment before they expire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
Hubby had a very high gleason score, some samples, just like you were 9 and above, but I don't remember any as high as 12. His first urologist was sure the cancer had spread to his bones: not the case.
The hospital here did a 'bone scan' to see if any of my cancer had metastasized to bone cancer [it had not].
Quote:
... It did leave some side affects due to the hormones. His legs became weaker and other sexual changes occurred but the fact he is cancer free now made everything worth it. He also had the seed inplants.
They have me on the hormone treatment for 24-months. I am still going through it, I have another 6 months to go. Before I am allowed to have any Testosterone in my system again.
Muscle loss, loss of energy, depression, hot flashes, sweats, are all common side effects.
Quote:
... Hope all goes well for you and the hormones don't do a lot of damage. Good luck.
Thank you.
In my surgery, the urologist removed my 'nerve-bundle' that has had the biggest effect on my lifestyle so far.
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