Looking for some input
My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer a month ago. He is 64 years old. He had never had his prostate checked. His psa was 65, Gleason score is a 9, lymph nodes are infected through his abdomen and it has metastasized to spine and hips. I hear everything from him second hand or try to find information online, but that is proving difficult as it seems that most people aren’t as far along as he is at diagnosis. He is remaining very positive, which I think is definitely an asset to him. However, from what I read online I’m wondering how realistic he is being. I guess I just want to know the facts, no matter how hard it may be to hear. He is choosing to undergo hormone therapy and an entire month of radiation. It seems that this will be very hard on his body. For those of you that have been through this, I guess I’m asking if it’s worth it? Will it give him years more (and good years) or will it extend life but at the cost of being weak and tired all the time? Like I said he acts like he could have 5-10 more years but everything I read online says with where he is at it may be more like 2 and I am just wondering what the reality is without raining on his parade, if that makes sense?
you bring up a bunch of interesting dilemmas when it comes to supporting but also looking out for your dad. I wish I could tell you more about his prognosis, but that's really something only the medical team could guess at. I can tell you that we've heard from community members who are doing well after radiation, and others who've suffered some damage from it. One newer addition to radiation treatment is SpaceOAR gel, which is supposed to protect other organs from radiation damage.
Hormone therapy of course has a whole set of side effects, some being more affected than others. If he does go down that road, this article talks about exercise as a way to combat the fatigue you mentioned: https://prostatecancer.net/living/hormone-therapy-exercise
There are those that want to try every treatment possible, and others who want to focus on quality over quantity. There are those who believe hope itself can prolong life, and others who want to know exactly what can be expected. Neither approach is wrong, and in some ways, it's helpful that you can provide a different perspective. As I see it, you want to make sure he's informed of the side effects before choosing. After that, it may be up to him which road to take.
Hopefully we'll hear from others, and please stop by anytime as you continue with this process! - Nina, (ProstateCancer.net Team)
Thank you so much for for the resources and thoughts. I do appreciate it. It’s a difficult process to navigate and sometimes hard to accept the choices of others but in the end I know he has to do what he needs to feel at peace with is decisions.
Hi Sharkfin72. On top of the excellent information from Nina, I thought you might be interested in this story from one of the other community members describing his treatment with metastatic prostate cancer: https://prostatecancer.net/stories/metastatic-prostate-cancer
This person was quite young at diagnosis, but thought the experience he describes might be helpful. Also know that there are quite a few new treatments available. Here are articles on such treatments: https://prostatecancer.net/news/earlier-treatment-metastatic . Wishing you and your father the best. Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)
Hi Sharkfin72. Some of our community members have shared insights from their treatments on our Facebook page that I thought you might be interested in:
"Was too far advanced ed for surgery. Had radiation 5 days a week for 9 weeks coupled with Lupron every 3 months for 2 1/2 years and Casodex pills for the same amount of time. Had the normal side effects, but I'm not complaining. Thank God I am cancer free now."
"Did 45 radiation treatments - 6 chemo infusions - just finished 3 years of Eligard - find someone you trust and love for support and be prepared for some difficult weeks. I was blessed with an Angel who would talk me through the worst nights of chemo - at 2 in the morning when I wanted to give up. Believe me you will find that your have never appreciated life so much when you are done."
"Some can handle it & others can't - I had both at same time ( 14 radiation shots first time with harmone shots ) wasn't to tough first few weeks then after radiation was little trying ! Everybody is different !"
"It will be worth it, no doubt...my husband had chemo and radiation and is still having chemo shots every 3 months (Lupron) and is in year 19 surviving! Wishing you prayers for his treatments and survival!"
Hope these experiences prove helpful in some way and know that this community is here for you and your father. Please feel free to keep us posted on how things are going and to follow-up with additional questions. Best, Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)
sharkfin, your dad is fortunate to have you supporting him.
There is plenty of hope. The statistics are not applicable to any one person. Perhaps they encourage us to make plans we've been putting off, but none of us has an expiration date stamped on our neck!
I have a friend diagnosed with widely metastatic disease, had a PSA of 3200 at diagnosis. Doctors gave him less than a year. That was over 10 years ago, and today his PSA is undetectable! There. Is. Hope. My disease was a very bad situation when diagnosed (similar to your dad's but not detectably metastatic yet), and yet today over six years later I'm doing fine. Surgery wouldn't be effective for me, so I did radiation and 3 years of hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex).
Every guy's disease is a fairly unique genetic cocktail. No doctor can predict how it will respond to treatment. Nobody can. We see broad statistics, and they guide us into the most likely treatment plan. But how that works out for each person seems utterly unpredictable.
Most people dealing with this do well, a few don't. But we embark on the treatment plan and hope for the best. That's all we can do. My mantra is 'I'm ok, until I'm not ok!".
