Here we go again
My name is cliff. About 9 years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 8. Psa was at 12. I had 45 rad treatments and supposedly got it. 6 years latter I moved to SC and psa went from
.01 to 4. It was stage 4. Went on two shots a year of luprlide. After 3 years the psa went up to 1.
2
They say I can't do surgery since it is out of prostate but not in bone. Taking xandi now with shots. Feel okay but get tired and BP is up. Does anybody know if it can be removed. I am 73
The internet can be iffy on getting any medical advice. I will tell you what I know from personal experience. The MDs at one of the larger medical centers in your region are most likely your best bet. I had a Gleason 9 and did the surgery at age 70 in 2013. The cancer returned and I then did Lupron and 40 radiation treatments in 2018. So
far all is good. But who knows?
Apparently once the Prostate Cancer breaches the Prostate wall it can spread and now most likely it is hiding somewhere in your system.There are newer scans called (PET/MRI's) that can help your MD pinpoint where the cancer might be located. If the cancer is in a confined area (s) it can be treated with external beam radiation or Proton therapy etc.
If it is wide spread it is my understanding that external beam may not be possible - just too many places to focus on. At this point you may want to look into clinical trials as well. I know folks do not want to try these but they can often get you on new treatment protocols a lot faster than the general public . If the drug in the trial is not working they stop the trial. In short there is not much to lose and I believe its not a bad idea to look into these.Your urologist would be a good place to start any search. Doing surgery to remove a prostate after radiation is not as easy as the tissue has been deformed and scared by the treatment.
Removal of the gland following radiation often leads to major issues with incontinence. None of this is easy. Best to take your time and explore your options .
I am sure some of the other guys on here will shortly share their thoughts and personal perspectives... Dennis(ProstateCancer.net TEAM)
