Surgery vs radiation or other therapies.
72 and previously healthy here and recently diagnosed with acinar adenocarcinoma of the prostate MRI showed it was within the capsule with no evidence of bone, soft tissue or lymph node spread. PSA was 14 and at biopsy I had a Gleason score of 9 with areas of 4+5 and areas of 5+4. Head to thigh PET scan showed several areas of axial skeletal involvement (probable bone Mets). Two left ribs hips and two vertebrae. (lumbar and thoracic). No cure for this from my reading. I meet with the prostate team at the cancer center this week to discuss options. Any advice would be helpful.
Hi
. You certainly have been dealing with a lot. Have your doctors started talking about treatment options? I can tell you that, while there is no cure for stage 4 prostate cancer, treatments have come a long way. There are men here who have been stage 4 for years and continue to lead good, productive lives. For example, see this bio page for Tony who has been Stage 4 since 2017: https://prostatecancer.net/community-advocates/tony-collier (there is a link to his articles). I know treatment for metastatic prostate cancer often involves treatment to reduce testosterone and thus PSA and some form of treatment to target the cancer. For example this article discusses how radioligands can be used with PSMA PET scan to target cancer: https://prostatecancer.net/treatment/psma-targeted-pet-imaging. Often the prostate isn't removed in stage 4 cases, but there are exceptions. Each case, of course, is different and the best course needs to be worked out between an individual and their medical team. As you move forward, please don't hesitate to ask questions. There are men here who have been there and this community is here for you. Best, Richard (Team Member)
