Thoroughly confused and frustrated
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last December (nice Christmas present!), Gleason score of 7- 4+3. It is diagnosed as a pretty aggressive cancer. The fun part about this is October of 2024, I was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma in the left kidney. I had that removed and had almost a year of immunotherapy. The confusion is I don’t know which treatment is best for me. I am 61, fairly healthy, and I have flip flopped on what I should do. I thought about surgery, then HIFU, and now Proton Therapy. Can someone help me understand the aftermath from these. I have ruled out HIFU, but the other two are the choices I have. Any information about what anyone has experienced, as in long term side effects, immediately after the surgery side effects and such. I greatly appreciate anyone’s input!
Hi
. Just a little while ago I shared with you in a different thread some information on avoiding decision paralysis. Concerning proton therapy, our contributor Bobby wrote a three part series on his experience. Here is part one (you can find the link to the next one at the bottom of the article): https://prostatecancer.net/living/starting-proton-therapy. Jim also wrote about proton therapy here: https://prostatecancer.net/living/proton-beam-therapy. On surgery, you can find a lot more articles and information, both good and bad. Here is a fellow community member asking about it and you may want to read the responses: https://prostatecancer.net/stories/prostatectomy-robotic-surgery. Will gave his one year reflections on surgery here: https://prostatecancer.net/living/one-year-surgery-reflections. I do want to note that, at the end of the day, everyone's circumstances are different and you need to weigh the options based on yours. Hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts. Best, Richard (Team Member)
