PROSTATE CANCER TREATMENT

[MikeF]

That's good you can now have your wife and daughter to help. If you haven't a booklet you can can look on the website https://prostatecanceruk.org, but you should have been given information to make a choice. Presumably you understand the Gleason scale. Your description wasn't clear but maybe you meant your cancer is on one side of your prostate? Anti androgen treatment would not be good if you are very active. You need to discuss these things with your oncology consultant. Radiation therapy may not be that simple either depending on your condition.

[ken66]

That's good you can now have your wife and daughter to help. If you haven't a booklet you can can look on the website https://prostatecanceruk.org, but you should have been given information to make a choice. Presumably you understand the Gleason scale. Your description wasn't clear but maybe you meant your cancer is on one side of your prostate? Anti androgen treatment would not be good if you are very active. You need to discuss these things with your oncology consultant. Radiation therapy may not be that simple either depending on your condition.

I underwent hormone treatment (HT) & radiotherapy 2 years ago & whilst HT (anti androgen treatment) has its effects, I believe that being active & continuing that activity as best you can is the best way of warding off the effects of the treatment. I found that to be the case for me

[djnotts]

My Gleason also 4 + 5. I suspect prostate cancer treatment and no doubt others has a pretty rigid age/benefit structure - at over 70 (72) surgery not on offer. Possibly at over 75 or 80 radiotherapy also off the list.
Despite COPD I am relatively fit, well, active - kept cycling every day throughout my ERT and usually do over 100 miles per week all year. Means nothing!
ERT plus a 3 year drug regime might buy me 3-5 years, might not. This stuff spreads!
But, as above, ask and keep on asking until you get the information you want.
Good luck.

[Jdsk]

I suspect prostate cancer treatment and no doubt others has a pretty rigid age/benefit structure - at over 70 (72) surgery not on offer. Possibly at over 75 or 80 radiotherapy also off the list.

Current NICE guidelines including the 2021 risk stratification:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng131
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng131/ ... ns#staging

Jonathan

[djnotts]

Thanks for the NICE links, seem to have missed these when researching! Too late now, but I got/am getting the standard:

"1.3.22Offer people with CPG 2, 3, 4 and 5 localised or locally advanced prostate cancer 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy before, during or after radical external beam radiotherapy. [2014, amended 2021]

1.3.23Consider continuing androgen deprivation therapy for up to 3 years for people with CPG 4 and 5 localised or locally advanced prostate cancer, and discuss the benefits and risks of this option with them. [2014, amended 2021]"

The 3 years bit probably an estimate of survival. Do for me.

[De Sisti]

I am being referred to a Urologist to determine if I have prostate cancer. I have many of the symptoms, including an enlarged prostate and very high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in my blood*.

I received a referral letter yesterday (even though I only saw the doctor on Tuesday, 22nd) he said it would be within the next two weeks. Blood test and (finger up bum) procedure was last Wednesday (16th).

Doctor said that if it's positive they'll have me in asap to sort it out due to my age.

Another referral letter arrived today, along with a "Your Two Week Wait Appointment" booklet.

*Both doctors whom I've seen were more concerned about the PSA in my blood.

[Jdsk]

Another referral letter arrived today, along with a "Your Two Week Wait Appointment" booklet.

Usual advice: write down your questions in advance so that you don't forget any.

Have you already found all that you need about the disease, investigations and lines of treatment? Please let us know if you'd like more.

Jonathan

[De Sisti]

Another referral letter arrived today, along with a "Your Two Week Wait Appointment" booklet.

Usual advice: write down your questions in advance so that you don't forget any.

Have you already found all that you need about the disease, investigations and lines of treatment? Please let us know if you'd like more.

Jonathan

I'm already on search engines looking at stuff. At my age (60) I'm not unduly worried. All of the
above is precautionary and the symptoms may prove to be a false positive.

[Benz3ne]

Seconding a lot of the above comments. My father had, and has beaten, prostate cancer following a rather lengthy operation.
He had the option for the operation outright as the cancer had not metastasised. I would suggest, like others have done, to seek clarification or second opinions on your options.

[De Sisti]

Had a phone appointment with a urologist this morning, asking me some follow-up questions.
Next step is to have an MRI scan. Will update after it's taken place.

[pga]

Thanks once again for all who have commented.

I have asked for a second opinion through my Macmillan nurse. I intend to see my doctor, with my wife, when the cancer doctor's letter has emerged. This will go to my doctor and is copied to myself and gives details of his recommendations.

Many thanks once again. I value your comments.

[Psamathe]

Thanks once again for all who have commented.

I have asked for a second opinion through my Macmillan nurse. I intend to see my doctor, with my wife, when the cancer doctor's letter has emerged. This will go to my doctor and is copied to myself and gives details of his recommendations.

Many thanks once again. I value your comments.

Did your specialist say his letter will be copied to you? I ask only because in my own experience sometimes consultant clinical letters are copied to the patient but sometimes not. And for my GP, neither "Patient Access" (online access to your medical records) nor the NHS App provide access to consultant letters. So I now always ask the consultant to copy his clinical letter to me as well as my GP (and they've always been fine with that).

If not you should be able to get a copy from your GP but my own GP has been stroppy on one occasion where I requested printout copy of a blood test results "We've got better things to do than spend time printing out stuff for him!" (I wanted the blood test results for a consultant visit where in the past sometimes consultants have been unable to access GP blood test results on their computer).

Ian

[MikeF]

Thanks once again for all who have commented.

I have asked for a second opinion through my Macmillan nurse. I intend to see my doctor, with my wife, when the cancer doctor's letter has emerged. This will go to my doctor and is copied to myself and gives details of his recommendations.

Many thanks once again. I value your comments.

Did your specialist say his letter will be copied to you? I ask only because in my own experience sometimes consultant clinical letters are copied to the patient but sometimes not. And for my GP, neither "Patient Access" (online access to your medical records) nor the NHS App provide access to consultant letters. So I now always ask the consultant to copy his clinical letter to me as well as my GP (and they've always been fine with that).

If not you should be able to get a copy from your GP but my own GP has been stroppy on one occasion where I requested printout copy of a blood test results "We've got better things to do than spend time printing out stuff for him!" (I wanted the blood test results for a consultant visit where in the past sometimes consultants have been unable to access GP blood test results on their computer).

Ian

Perhaps I'm fortunate with my local surgery in that either reception will print the results or they can be emailed to me. The problem is I can walk to the surgery for a blood test, rather than go 10 miles to the hospital, but the hospital and surgery are in different health care areas so communication between the two is difficult. National HS implies it's one system, but it isn't. It is a collection of separate systems which aren't properly interlinked. The hospital are very good at communicating with me and the surgery, but the surgery does not appear to be good at communicating with the hospital.

[Psamathe]

Thanks once again for all who have commented.

I have asked for a second opinion through my Macmillan nurse. I intend to see my doctor, with my wife, when the cancer doctor's letter has emerged. This will go to my doctor and is copied to myself and gives details of his recommendations.

Many thanks once again. I value your comments.

Did your specialist say his letter will be copied to you? I ask only because in my own experience sometimes consultant clinical letters are copied to the patient but sometimes not. And for my GP, neither "Patient Access" (online access to your medical records) nor the NHS App provide access to consultant letters. So I now always ask the consultant to copy his clinical letter to me as well as my GP (and they've always been fine with that).

If not you should be able to get a copy from your GP but my own GP has been stroppy on one occasion where I requested printout copy of a blood test results "We've got better things to do than spend time printing out stuff for him!" (I wanted the blood test results for a consultant visit where in the past sometimes consultants have been unable to access GP blood test results on their computer).

Ian

Perhaps I'm fortunate with my local surgery in that either reception will print the results or they can be emailed to me. The problem is I can walk to the surgery for a blood test, rather than go 10 miles to the hospital, but the hospital and surgery are in different health care areas so communication between the two is difficult. National HS implies it's one system, but it isn't. It is a collection of separate systems which aren't properly interlinked. The hospital are very good at communicating with me and the surgery, but the surgery does not appear to be good at communicating with the hospital.

The reason I wanted to make sure I took Blood Test Results with me for my Consultant appointment. Being able to produce info the consultant wants can avoid a wasted appointment. Some time back took Mum to her consultant who could not get recent results on his computer but earlier results showed low haemoglobin so he arranged an iron infusion and I was sitting there thinking how I was sure that recent blood test haemoglobin was OK (which it was). For myself another appointment where consultant thought I'd need an MRI to which I replied I'd had one a month ago so he went on his computer but couldn't get it because hospital it was done at was 30 miles away.

Ian

[Jdsk]

I'm happy to try and explain the information flows and systems. But preferably in another thread.

Jonathan