confused over next treatment after radiacal prostatectomy

Richard: I wish fervently that I had an answer for you. I am soon to have a Robot-assisted Laproscopic Radical Prostatectomy, and hope I don't have the same question

Even though a full body Scan and pelvic CT Scan does not indicate any spread, the urologist stated: "If it is in the lymph glands near the left side of your prostate, I'll have to take all or part of them". I thought, FMD, do they get paid by the gram?

More seriously, I hope someone more knowledgeable answers your question.

What a horrible position for you to be in. I'm lucky enough to have minor cancer cells that seem neither to be growing nor spreading, so have not yet required treatment. If you have cancer cells detected outside the prostate do you know where it has been found and how far it has spread? My understanding is that the type of cancer is always still the same type even if it has metastsised, but I'm not sure how treating it as if the prostate is still in your body when it has been taken out could work? My inclination would be to follow advice to use targeted radiation in the location of the cancer cells that have been found.

Hello. I have done a lot of research on prostate cancer, after my other half was diagnosed. I have learnt a lot from another uk prostate cancer forum after reading all about other peoples treatment.

As far as I am aware hormones stop your body making testosterone which shrinks the cancer down as it has nothing to feed on. This is only temporary though. Some men this only works for a few years others many, many years. But it doesn't kill the cancer. Radiation should kill it.

Going by other people's treatment they don't seem to have the prostate removed if they need radiation therapy too as surgery avoids radiation. I am assuming they didn't know the cancer had spread out of the prostate before they operated?

Anyway I am sure you will need radiation therapy to kill it. My other half had brachytherapy. He wasn't offered prostate removal but he wouldn't have had his prostate removed anyway, due to side effects, but he only had a slower growing prostate cancer.

Do as much research as you can and ask your consultant any questions you have.

Good luck.

Who knows? My friend had positive margins and his PSA is 0. I had negative margins and mine is 07.

My RT caused Radiation Proctopathy.

I am 70 and had surgery. PSA is increasing. Now at .07 so cancer is back. I am trying to get a handle on the increase but afraid of radiation.  

Cancer was found in the seminal vesicles and surrounding tissue but not in the lymph nodes. All were removed during the prostatectomy. Radiation seems to be the standard next step but the side effects, some of which are permanant are scary to say the least. I am sure I will follow the doctors advice but wanted to hear from people who have undergone adjuvant radiation to see how adverse their side effects were

Richard

I had a radical prostatectomy in Dec 2010 when I was 64.  PSA started to rise in March 2011.  Immediately started hormone therapy for 3 years and had course of radiotherapy in Nov-Dec 2011.  My PSA has been zero since 2012.  All good news.

The side effects you ask about, obviously vary for each person.  My main side effect is I am alive and well.  No real side effects from the radiotherapy, I was lucky and was able to be treated on the latest technology at the time (TrueBeam) and had no side effects apart from tiredness at the end of the treatment.  The hormaone therapy left me with hot flushes, which still occasionally occur, but the main effect was a complete loss of sexual feeling, following cessation of treatment some feeling is returning.

As I said everyone is different, but those who did nothing won't be replying to your questions!!

Good Luck, be positive and listen to your medical team.

KenW

Several questions. Some say that G3 cell never increase to G4 so where do  G4 cells come from if not from G3?  Please explain.  Next, how do we know whether cancer cells are indolent? Is this just a guess based on data? Finally, how do we know if PSA after surgery is from benign tissue left behind.  When is the best time or PSA increase for radiation?

Thanks for all responses. It is good to hear from others in my situation who are doing well. I have read everything there is to read but it is far more helpfull to hear from others who have gone through what I am facing.