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Should I wait until stage three before having radio therapay

Posted , 8 users are following.

peterjames98
peterjames98

I am 73 and have just been diagnosed with stage1/2 prostate cancer, Gleason score 9, following a 16.7 PSA and biopsy. I have begun hormone therapy but am not keen to start radiotherapy until I absolutely have to because of the side effects. I gather that treatment for stage three prostate cancer is almost as successful as stage 1/2. In which case I would rather wait for as long as possible.

I assume that there is a reasonable time lapse before stage three moves on to stage four, so my preference would be to have regular MRI scans and only go for radio therapy when the cancer has escaped the prostate capsule.

Can anyone advise me about the best course of action?

1 like, 31 replies

31 Replies

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  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    >James 87879

    To quote from ' No Country For Old Men ' :-

    Deputy : ' Ah Sherrif,  that's aggravatin...'

    Sherrif :  ' I'm with you there '.

    Best wishes James.  Go well.

    Dudley

     

  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    Dear Peter,

    By now I am presuming,  you have finished your course of EBRT and I was wondering how you are ?  Hopefully the good run you were having up until week 5 continued ?

    Best Regards,

    Dudley

    • peterjames98
      peterjames98 Dudley71081

      Posted

      Hi Dudley, and thanks for your message. Yes, just finished my seven and a half weeks of radio therapy and I'm happy to say, NO SIDE EFFECTS, apart from an increased urge to pee, which I'm told should diminish within a couple of weeks. I hope it has been as good for you.  Actually, I only started this discussion in the first place because of horror stories in the media about the 'gruelling side effects' of radio therapy which could well be 'worse than the disease'! I accept that I may just have been lucky, but I now think that anyone about to have radio therapy should regard the warnings as similar to those you get on any packet of tablets you get from your doctor! You may get one or two or two adverse reactions, but there is a good chance you will get none. But how are you doing, Dudley? Have you had your first post treatment  PSA yet?  Best wishes, Peter
    • georgeGG
      georgeGG peterjames98

      Posted

      Many thanks Peterjames. You must be very pleased. I hope the treatment prooves to be fully successful.Your mild side effect is encouraging for me with RT awaitng me in November. It helps to keep the 'horror stories' in a better perspective. George
  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    Congratulations Peter.  That is very good and uplifting news.  Well done !

    Your comments about ' warnings ' are well made.  It is surprising how actually engaging in the battle changes one from being a somewhat anxious recruit into,  if not a seasoned campaigner then at least,  a pro-active combatant.

    My situation,  thankyou for asking,  is not so good as your own.  ( Possibly because I had 42 sessions in all with the last fourteen being more focused and of a significantly higher intensity ? ).  I won't go into SE specifics at this stage Peter because precisely the point you are making is that detail,  which may be entirely specific to me,  could needlessly deter another from undergoing treatment.  What I am experiencing, countless others may not.

    Suffice it just to say that currently my symptoms are somewhat debilitating and I have become weary.  But I am hopeful however that I will soon pick up, once I am able to re-start walking.  Just at the moment, in the depths of a comparatively bitter winter season here in South Australia,  I am struggling to overcome a general disinclination to do anything requiring effort.

    Occasional brief periods of sunshine have me getting set up in the garden to either read or write whereupon,  I promptly fall asleep !

    It is good to keep in touch though.  Regular contact with friends, even distant ones, really boosts morale.

    I'll be back with the ' Zippety do da '  later on.

    Best wishes,

    Dudley

     

    • georgeGG
      georgeGG Dudley71081

      Posted

      Hello Dudley

      Winter weather does damoen one down as we know only to well in UK. The dim grey daylight doesn't help either. I hope your approaching warmer brighter weather will be a welcome tonic for you. 

      Best wishes

      George

  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    >georgeGG

    Thanks a lot for the encouragement George !  

    More importantly and regarding your goodself however,  how are you?   I have been wondering how you are travelling.  

    Somehow, I must have missed where you posted your biopsy and scan results.  So if it would not be considered too much of an imposition, could you let me know? Also what have they got planned for you and when do you start?

    Best wishes,

    Dudley

    d George and so that those who supported you almost daily whilst you were in your highly-stressed phase can appreciate the dynamics of your situation please advise, if you are willing,  where you stand now and what treatment has been planned for you?  Also,  how long will you have to wait

    Dudley

    • georgeGG
      georgeGG Dudley71081

      Posted

      Hello Dudley

      I added the results to my profile and the agreed treatment. I was about to start a new conversation which will largely be about diet but I will start earlier in my history with the diagnosis meeting. 

      I am so grateful to all those who supported me when I was strung up tighter than an overstrung banjo. It was such a help. I will post the new conversation shortly as I prefer to compose longer offerings on my PC (using my iPad at present). 

      George

  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    George,

    I don't have a computer just this touch-screen ipad 4 which sometimes acts up.!

    The chip in it must have come out of Dr Who's K9, because it buries emails without trace and them digs them up later.

    Dudley

     

  • Dudley71081
    Dudley71081 peterjames98

    Posted

    Hello again Peter,

    I was was just wondering how you are at the moment ?

    For myself,  I'm going along O.K...considering.  

    Radiation Proctitis is still a problem to be managed,  but the symptoms are now less severe and thankfully I am more skilful at management so incontinence is not now a problem.  Also I am currently neither urine incontinent nor impotent although,  between the disease itself and surgery/ radiation,  things are not what they were prior to noticeable onset.  But we manage.

    Despite quite high fatigue levels which impair concentration to some extent,  I am trying to live life as fully as possible and enjoy sensibly,  what is available to me now.  

    Admittedly spurring me on is the Damoclean undertone of the Medical Papers I have read which predicate that what standard of wellness I enjoy now is not likely to persist,  due to the continuing side-effects of the treatment I have received alone,  beyond 24 months hence.

    But the alternative was and is far worse and so,  I count myself lucky.

    Hopefully,  you are doing better than I am ?

    I wish you and Mrs. PJ all the best.

    Regards 

    Dudley

    P S   When I get my first post-treatment PSA  result,  I will let you know.

    • peterjames98
      peterjames98 Dudley71081

      Posted

      Hi Dudley

      Good to hear from you. It sounds as if things are improving for you week by week, so I hope that in another month or so you will be feeling much better all round. As for me the side effects of the radio therapy have gone altogether - ie. no great urgency to pee, but of course the hormone treatment is a different matter.

      Just to deal with the radio therapy, I had IMRT, which involved a daily scan immediately before the treatment to limit the damage to surrounding tissue. I had 37 sessions. Yours was a slightly different treatment, if I remember, with a few more sessions. 

      With regard to the hormone treatment, I started that in February immediately following the biopsy. I wasn't offered surgery, presumably because of my high Gleason score and also my age, which is now 74. I suspect you are quite a bit younger than me, so I am glad to hear that your treatment hasn't rendered you impotent. In my case it has, together with a loss of libido, but I am philosophical about that, having had sixty good years!

      My oncologist was also quite candid about the hormone treatment only keeping things under control for a limited period, after which it is the dreaded chemo, unless a new drug arrives on the scene. I say 'dreaded' because I am lucky enough to have a full head of hair. But maybe by the time  it comes along I will be less preoccupied with how I look! 

      Let me know how you get on with the PSA monitoring and I will do the same. But now we are off to Berlin, Dresden and Prague, followed by Laos and Cambodia, spending our childrens' inheritance while we can!!

      Regards, Peter

  • peter06554
    peter06554 peterjames98

    Posted

    Hi

    Like you ive been down that road and im probably quite a long way past it. Had the hormone treatment and I was told that i had 2 lyth nodes in my stomach which had signs of cancer.Ii was watch and wait. i had no idea what the wait was for but then they said your ready.When it starts to spead you can have the treatment.  I was prescribed Abiterone which can only be given once the cancer reaches stage four. Its around £800 a week. I have just started my 16th cycle (per month) Similar to hormone therapy but much more advanced. Tolerated it well and the problem has been the side effects. creates diabetes 2.I have lyphomedia in both legs and struggle with my breathng. however since this is a fairly new drug no one knows how other drugs given with it reacts and they have to find alternatives. When this stops being effective its cemo. I understand that the rules have changed that you cant have this now until lafter cemo.Being in mind ive had prostrate cancer since 2009 and given 12 months to live then i seam to be still going. so good luck to you on your journey.

    • peterjames98
      peterjames98 peter06554

      Posted

      Hi Peter

      It is encouraging to know that you are still battling on after your rather bleak prognosis in 2009, though I am sorry to hear that you are suffering quite a bit from the side effects. Yes, it's chemo first for me if or when the time comes, and Abiterone only after that, But who knows, they may have come up with something new in the meantime, in which case you will probably hear about it and maybe even try it before me. Anyway, best of luck. Peter

    • Dudley71081
      Dudley71081 peterjames98

      Posted

      Hello Peter,

      Its been about six months since your E. Europe and S E  Asia trip and I have wondered from time to time how you are getting along and what your current readings may be ?  Also, if you are currently involved with ongoing treatment of any sort ?

      Hopefully both of you had a great time and you were throughout and now  remain,  relatively symptom free?

      I look forward to hearing about you Peter,  but will perfectly understand if you would prefer to no longer  participate in the Forum.

      With Best Regards

      Dudley

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