To ask what it means please

[Ihatecocomelon]

I will try not to drip feed.
My dad has prostate cancer....luckily caught very early. I have autism and freak out a lot so my parents don't tell me the ins and outs of things and don't tell me much detail so I'm sorry if any of this doesn't make sense.

Initially my dad had chemo and it worked then had hormone patches?? Or injections I'm not sure.

This is the bit i dont understand about the bones....
Then after a few years he had radiotherapy, he got his results this weeks and I was told....nothing to worry about it hasn't spread to any organs though there's still spots on his bones but don't need to worry for a few years.

I don't understand the spots on bones...please can anyone help? Thank you

Sorry I'm not able to answer anything else about the above. My parents don't tell me to protect me. My dad is 80.

I think maybe the spots are benign after looking at Google.

This is EXACTLY the situation my DF is currently in! I don't quite understand either, but he's being closely monitored. I think the spots are cancer cells that have wandered off to other sites, namely bones. My DF's spots are in his spine.

Sorry your family is going through this and I hope your DF is getting the same level of care as mine. The NHS have been amazing, really on the ball and I can't fault them.

Hello

Nobody has replied to you. I understand that you are worried.

Benign means not cancerous. From what you said I think it means he is in a place that he is OK but they still have to monitor him in case he gets worse in the future.

Are you able to say to your parents that you would like to know? If there is a nurse or someone that can talk to you about this?

This must of been a hard time for you.

I can not tell you exactly what the spots mean as not medical trained however my son has white spots in his heart and brain. They are non benign tumours ( so not cancer) and he is OK. ( part of his condition).

Sorry if not the exact answer you need.

My mum gets stressed with me when I ask so I can't ask. She's worried I will get wound up and upset.

I think pp is right just needs monitoring.

However what treatment will he have now?

Oh I'm.sorry. I hope everything goes well for your dad.
I can only be thankful it wasn't discovered during lockdown to begin with as who knows the situation we would be in now.

I understand the older you have it the slower it grows. But thats it, I'm the youngest by a lot of years so I'm sheltered a lot by what's really happening at times.

And yes NHS have been fantastic.

Sometimes prostate cancer cells escape the prostate and wander off around the body and then attach themselves to different sites. Because they are still prostate cancer (even though they are on the spine or wherever) they cause the PSA levels in the blood to be elevated. However, often the clumps of cells are so small they can’t treat with radiotherapy.
Prostate cancer grows with testosterone, so the hormone therapy reduces testosterone levels and slows the growth of the ‘spots’.
They will keep an eye on them and if they grow significantly they can then look at other treatment options.

You've got some good advice here so I just wanted to add that Maggie's is a charity that is really good at supporting people living with cancer and their loved ones. You can call them or visit a Maggie's Centre in person for a chat. They wont have your dad's specific information but they will be able to help you make sense of what you've been told. They were really helpful and reassuring when I was worried about something DH was told by a consultant which I didn't want to bring up with him in case it worried him too.

Thanks everyone. And thinking of all that are going through this too. Fuck cancer.

prostatecanceruk.org/get-support/our-specialist-nurses

They are really great for answering questions from family/friends.

Sending strength to you and your Dad.

(And, yes, fuck cancer).