Any one know about prostrate cancer treatment? Particularly positive stories..

[Cathpot]

My dad has been diagnosed with prostrate cancer and offered either to have it removed or radiation based treatment. The doctors have been very good at explaning the possible side effects of both but will not give an opinion on which he should do, it is now his choice. The problem is his head is now full of all the problems he might have and I wonder where I can get him some stories of people who have come through the other side etc. In the end it is down to him and he is not discussing it directly but I am getting updates through mum. I would like to pass her on maybe some websites or something where he could read about life after treatment etc. Any help appreciated.

SOrry to hear this cathpot. my FIL has/had prostrate cancer - he had a treatment that involved some radioactive seeds(?) planted which i think zapped it from the inside. IIRC, it made him tired and sore from the procedure, but was able to do most things. it must have been a couple of years ago as i had just had dd. as far as i know, it has worked for him, he still goes for check ups amd tests etc but his levels of whatever they test for have become more normal.
not sure if this helps, but he is definitely a succes story.
wishing your dad the best of luck.

My Dad had it and I remember being in complete bits about it and going into work. My boss (who was a Consultant Physician) said that if he had to choose a cancer to have this would be it as it was so treatable and the prognosis was so good.

Dad went on to have radiotherapy, but I can't really tell you about side effects or anything like that, as he is a really private man and never talked about it. I can say though that he had his diagnosis/treatment 20 years ago and has been well at every check up since then.

Thanks, that's interesting as my gut reaction (based on no medical knowledge of course) was that radiation therapy sounded the worse option than just removing the whole thing. Will have a poke about ont he internet to see what I can find as well.

Hi Cath - sorry to hear about your Dad. The radiation treatment of prostate cancer is my special area, especially the sort given from the inside, either as the seeds which are left there or the temporary high dose rate sort where nothing is left.

It is a really difficult choice to make as to what treatment to have, as all the options have really good disease control rates for men with early stage cancer.

Generally (and this does depend on the surgeon doing the operation, and the technique used) surgery has a higher risk of leaving men totally impotent, and of being incontient of urine. Recovery from surgery can take a while, and usually involves at least a week in hospital and a catheter for a while longer. On the upside, if they have a lot of problems with weeing already (like getting up in the night to wee, not having a strong stream) the surgery will get rid of these. Another downside of surgery is that if there was a recurrence of prostate cancer in the area, its really hard to treat.

Seed brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy) is done in usually 1 or 2 visits, only going in as a day patient, and leaves about a 100 tiny (about the size of a grain of basmati rice) seeds in the prostate. This then treats the cancer over the next 6 months. As the radiation is quite weak, theres no danger to other people, although in the first few weeks its best not to have children sitting on your lap for a long time (like watching TV together - a hug or sitting next to them is fine). Side effects are that it can make wee problems worse for a while, and some men will become impotent, but Viagra will work for them (with surgery it doesn't). If the cancer recurs in the prostate it can still be removed.

The Prostate Cancer Charity have really good information about all the treatments and their up and downsides

cmot obviously has the best medical advice here but I just wanted to add that my FIL has prostate cancer, he was diagnosed in 2000 and is still going strong, aged 73, and in fact his recent tests showed that his PSA count (protein that indicates the presence of the cancer) has recently fallen. Although he has been told he can't actually get rid of it, his consultant told him could expect a normal lifespan and that he would be more likely to die of old age than of the cancer itself. (And this is a heavy smoker to boot!)

Unfortunately I don't know exactly what treatment he has had, but I do know he hasn't had an op.

Thank you for your posts, thats really interesting about the radiation treatment still leaving the surgery option open as mum said on the phone something about if they went the radiation route he wouldnt then be able to have surgery as he would be too weak to heal. Not sure if she has the wrong end of the stick there. Will try the link, thanks again.

Surgery after radiotherapy certainly isn't as easy as without, but it doesn't stop you healing. There would be other options such as cryotherapy and HIFU as well to explore, should there be a recurrence.

What general area does your Dad live in if you don't mind me asking ?

Cathpot, motdribbler has explained beautifully - just watned to add that my dad had PC diagnosed this time last year, and we were all pretty shaken up. He chose (and was advised to have) brachytherapy - internal radiation therapy - and has done very well. It took about a week to recover from the inpatient procedure the first time, and a few days the second time, and he is now six months into it....and feeling great.

He suffered some degree of urgency (pee) and unexpected attacks of diarrhoea for the first 2-3 months, which meant he was wary of going too far from a toilet - as in, travelling too long on the tube, etc. - but has basically carried on his daily life in every way. He's 82, but a very fit 82.

Best of all, his PSA is almost back to normal levels already - and brachytherapy has the same level of cure rate as prostate removal, which in his case (cancer contained in gland) is very good. He's travelling every other week, writing, and spending lots of time with grandchildren - just not on his lap!

Wishing your Dad well whatever option he follows - I think it took my Dad a couple of weeks to get his head around all the info, its an awful lot to take in when its you its happening to.

Sorry, cmotdribbler

cmotdibbler, even

thanks elibean, so good to hear successful outcomes, all we've had recently is side effect lectures. Will chat to mum again tomorrow.

Spoke to mum, turns out it is too big for them to use the radioactive 'seeds' which is why they are talking about the treatment damaging his ability to heal. It sounds like they are leaning towards the removal option.

He might want to look into High dose rate brachytherapy, either on its own (only available at Mount Vernon or UCLH in the UK) or as a boost to external beam.

Unless his prostate is very large, it doesn't necessarily mean he can't have seeds - some people don't like implanting larger prostates, but side effects aren't greater and he could have hormones first to reduce the size of his prostate. So it is worth thinking about the fact that he doesn't have to go just with what his local centre like to do.

Surgery is a good option, but he should ask what kind of surgery they do - the best available in this country is using the Da Vinci robot, the next best is laprascopic nerve sparing. The experience of the surgeon, and the technique used really makes a difference in the time for him to recover, and his chance of impotence or incontinence

cmotdibbler, this is exactly when I feel out of my depth with medical stuff- how do you go about finding out these things out, eg who are the best surgeons etc? Once you have found out how do you go about getting yourseif on the right list? Can you choose your surgeon even if you dont go private? Does is help to go private? Sorry to bombard you with questions but we were really unprepared for this news.

Basically, he can ask to have treatment anywhere within the NHS if that particular treatment isn't available locally. I honestly don't know how you might find out generally who is good, but as this is my field I know a lot of the oncologists and urologists

Going private can open up more options - there are several private prostate cancer groups, and several of those have very good people in them. Obviously you get much more control over what treatment you choose, and are certain of being treated by the consultant you choose.

If you want to CAT me, I can give you some more detailed information.

Sorry to hear about your Dad Cathpot - just wanted to add that the Prostate Cancer Charity website has a really excellent forum where you can post queries exactly like the ones you have asked and you get some very well informed replies from other PC sufferers and their families. A really excellent resource and support for you and your family - have a look. All the best.www.prostate-cancer.org.uk/forums/

thankyou, am copying the link to my mum