Prostate Cancer :: Over Treatment
Oct 16, 2015
I have just been copied in on a letter from the Consultant Urologist to my GP giving an update on the appointment I attended following an MRI.
it says:- "Mr "Sailor Sam" was reviewed today. He is a known case of prostate cancer on active surveillance. His PSA has been slowly creeping up suggesting that he is progressing on a biochemical level. In view of this , radical treatment was discussed but "Sailor Sam" is not keen on this for fear of side-effects. His preference is to continue with active surveillance and therefore he will be seen in clinic in 3 months time"
Now on the letter it says Diagnosis:- Gleason 6 adenocarcinoma of the prostate diagnosed in 2012. Latest PSA 3.3
MRI Scan shows T2 N0 - prostate cancer in 43cc prostate gland.
Staging is small volume. A small low signal foucs at the junction of peripheral and transitional zones on the left lateral aspect at the base does show restricted diffusion and is likely to represent a small focus of prostate carcinoma. It is organ defined. No further focus suspicious for prostate carinoma. The seminal vesicles show normal appearance.
The MDT 17.9.15 concensus of opinion - OFFER RADICAL TREATMENT.
So what I would like to hear is what people think about this? My Psa resutls have been May 2013 2.4
Aug 2013 1.5
Mar 2014 1.7
Aug 2014 1.7
Jul 2015 3.2
Sep 201 3.3
I know there are some very knowledgeable people on this site but am I missing something? Offering radical treatment to a 52 year old man with this history? Is that right? I am a Mental Health Nurse myself and work as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team which is why I am having trouble coming to terms with their conclusion.
Could I ask for the MDT decision to be reviewed by a different MDT? would it make a difference?
Or are they the "experts" who arrive at this decision following a certain protocol. Not sure if there are any NICE guidelines for offering treatment for example.
I know I will need treatment and I recognise we are lucky that we live in a society that has a health service that can help us so much, but is this a case of over-treatment which I've come to hear more and more about
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I received my PSA blood test score today of 1.5. This is 14 months after Proton Treatment at Loma Linda. My Gleason score was 4+3 seven. My highest PSA pre treatment was 8.0
I had great numbers my first two tests.
!.3 after three months and six months later it was 0.50 in July of this year. I was not planning another PSA test until January but my GP did one as part of a normal physical. Was expecting a number lower than 0.50.
Appreciate any feedback. I know its the trend that counts, not one individual test but still it is disconcerting to not see a drop and even more disconcerting to see this significant an increase.
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I just had a kidney scan and this time they scanned my bladder as well. The Scanner man asked me was i taking hormones for my prostrate, i said no as i was not. I had a very full bladder at the time, thought i would throw that in. I gets home and Googled hormones and prostate and it said it was a treatment for early stages of prostate cancer ....
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I am 59 years young, and I have IBS and prostate cancer. I will be starting my prostate cancer treatments the last week of October and my doctor prescribed me Viagra that I am supposed to take beginning the week before my treatment begins. I don't have a lot of money (the treatment is taking every bit of my HSA) and he told me there were places I could buy it and save some money, as I'm going to be working a lot less during the treatments. Also, I am wondering if anyone has taken Viagra and if it affected your IBS at all?
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I went to my doctor and she said that a PSA is needed for screening purposes. I asked why and she said that TRT can cause cancer. I told her I have heard nothing of this and if it does I would have never started it. I have read that being on TRT can fuel cancer that is already there making it grow faster and more likely to be aggressive in nature. She looked at me with a puzzled look and said really well maybe you are right I will check into it. OMG! this is my doctor. Now what the heck am I supposed to think. I have never read anything that links TRT to causing cancer, fueling it yes, but causing it no. I have also read that men with low T are at a higher risk of developing cancer so it would be safe to say I am better off on TRT than not. I wouldn't be on it, but my body no longer makes it so it was 0. My side effects from this were really bad. It is like having chronic fatigue syndrome and sexual dysfunction. With a side of extreme depression. It was terrible and I don't want to go back to feeling that way, but the doctor would like me to stop due to cancer risk and blood clotting. I am getting checked regularly for blood issues and have no desire to take a PSA test. I believe it will open Pandora's box. I wish to leave it alone. What is a guy supposed to do?
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I used to have PSA readings as high as 6.0 until my doctor prescribed Avodart 0.5 mg capsules daily. Since starting the Avodart regiment (3 years ago) my PSA readings have dramatically fallen to the range of 3.2 to 3.8 which obviously I am very pleased with. However, looking forward, (I'm 72), I'm wondering what to expect. If I stay on Avodart forever I assume that my readings will continue to be in the good range. But, is there a long term negative scenario for taking that much Avodart that I should be aware of ?
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My psa level increased from 4.2 at the end of 2012 to 6.6 twelve months later at the end of 2013. My doctor sent me to a urologist who ordered another psa test and that came back at 11.00. There was only 3 weeks between my 6.6 reading and this latest one at 11.00. The urologist thinks that this huge increase is unlikely to be a cancer and wants me to have another test in 4 weeks time.
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I am a' carer' to a member of our family who is 82 and suffers from emphysema and prostate cancer. He is getting very weak as he refuses food [sick when eats] We try to make him drink [he is becoming dehydrated] We have constantly pestered our GP and He was recently taken into hospital, but discharged as being 'well enough for an old man with his type of illness'. He had an injection last night to quell sickness [ again called out GP]. Today He is refusing food through fear of being sick..... GP coming again today!
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Diagnosed in April. MRI done, consult with three doctors. One recommended RP. Two recommended Proton Therapy.
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I'm a 20 year old male.
I recently fingered myself, and I felt something unusual. I went all the way in with my entire index finger (around 3 inches deep). I felt a hard, kind of pointy bump. I'm not sure if this is my prostate or if it's fecal matter. I've fingered myself before, and every time I do it I feel this. I'm often constipated, so maybe it's fecal matter? I'm worried because I also have symptoms of prostate cancer like impotence and a weak stream when urinating. I was followed by a urologist who was not able to find a problem. She made me take Flomax to help me urinate better. I haven't take a Flomax pill for more than a year.
Note: I do not have a family history of prostate cancer, I am Caucasian. I have a normal weight.
I know I should probably go see my doctor and tell him about this but it's very embarrassing.
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Here are my own observations at week five into LH hormone therapy.
> After a faltering start I settled into three or so mild hot flushes a day with some at night.
> The worst part for me is that shortly after the onset of a flush my memory is impaired and logical thought becomes confused. I could live with the fuzzy feeling in my head if that was all. This impairment lasts about one hour after the flush subsides. So I cannot do much sensible work or play the piano without making a hash of it and frequently forgetting how to continue the piece I am playing.
> I have found the advice to keep cool helpful. So I wear lighter clothes than formerly and try to keep a feeling of being slightly cold. I don't like that but it is better than a flush.
> I have accepted the advice of many that exercise is helpful. Amongst other benefits it is held to assist in limiting hot flushes. So in addition to my afternoon stroll with my wife (I.5 to 2 mph) I now take two brisk walks a week on my own. (3 to 3.5 mph - I used to manage over 4 mph). Again picking up on advice relating to hormone treatment I have added home devised power exercises with chest expander spring and hurrying up and down the stairs six times in succession. Plus, pelvic floor exercises in anticipation of radiotherapy.
> I found that stress, warming exercise excluded, frequently brings on a flush.
DISCOVERY or just something I had missed.
> I have found that if during a flush if I do some exercise that I know from experience will be enough to warm me, when I stop I cool down normally and so cut short the flush. (I must cool down. If I stay warm the flush takes off again within a few minutes.) My flushes normally last about 90 minutes. For me the effective exercising is
>> six times rapidly up and down stairs.
>> five minutes brisk walking
> If I do this exercising within about 60 seconds of the start of the flush I avoid the memory and logic problems. (Any delay and the problems last the usual hour after the end of the exercising / flush. )
Does anyone use a similar "cure" for a flush? Does it work for anyone else?
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I am considering proton beam radiation treatment and was told by a urologist that the equipment at some centers tends to yield better results than others, and that the differences are not based on age or expense.
Does anyone have any insight into differences among proton beam center equipment?
Assuming I pursue this as a course of treatment, I'd be willing to travel to those centers anywhere in the US whose equipment yields the best results.
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Just got Gleason score 4+3
PSA risen from 17.8 to 20
plan for robotic radical prostatectomy in 3 weeks - has anyone else had this surgery?
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I have been diagnosed with Gleason 7 PSA 9 prostate cancer.
Biopsy showed cancer was in entire prostate and towards the edge but no evidence it had gone outside.
Bone scan normal.
Age 60. Generally healthy.
I have been advised surgery or hormone therapy for three years together with radiation.
The surgeon preferred surgery as did the consultant who would have been in charge of hormone therapy.
I think their logic was that surgery gave the greatest chance of 100% cure.
However I am very apprehensive about surgery and really struggling to make up my mind....
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A friend of mine from high school has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy right now, and I will be going to visit him tomorrow. After chemotherapy my friend will be on hormone therapy for prostate cancer. I'm curious what side effects hormone therapy for prostate cancer has?
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My bladder sphincter is inflamed with the radiation. I have been using Ibuprofen eight hourly to reduce the inflammation for over 24 hours. Yesterday morning when I awoke after sleeping deeply about 3am and this morning about 5am I had very great difficulty starting at all. Other times if I am prompt I get started more easily with a poor flow. I don't know what the options are. I have read of others who have had treatment suspended because of side effects. That is my worst nightmare. Anyone experienced this problem. My rectum is producing excess mucus, otherwise the treatment seems to be going well. I have had 8 treatments of the planned 37. I am very alarmed and do not know what options if any there are. Are there any exercises that might help?
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My dad who is a hale and hearty 79yr old who walks 2 to 3 miles most days has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he has a PSA of 7, A gleason 7 (which is a 3+4), he has no symptoms. He is seeing a doctor on 1/6/15 to decide on treatment, surgery or hormone therapy with radiotherapy. likely to opt for the hormone therapy with radiotherapy. Both read quite worryingly re side effects. Anyone out there with info/advice re hormone therapy and radiotherapy. Is radiotherapy alone better as Hormone therapy described as chemical castration, sounds scary re side effects. My dad is fit with good quality of life. Any advice from those that have been there..
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I am having a monthly infusion of Zoledronic Acid, I was wondering I'm anyone else has experienced the above symptoms, Cramps are always in my calves, ankle and groin. Muscle aches can be anytime during my treatment.
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My 65 yr old brother was diagnosed with PC last December and has been receiving hormone therapy injections since then.
He recently commented that he’d lost about a stone in weight since January and I started worrying. Since doing some research on the net, I’m still worried as I can only find weight gain mentioned as a common side effect of this therapy.
The only mention of weight loss is in connection with other symptoms such as loss of appetite due to sickness, bone pain etc in more advanced cancer. So far he hasn’t had any of those and his only symptoms, apart from a few hot flushes, are an increased need to pee and taking longer to do so. He hasn’t been on a strict diet and, although he’s been more careful in what he eats for several years, he hasn’t been able to shift much weight until now. He still has a healthy appetite.
I don’t know whether we’re worrying unnecessarily or whether he should have a word with the doctor.
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My husband is 70 and had radiation therapy for eight weeks and has been on hormone therapy for going on 11 months what are the chances that the genital shrinkage and ED will reverse once the hormone therapy stopped. I am much younger than he is. The thought of never having sex again is depressing but I want to be supportive.
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I have been on hormone therapy since May '06 (9 years) With a PSA of 28, I elected to do daily hormonal therapy along with Eligard injection every six months and have been EXTREMELY lucky that it continues to keep the beast at bay. (Undetectable) I feel fine but I have "man boobs" from the use of Casodex for so long and they are somewhat embarrassing. In a effort to reduce the size and tenderness, the Uro agreed to allow me to reduce my dosage in half and the last two checkups showed PSA still holding at "undetectable".
My question is this:
1. Has any members had this issue and Corrected it?
2. If I have orchiectomy surgery, would I STILL need to take Casodex to keep the PSA down?
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