Hi DebsSpain. Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear of your father's situation. As a prostate cancer survivor myself, I often got tired of hearing that most men die with prostate cancer than from prostate cancer. Such platitudes hide a lot of real heartache and are completely unhelpful.

Anyway, to answer your first question: There comes a point when any doctor should ask whether he/she is doing more harm than good. If the treatment wasn't working then why subject the patient to the side effects?  

And to answer your second, that depends on what treatments he's had already and whether he's tried what's available. Maybe the second opinion will come up with a different treatment plan. However, I think this is something that could be discussed with his GP. Maybe a referral to a different hospital might be appropriate. 

I wonder if there is a prostate support group in your father's area. I'm involved in which meets every two months. It enables men not only to discuss openly the issues around prostate problems, particularly cancer, but also to compare note on various consultants, treatment, and clinical trials. The meetings are also good fun, too!