Hi Dino.

Hope I can help,T3b is actually to say to say cancer has gone outside the prostate to the semenal vessel,

N1,,means it's gone to lymph nodes,

Mx never heard of X I'm afraid.normally it's 0 or 1 .

Mine was diagnosed Feb 2016 ,T3b N1 M1B it's prostate gone to lymph nodes, spine, pelvis, ribs and a lung , started hormone therapy injections straight away,then chemotherapy..

My PSA was 1581. Gleason 8 .

If you can get in touch with his Dr he might be able to give you some ideas about visiting make making it a special case.i don't know for sure just guessing.

Hope you can get sorted 

Best wishes.

Billy

Hi Billy thank you for sharing that information. Im still trying to get my head around all these letters and numbers .... maybe Mx is just a typo from me ... but thanks for your reply its great your 4 years on!!! Hope your staying safe at this time and yes I will try to get to speak to his Dr next week at some point

thanks D.

First couple of years I was working,.

Ooh I was 64 when diagnosed working in metal fabrication and welding .

Then my wife got ill Parkinson's and Alzheimer's so I retired to become a full time carer.

I call my cancer My uninvited guest.

We just live together not always in perfect harmony.

I've found keeping positive really helps.

Good luck with Dr and getting things done.

Billy

Hi Billy - that sounds challenging to say the least what with yourself and caring for your wife. And understood on the univited guest!

My brother is really emotional since he started hormone treatment 3 days or so ago. Wondering if this is a normal reaction. Its not so much the cancer but seems to be him getting upset at smallest things which is not him at all "usually" but "usually" has now been replaced by a new normal. Did anyone else notice this when starting out on the hormone treatment ?

thank you

I've never really changed attitude , but others on different treatments have had mood changes quite a bit,think it's because they have no control over what is happening to them and always the fear of is it working.

Again good luck getting things sorted hope something can be worked out.

Billy

Hi Billy.

The x as in Mx means "currently unknown - more tests required".   You sometimes see it as Tx or Nx as well as Mx.  It simply flags up that more tests are required to establish an actual number.

Thanks [@telemando]‍ that one baffled me I'll have to remember it, glad you're last test was okay.

Take care keep safe.

Billy.

Hi Dino,

sorry to hear about your brother's diagnosis in what is already such a difficult time! 
i can see someone has already answered your question regarding what it means, the bone scan should reveal the M (meaning mets/metasteses) stage. 
 

I'm a medical professional and even i would recommend for you to visit your brother, as long as you maintain the 2m distance guidlines at all times there. He won't be as much as a risk as those receiving chemotherapy, however he does fit into the high risk category due to his diagnosis. However, it's not just a physical illness. It'll affect him mentally, especially now due to his hormones. Given his diagnosis i expect he'll be on the injections for 3 years/indefinitely which wont be easy either due to their side effects. His side effects are very normal by the way. Its due to the injections reducing the testosterone which causes the growth of the cancer, by replacing it with females hormones (hence why he's emotional, having mood swings, tiredness, hot flushes etc). One way of looking at it, is they must be having an effect already if he's having the effects :) 

He can then probably expect some radiotherapy if he's suitable. This will be daily treatment for 4 weeks. However it only takes 15 mins. They usually wait roughly 6 months after he has started his hormones for this. However, this is still only based on the diagnosis being how you say, it may change after the bone scan.

i also hope you are ok. It's not only a difficult journey for your brother, but the whole family. And given none of you arent able to attend these consulatations and treatments with him it will be even harder. So i highly recommend you still being there for him despite the lockdown as long as you be very careful and considerate of everything. 

xxx

Hi [@telemando]‍ ,

It's something I've always bared in mind - everyone's different, no person is the same therefore no diagnosis is the same, and everyones reacts to it differently (both side effects and mentally). But it is a rule of thumb to lay down all of what could happen. So please don't be discouraged from over writing, you went through it and it could help someone else when they do. It's a lot of information to take in during the first few consultations and people don't tend to take anything in.

 I learnt more about side effects, especially the hormones when my grandad went through it for 3 years. So i am putting more of my personal experience too rather than professional into my answers in these forums, and ways he use to deal with it - alongside other things i've learnt over the last few years as extra.

but he also got a lot of support during his 4 weeks of radiotherapy from other gentlemen diagnosed with Prostate Ca, and continues to do so after completing it 2 years ago, so i can't praise them or all of you enough for coming together to support eachother continuously! 
 

 J xx