Prostate cancer brain metastases

Hi,

My dad died a long time ago now but I'm still trying to get my head around his death and the way his cancer acted. It seemed so out of the norm for PC. 

He ended up with brain mets towards the end which is apparently a rare/very rare complication with PC- something like 2% of PCa spreading to the brain. He had it in his lymph nodes and bones including mild spinal chord compression-but we never found out if he had it anywhere else like lungs/liver though seems likely. I just wondered if anyone had any insight into this type of disease, from supposedly low-risk PC to death in 8 years with something as rare as brain mets. I should say my grandfather also died of PC in only his 50s so we obviously have an aggressive form in the family, but I thought it was worth asking about since the brain being effected is apparently so rare. He had tingling down one side of his face and his eyes weren't focusing so that's when they did the scan and found 2 or 3 spots-he had radiation and lived for a few months. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of PCa spreading to the brain?

  • Yeh Paul I read up on everything too, my dad would ask me what on earth I did on the net all day and the answer I told him was "read about stuff for you mostly". I had all sorts of options-go to America to get treatment, go on trials etc. etc. Read so much about it at the time and since as well. Yes you are right your Liz being taken earlier was a blessing-I wish my dad was taken about a year earlier, he had a full year of agony can you imagine. Yeh there's no order to cancer but there are stats out there and something like 98% of people will be alive so long after a diagnosis and guess what my dad was the 2% there as well. You don't think your loved one is going to be in the 2%. But that's me-my family is cursed.

    Are you calling me "Gav", sorry it's a little hard to understand you sometimes. My name is not Gav and I'm not a man I'm a woman. How do you get over some things? I wanted to go to counselling but they can't rationalise why life is so cruel and they can't ever make me understand it. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the suffering. I'm crying myself to sleep right now thinking about Coronavirus and Italy and all the tragedy of it it's heartbreaking. 

  • Hey ime sorry got your name mixed up there ive mild dyslexia but it has its advantages but it also makes it difficult as this site can compleatly change a word so bear with me . Do you know i stopped watching the news was sick of them winding everyone up .do you think that you feel guilty because you couldnt save your dad because you sound exactly how i felt silly isnt it but i did i checked her blood presher temp oxygen level made sure she drank plenty she was taking the right antioxidents got her into best hospital i could and bang a stroke and gone in two days . I felt i failed her pure and simple but now thats changed it cant be all bad ime chatting to you and have no ulteria motive other than to help my fellow man you sound very down perhaps you just got a counciler you couldnt dwell with when someones depressed for a long time i have been to .you become comfortable in it it becomes the norm and being happy seems a very uncomfortable place to be and we fight like hell to stay there aur minds become wired i had it and one day i thought ime not being a victim of this missery anymore so i did everything to pull myself out of that hole stopped reading or watching anything sad even sad music eventualy i came out of it didnt stay in always put something ahead to look to its hard but you can do even doing a thing i had kept putting of helped a bit and all these bits eventualy became big bits even a walk in the park i flippin hated it then life seemed to get nicer i saw the good things just being alive is such a gift waking and the suns out we have an accident or are ill you just need to make one call and someone comes to help  you like me crumbs was i glad i woke up after my op getting through the sepsis i thought how lucky i am if i was like i was i would be thinking how unlucky i was to get sepsis twice and come through it to meet the love of my life so its not such a bad place .if your dad had it in his lymph nodes then it must have traveled in his lymphatic system like my liz they were just unlucky . Youl not find out why because i dont think anybody knows but what i said about cells being sticky is how it is have a word with crux nurses on here theres a  number for them on the front page .

  • Prostate cancer is very common in men from 50 to 70. They often ignore problems passing urine and leave their symptoms. They carry out prostatectomies but sometimes the disease, has spread to the lungs and later to the bones. Chemotherapy can help for a time but it sometimes comes back. Sorry to hear about your dad. I think my dad also had prostate cancer but never got help and sadly died. 

  • Read through this entire thread and could not help but shed a few tears. I'm so sorry for both of you...my dad is fighting this exact same monster as we speak.


    He was diagnosed with prostate cancer while on a trip to his birth country in South Asia visiting his elderly mother, had a surgery, returned to UK and continued with chemo. He seemed to be okay for a year or two with no immediate concerns apart from some chemo side effects.

    He has been complaining about headaches, poor eyesight and memory loss for some time but we did not think much of it as he was being checked regularly by doctors since he completed chemo and assumed it was just normal for those who recovered from cancer and given his age (mid 60s). He also struggled a lot throughout his life coming from extreme poverty, worked many manual labour jobs in various countries, faught court cases, involved in numerous land disputes, depression and in recent years many arguments and family issues. We thought all this must be a reason why he is not so well and nothing more serious.

    Despite the complicated family relationships, we still love him and likewise he does too - it's still same blood at the end of the day as they say.

    Come May 2021, he has suddenly become severely ill and in need of regular assistance with small day to day activities - tripping over things, shouting/crying, partial loss of vision, unable to walk unaided, cannot eat properly,  bedridden unable to move one side of body, etc. He was 1000 times better the month before and so we were somewhat puzzled as to why he was acting so strangely all of a sudden. After numerous battles with the GP receptionist, we managed to book an appointment with the GP who later arranged for a MRI due in few weeks, from initial inspection GP stated that everything is normal when in fact it was far from normal, it was explicitly clear but this GP is notoriously known for poor judgements and reviews are atrocious for this GP surgery, it's main target audience is non-English speaking patients - not many question his ethics/practice and so pretty much gets away with things.

    Fast forward few weeks, his conditions worsened and so we had no choice but to send him to A&E. Initial CT scan showed 'lump' (not sure of the exact term they used) on one side of his brain, the general doctor ruled out a possible brain injury after some inspection and indicated that it may be his previous prostate cancer that has now developed in his brain. He was placed on some antibiotics/steroid treatment. He was then transferred to another general ward and passed the scans to a team of neurologists at another hospital for review. Nurses and doctors in both ward were terrible, if we tried to ask any questions they would become agitated or frustrated, nurses weren't aware of my dads conditions and would treat him as though he was a fully able person. They simply wanted us to listen and keep our mouth shut. I get it they do this day in day out and C-19 has exhausted them but we are concerned family members. We don't get joy from being in hospital...just looking for clarity. 


    Anyways, we pushed them to do MRI and they did after a few days, MRI came back and they now found tumour on both sides of the brain. They sent the findings to a team of neurologists at another nearby hospital and we are currently waiting for them to confirm whether they want to take fluid out of his brain and then decide best course of treatment or whatever other suggestions they have. 
     

    My experience of NHS was really good when I was much younger coming from a foreign country but now that I've lived here and visited various departments within the local NHS hospital, my views are somewhat tainted. The quality of care and service is extremely poor, it's rushed, bad attitude from doctors/nurses, lengthy waiting time and communication with family members is appalling. Partly blame the government for lack of resources/funding and partly blame those who choose to work in NHS despite knowing the challenges.

     

    I too fill **** about life. Question whether I should have acted differently with my dad, feeling a sense of guilt. I reduced the amount of news I consume (although I must admit it is difficult when it's all around you) but news is infested with negative coverage of horrible things happening around the world and bothers me seeing people suffer. Question religion/god, feel lost and empty a lot of the times. Constant battle every night in my head. Lack of motivation to do anything, struggling at work. 

    I know this may come across as bit of a rant but wanted to get it off my chest and also shed bit more light on this rare phenomenon. Any tips/suggestions of potential treatments that we can explore would be massively appreciated! Interested to also hear how you coped over the years and if anything helped alter your perspective on life.

     

    Wishing you all a happier, healthier tomorrow :)