3 cancers in one family

Hi My Husband Keith 48 diagnosed with advanced prostrate cancer spread to nodes and bones and surrounding tissues immediately started on degarelix injections every 6 weeks after biopsy and scans where told chemo radiotherapy surgery not an option tried on apalutamide tablets on full and reduced dose but had bad side effects  so where stopped oncologist telephoned us to say as Keith was not having any cancer treatments he would be discharged from his care and he said he would ask urologist to take over Keith’s care T4 Gleason 4+3 and node and metastatic spread 

I myself was diagnosed with triple negative breast and node in 2020 had chemo and surgery and radiotherapy 

In June 2016 my 29 year old son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and had the most gruelling 4 years of intensive chemo and due to infection lost some of his bowel and had to have irreversible stoma surgery we came  so close to loosing him on a number of occasions but he’s here in remission and as a mother  I continue to worry as it has a high rate of return 

In October Keith’s Psa started to rise so Bicalutamide tablets where started however they didn’t lower PSA  in fact last blood it had doubled so they where stopped and steroids where give for 6 weeks and then referral back to oncologist palliative radiotherapy has been mention as keith is getting bone pain we are guessing palliative chemo could be an option but keith is adamant that he does not want this he said quality of life over quantity I also this his decision is influenced after watching our son and my self have chemotherapy which wasn’t pleasant He is 50 in February 

3 in one family 

In the last month we have been told xtandi is no longer working this is Keith’s 3rd line treatment and we are awaiting results of mri scan the n keith will have two options chemo and radium he is not keen as he knows how it goes and for him it would prolong his life he wants quality over quantity I am simply heartbroken he is 51 and diagnosed at 47   Keith is also suffering a lot of pain in his lower back and sleep a lot ️
  • Hi mss270568, and a warm welcome to the forum though I am so sorry you have to be here.

    I wanted to reply as our families are in a very similar position, I have advanced prostate cancer, with lots of spread, not curable, our kids  mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer recently, has been through surgery and and started chemo, we don't know if it's curable, and our eldest daughter has just finished treatment for a cancer recurrence, sarcoma of the breast and against all the odds, managed to beat this awful disease twice, though like your son know it's never as easy as that.

    I am so pleased your son is in remission and hope your treatment has gone as well as hoped, I am in also in a similar position to Keith, I'm T4 and Gleason 10, and understand how treatments impact people differently, can I just say, I was surprised only hormone therapy was an option, and I know chemotherapy can have side effects, it's an option for me soon as well, but not everyone gets them and often they are not as bad as feared and Docitaxel can be adjusted to smaller doses over more cycles to help, and Lutitium 177 as an option to Radium can be easier to tolerate.

    My oncology team and I,"I was in healthcare for 15 years," are also looking into immunotherapy and targeted therapies, but I am fully with Keith regarding quality over quantity. I wish you all the very best 

    Eddie xx