Hi Adebo and a warm welcome to the forum though sorry you have prostate cancer, I too have prostate cancer diagnosed age 56 so similar age to you and had radiotherapy, can i ask are you on hormone therapy. When you meet your surgeon ask them how confident they are with removing the prostate with clear margins, "not leaving any cancer cells behind" and how many nerves will be spared as they are very important regarding incontinence and getting an erection and please be aware a surgeon will nearly always recommend surgery. Ask your oncologist about all other options, As for radiotherapy there are a few variations you could consider  and if your hospital does not offer them you can choose to be treated at a hospital that does, and ask, because as you say your cancer won't be contained forever how long for treatment to start, there are excellent websites like this one, prostatecanceruk and Macmillan who have lots of information on options which could be suitable, and possible side effects, Adebo many of us had no symptoms though treatment often changes that, best wishes with your chosen treatment and remember 98% of men with prostate cancer do not die of it, take care,

Eddie

Good Afternoon Eddie

Thank you so much for reply, and your warm welcome. I must say I cried when I got your response, so thank you once again

First and foremost sorry to hear you have cancer as well, I pray and hope that you are able to overcome this horrible disease.

In response to your question, No I have not started my hormone therapy. I am yet to have a discussion with multidisciplinary team about my treatment plan. I am not a fan of surgery. Thank you for your advice on what to ask the surgeons. I am not a fan of surgery, so if given thee option I might opt for radiotherapy based on the research I have done.

I was wondering what treatment options you were initially given prior to opting for radiotherapy (i.e. did the medical team suggest you should go for Prostatectomy, and if yes what swayed your decision to opt for radiotherapy instead).

How is your treatment going, Sir and I hope it has not had too much of an adverse effect on your health?

Thank you so much for your response again, Eddie. As we are of a similar age group, I hope you don't mind if I reach out to you from time to time to see how you are doing.

God Bless you and I wish you an effective and progressive recovery.

Have a pleasant day

Adebo

Hi Adebo you are very welcome, good to see you are researching your options though i hope you are not using Dr google, As i  have heart issues and my cancer had spread that ruled out surgery and chemotherapy, so aggressive EBRT to the whole pelvic area 73 gy the norm is 50 gy, and hormone therapy for life. I have a very aggressive cancer, intraductal with large cribriform variant, my staging is T4 N2 M1a and Gleason 10, my treatment is not to cure, though the results from EBRT have been better than hoped and i still have tools in the toolbox regarding future treatment, life is good and i have a few years yet and you can contact me anytime, best wishes.

Eddie

Hi again Eddie

Thanks again for you response

Lol@hope you are not using Dr Google. With Cancer I think one needs to get the facts from the professionals like prostate cancer UK and Macmillan. There are way too many distorted version of the truth when it comes to cancer on the internet. Thanks for letting me know why surgery and chemo were ruled out and glad to hear that results from your EBRT are yielding better results than were initially expected. I pray that you have many years ahead of you, Amen.

I will check on you from time to time. Thanks for being a friend.

Have a pleasant evening

Adebo

Thank you Adebo, feel free to contact me anytime, take care.

Eddie

Hello Eddie, How have you been in the last few days? I hope EBRT continues to yield a positive result for you. I have been asked to do a PSMA PET Scan to eliminate any doubt that the cancer is still localized. so far I have been told it has not spread. After my scan, the MDT will be able to see what treatment is applicable for me. I am scheduled to have the scan next week. With regards to your EBRT, how often do you have this session?

Hi Adebo, It's good to hear from you, My ERBT  external beam radiotherapy, ended April 2023, was 20 sessions from 3rd to 28th weekdays only  though i am on hormone therapy to September 2025 or until it stops working, though there are still more options to come, I am doing ok, still enjoying life. Good to see your testing is nearly done, your PET scan should give all the answers they need to start a treatment plan for you. How are you doing my friend, I know it's a difficult time waiting for results and treatment to start, best wishes to you and your family and good luck with the scan.

Eddie

Hello Eddie

Am a bit apprehensive, but I am ok. Thanks again for asking.

Good to hear you in such high spirits.

Just been chatting to a gentleman called Nigel, who provided me with a lot of information as well.

Is your hormone therapy on a monthly basis as well?

Hi Adebo my Hormone Therapy HT started the day i was diagnosed in June 2022, with a 28 day course of Bicalutamide, which is what most guys start with this is a pill form of HT taken daily to block your production of androgen hormones, specifically testosterone and to reduce the risk of tumour flare when you start your HT injections, during or at the end of your course of HT pills. Most guys start with a one month HT injection then move on to 3 monthly ones, and 18 - 24 months is the commonest time to be on them, though a few may have them for a year or over 2 years, and Radiotherapy RT usually starts about 6 months after starting the HT injections. Mine and Nigels RT is pretty standard, 20 sessions, it used to be 37 sessions but that is very rare there days. The newest trend and proving just as effective with fewer side effects is SABR 6 sessions with a higher dose of radiation per treatment, and it is always worth talking about brachytherapy with your oncologist.

Eddie

Thank you for the information Eddie

Thank you for the information Eddie