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sophia
New User
Joined: 02 May 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Athens, Greece
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 Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 7:20 am Post subject: PSA 1036, Ca spread to the lungs and bones |
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My father used to always be overweight. He had almost reached 135 kilos before he decided to change his eating habits and lose some weight. It was about a year ago he began losing the first kilos.The first 6 months he was really trying to avoid eating too much. We went on vacation where he gained some weight (he was about 100 kilos then and had reached 107 by the time we returned home). But then his eating habits akwardly changed. He would not eat bread at all. He would say he only liked juicy food, like soups and yoghurt etc. Gradually he would not eat bread meat or pasta at all. We all thought it was absolutely normal for someone who had eaten so much all his life to feel disgusted about some foods. And provided that he had medical checkups every year or so, we worried not. Around Christmas time, he complained about a lower back pain he was experiencing. He had an x ray which showed he had a bone metatopisis so the doctor told him to get some physiotherapy and it would all be ok. He was supposed to get 20 days of psysiotherapy. The pain though would not go away. He went to his homeland for 2 weeks and returned having lost another 10 kilos. He would not eat anything at all, cause everything caused him vomitting. One night he woke me up begging me to take him to a hospital cause he was experiencing chest pain. I took him to the hospital where his pathologist works (and who never told him to get a psa test... had he told him to do so everything would have been prevented...), but they were not on a night shift and they could not administer him. That was the night i felt something was really wrong. That was not a bone metatopisis at his lower spine... it was a pain that was moving around. We got back home... he would sleep all day and would experience great pain at night... His sister who is, thank god, a doctor, ran all the tests and scans she could run to reveal a PSA of 1036 and lung and bone metastasis. He then was administered in a private clinic (as public hospitals here in greece realllly suck) where they kept him for a week, so that he starts eating again and now is on Flumicin pills (3times a day) which is an hormone therapy for advanced prostate cancer. His back and chest pain went away within 3 days and he even left for his homeland all happy and strong. He will be having a Zoladex injection every three months. The doctors say that this hormone therapy is effective for only two years but i refuse to believe that. I am sure there are patients that have exceeded that deadline. I cannot deal with this thought at all. All i cab think about is how long he has to live yet... and i don't know the answer to this f****g question and it really hurts...
He has not been told yet about the extent of cancer. He suspects everything but the doctor will confirm him in the forthcoming week.
I am trying to reach for help from people around me but noone seems to understand. I can think of nothing else all day... He was about to get his pension and grow old by the sea at his homeland...
Reading through others' stories is really relieving. You are a comfort, guys. |
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Replicant
Moderator
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 206
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 10:58 am Post subject: two years |
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The two year thing is just a rough estimate. Many men will live far longer than that. Some will not make it to two years.
There's a guy I've read about, Chuck Maack, who's been on hormone therapy for something like 13 or 14 years. There's at least one guy in a support group I've been to who's been doing fine for over 10 years with advanced PCa.
There's a group of guys with advanced prostate cancer on alt.support.cancer.prostate, a Usenet group. You can get to it by Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.prostate?lnk=gschg . I'm sure they'd be happy to give you advice.
_________________
Replicant
Dx Feb 2006, PSA 9 @age 43
RRP Apr 2006 - Gleason 3+4, T3a, N0M0, pos margins
PSA 5/06 <0.1, 8/06 0.2, 12/06 0.6, 1/07 0.7.
Salvage radiation (IMRT) total dose 70.2 Gy, Jan-Mar 2007@ age 44
PSA 6/07 0.1, 9/07 <0.1, 12/07 <0.1, 4/08 <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com |
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sophia
New User
Joined: 02 May 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Athens, Greece
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject: Re: PSA 1036, Ca spread to the lungs and bones |
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My father's mental attitude is far greater and stronger now that he knows about prostate cancer than when he knew not what was going on. However he does not know the full extent of his illness (we haven't told him about cancer spread to the bones or the lungs).
The doctor is about to tell him next week because as we all aggreed it is not fair to let him in the dark, cause he might want to set his priorities and do certain things. I do not know how he will react to the news but i have faith in him and as we are similar in personality persons i believe he will become even stronger.
From the day he found out about his illness he started eating well again, (even convinced himself he can eat meat) and stopped complaining about his pain.. and the pain really went away cause my father said so. He went on a trip to his homeland last week and he has been planting potatoes and tomatoes and has been taking care of his olive trees and has been spending his time in the fields all day without feeling any pain at all.
Maybe all these are signs he is fighting his illness and he is winning small battles for the time being. One step at a time...
Brainman and Replicant you seem like true heroes to me. I wish my father spoke english so he could chat with you.
You take care guys. You have been already a great help to me. |
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brainman
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 3787
Location: Tennessee
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject: Re: PSA 1036, Ca spread to the lungs and bones |
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Sophia, I am very sorry about your father's very advanced Prostate Cancer. As always, I totally agree with Replicant. Two years is just a guess. One of the things that affect how long a person survives is their own mental attitude about their condition: if your father truly believes he will die in two years, he probably will. I am sure you have heard of "self-fulfilling prophecies"?
I often tell people in your situation the following: I do like to know my prognosis but only in order to set my priorities as to what I still would like to do; my "bucket list" so to speak. However, once I have done that, I just try to live one day at a time working on those priorities. I know this is harder done than said.
In addition, right now, you are just trying to adjust to the news. When I was first diagnosed, my future just vanished. I had plans to retire, buy an RV, travel around the US camping at church camps, and write a book about them. Any concept of a future totally vanished. It took me several months to accept that I would not die that soon. The dream of traveling around the US and writing a book about my experiences will not be possible. However, other dreams and hopes have replaced that expectation. Now my dreams and hopes are about this site and my family.
I do not want to come across as a "cheer leader." When I was a hospital chaplain, I realized that patients and their families do not want or need a "cheer leader" on the sidelines yelling "You will live." Neither do I want to give you any false hope. Neverther the less, they do need someone on the field with them covering their back... hoping for them when they cannot find any Hope. With time, you can take up that Hope for your father and hope for him until he can find Hope for himself. One of the hardest things for him to do is to find meaning and purpose in whatever time he still has left. With time and patience, you can help him with that search for something for which to live. I hope your father finds new dreams for whatever time he still has left. I know that in time and with your help he can do a lot... even if he only lives two years.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/ |
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sophia
New User
Joined: 02 May 2008
Posts: 7
Location: Athens, Greece
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| Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject: Re: PSA 1036, Ca spread to the lungs and bones |
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Tomorrow is the day we go to the doctor's to get the first Zoladex injection. Tonight my father told me a slight pain in the back has returned. Is this normal? Does it mean the 2week hormone therapy he's been on hasn't worked?
_________________
"I have been guilty of kicking myself in the teeth...
I will speak no more of my feelings within.." |
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