rockyryan
New User
Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:11 am Post subject: Hormone treatment before brachytherapy |
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Hi, I am 52 fit and have no symptoms of prostate problems. On 28/5/07 i had a routine health check and had a PSA of 12.2 so had a biop and they found anenocarcinoma but due to incoputant private surgen in Thailand it was inconclusive. so I went back to uk where after another biop they found no significant pathology in the right lobe but in the left... 5 cores 26mm, in 2 cores it showed an infiltrating adenocarcinoma, gleason 6 (3+3) occupying 5% or total core volume. no vascular or perineral invasion. I had to return to Thailand after biop and had an MRI and bone scan which were normal. My psa reading is now 13 and acording to the doc who gave me a digital exam the prostate was small, so the doc recomended a 6 month course of hormone then bracitheropy. I dont know if this is good advise or a means of extracting 25.000$ so will be looking for a second opinion. Can anyone please advise. Many Thanks for you time.
Recap. no symtoms/ normal mri+bone scan/ right lobe ok/ left 2 cores 5% gleason 3+3/ psa 13/ small prostate.  |
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Replicant
Moderator
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 244
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| Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: options |
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You probably have more options than brachytherapy +hormones. Surgery, for example, or surgery plus external beam radiation, or simply external beam radiation by itself. Nothing wrong with brachytherapy, but men with apparently localized prostate cancer DO have a menu of treatment choices from which to choose.
While you can get some good information on the web, including this site, you should read widely about the disease and treatment options. What we think on this board isn't a substitute for reading some books and authoritative websites.
A good book to start with is "Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer" (2007 ed.).
A good website about treatment options and the pros and cons of each is the American Cancer Society:
http://tinyurl.com/49ta7y
The Prostate Cancer Foundation also has a nice website with a downloadable pamphlet.
Don't rely on anecdotes. Each person needs to make an informed decision about what is right for them, and not rely on the experiences of friends or people on the web.
About the $25,000... (or 12, 535 pounds--wow, that's a shock!)...consider this: You're 52. You have prostate cancer and your PSA is on the rise, currently at 13. You had 2 positive cores, Gleason 3+3. The decision tool at nomograms.org (run by Memorial Sloan Kettering) shows that you have only a 9% chance of indolent disease. That means there's a 91% chance that your cancer will get you if you don't get it first. Get the treatment that's right for you and it's money well spent, in my opinion.
The nomogram also shows you have good chances of success from either surgery or brachytherapy (97% chance cancer free at 5 years for surgery, 77% for brachytherapy). That's assuming you had a standard 12 core biopsy, with 2 positive and 10 negative.
I wish you the best.
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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, 11/08 <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com |
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