Prostate cancer

Experience
My 80 yr old Dad from Duky had trouble with his pissing
plucked courage to go to docs
a week he had a bloodtest
two weeks a finger up his ricker
three weeks a biopsy, MRI scan with radiation, bone scan (full body to look for spread)
4 weeks a diagnosis, treatment plan.

Diagnosis
Cancer of the prostate, still contained within the gland.

Prognosis
Not life limiting, radio therapy and hormone replacement therapy (tablets first then injection)

All this happened at Tameside Hospital (and his GP, and all I can say is 5 fucking stars out of 5. Which is 5 stars higher than I would have given it 10 year ago for any treatment.
 
talkativesprout said:
Experience
My 80 yr old Dad from Duky had trouble with his pissing
plucked courage to go to docs
a week he had a bloodtest
two weeks a finger up his ricker
three weeks a biopsy, MRI scan with radiation, bone scan (full body to look for spread)
4 weeks a diagnosis, treatment plan.

Diagnosis
Cancer of the prostate, still contained within the gland.

Prognosis
Not life limiting, radio therapy and hormone replacement therapy (tablets first then injection)

All this happened at Tameside Hospital (and his GP, and all I can say is 5 fucking stars out of 5. Which is 5 stars higher than I would have given it 10 year ago for any treatment.
Click to expand...
I agree they’ve definitely improved with
talkativesprout said:
Experience
My 80 yr old Dad from Duky had trouble with his pissing
plucked courage to go to docs
a week he had a bloodtest
two weeks a finger up his ricker
three weeks a biopsy, MRI scan with radiation, bone scan (full body to look for spread)
4 weeks a diagnosis, treatment plan.

Diagnosis
Cancer of the prostate, still contained within the gland.

Prognosis
Not life limiting, radio therapy and hormone replacement therapy (tablets first then injection)

All this happened at Tameside Hospital (and his GP, and all I can say is 5 fucking stars out of 5. Which is 5 stars higher than I would have given it 10 year ago for any treatment.
Click to expand...
i couldn’t agree more they’ve massively upped their Game recently.
 
Christie’s and local health authorities have set up new scheme primarily for after care but will help with pre-treatments.
Prostate Easy Access Support Services,
(PEASS).
www.christie.nhs.uk/peass
I’m now part of this initiative it really makes life so much easier basically it’s putting your local hospital and Christie’s under one umbrella so there’s no worries with communication between the shared services. My team from Christie’s now come to Tameside hospital for my six monthly checkups and also my bloods are now taken at the MacMillan suite situated in Tameside hospital, my bloods get sent to Christie’s the very same day this part of the ‘Bloods closer to home scheme’.
Altrincham wellbeing centre, Bolton hospice,Bury hospice, Dr Kershaw’s hospice Oldham,St Anne’s hospice little hulton,St Luke’s hospice winsford,Tameside MacMillan unit, the Christie @ Macclesfield and Thomas linacre outpatient centre Wigan.
All the above will provide help and information regarding Blood tests post treatment, hopefully this will help out friends and relatives just in case their not aware. It can be daunting the first few months after treatment with plenty of anxiety in the worry you’ve been successful in treatment. Eg I’m meeting one of my Christie’s team at Tameside this Tuesday it’s a lot easier now.The care, treatment and communication have been second to none
Good luck to everyone and keep fighting as @TShed correctly posted keep the thread going.

Take care
Gary.
 
talkativesprout said:
Experience
My 80 yr old Dad from Duky had trouble with his pissing
plucked courage to go to docs
a week he had a bloodtest
two weeks a finger up his ricker
three weeks a biopsy, MRI scan with radiation, bone scan (full body to look for spread)
4 weeks a diagnosis, treatment plan.

Diagnosis
Cancer of the prostate, still contained within the gland.

Prognosis
Not life limiting, radio therapy and hormone replacement therapy (tablets first then injection)

All this happened at Tameside Hospital (and his GP, and all I can say is 5 fucking stars out of 5. Which is 5 stars higher than I would have given it 10 year ago for any treatment.
Click to expand...
That’s exactly what I experienced last May no symptoms but blood test came back 13.4
GP told me to fear the worst fasttracked into Stepping Hill Urology MRI scan as we ko against Newcastle in the Cup that Saturday night in Tameside so no complaints
Then typical experience of incompetence at Tameside 6 weeks later after MRI scan showed a perfect gland for my age had a second blood test came back 3.4 ffs
At the same time I genuinely got diagnosed as prediabetic so coupled with the scare did a complete lifestyle reset lost 2 stone removed all processed shite and other poor diet choices started doing a lot of walking
This March no longer prediabetic and Psa had dropped to 2.2
The good thing about all this is I am now being monitored proactively via my GP Psa tests scheduled every March
 
Last edited:
Annual Review today, MRI shows no change in lesion. Prostate as a whole increased in size a little and PSA slightly raised at 4 but below 5.8 action level. So continue with active surveilance.

They also made me aware of a new initiative between Prostate Scotland and Scottish Premier Football League Trust to offer an 12 week exercise programme for men with prostate cancer at some local SPL grounds. My nearest is Kilmarnock and look into it and see what it is like. That came after I’d mentioned this thread as a good place for guys to share experiences and encourage each other.
 
First annual review a fortnight ago following treatment last spring/summer when I had hormone tablets, brachytherapy and radiotherapy.
All good so far. PSA down at 0.59. I had been concerned previously as my PSA rose to 1.2 in the 6 months following treatment. Apparently the PSA score can bounce back post treatment before dropping back.
Back to The Christie in six months for another check up.
For those post, taking or about to have treatment it's natural that you will worry but you really are in good hands.
 
ROBSH34 said:
First annual review a fortnight ago following treatment last spring/summer when I had hormone tablets, brachytherapy and radiotherapy.
All good so far. PSA down at 0.59. I had been concerned previously as my PSA rose to 1.2 in the 6 months following treatment. Apparently the PSA score can bounce back post treatment before dropping back.
Back to The Christie in six months for another check up.
For those post, taking or about to have treatment it's natural that you will worry but you really are in good hands.
Click to expand...
And fingers! Not to take it too lightly, this is a great thread and should be read by all those approaching 50 or beyond. So important to get it checked.

Our annual golf day at Ashton, run jointly by a mate of mine who the OP now knows raised over £7k this year, funding is an important part of the fight against this disease.

There were around 100 playing golf this year, there were 5 lads that had or were still going through the treatment for PC, the speaker said it's frightening that statically there were another 6/7 fellas in the room that would have been at risk, get yourselves checked.
 
ROBSH34 said:
First annual review a fortnight ago following treatment last spring/summer when I had hormone tablets, brachytherapy and radiotherapy.
All good so far. PSA down at 0.59. I had been concerned previously as my PSA rose to 1.2 in the 6 months following treatment. Apparently the PSA score can bounce back post treatment before dropping back.
Back to The Christie in six months for another check up.
For those post, taking or about to have treatment it's natural that you will worry but you really are in good hands.
Click to expand...
Great to hear Rob. I'm 13 months into the treatment programme that you describe (although I am on 2 years of hormone treatment).

I'll be asking my consultant questions when I get near the end of this next summer but obviously I've thought about what happens when I come off the hormones, and you'd naturally expect the PSA to rise a little when released from the cage!

I had my latest blood results yesterday, and my PSA is undetectable. Of slight concern (to me, but not to anybody else) is that my haemoglobin level has fallen from 135 to 122. Apparently this is a side effect of the Abiraterone that I am also taking as part of the treatment.

Normal level is 130 -200 ish and the nurse just casually mentioned that they'd give me a blood transfusion is if dropped to 80 !!!!!

Anyway, apart from the sweats, tiredness and pot belly, I'm doing OK and as you said, I feel in good hands at The Christie.
 
RobMCFC said:
Great to hear Rob. I'm 13 months into the treatment programme that you describe (although I am on 2 years of hormone treatment).

I'll be asking my consultant questions when I get near the end of this next summer but obviously I've thought about what happens when I come off the hormones, and you'd naturally expect the PSA to rise a little when released from the cage!

I had my latest blood results yesterday, and my PSA is undetectable. Of slight concern (to me, but not to anybody else) is that my haemoglobin level has fallen from 135 to 122. Apparently this is a side effect of the Abiraterone that I am also taking as part of the treatment.

Normal level is 130 -200 ish and the nurse just casually mentioned that they'd give me a blood transfusion is if dropped to 80 !!!!!

Anyway, apart from the sweats, tiredness and pot belly, I'm doing OK and as you said, I feel in good hands at The Christie.
Click to expand...
Very true on the tiredness front. It's taken me a year to get anywhere near back to normal.
My wife was very supportive during everything but did amusingly comment on the hot sweats etc ("now you know what we go through").
Its natural to be concerned. I think we only have to look at the comments made by the wife of the future King this week. It is a worry and it is difficult to get back to normal.
 
I’ve been reading this thread with interest over the last few weeks as I was about to join this unfortunate club and I don’t mean City!

Like a number of you my journey started with a routine blood test as I was having some stomach issues which turned out to be silent reflux and a change in diet and medication has all but cured that.I hate having bloods taken but this was a good opportunity to get tested for PC.However my PSA came back as 6.2 so I was referred to Macc Urology for an MRI scan
this in turn showed abnormal cells so last week a had the dreaded transperenesl biopsy under a local.I’d naturally assumed this would be carried out by a man but it was four nice female nurses apart from the initial embarrassment and a few seconds of excruciating pain it wasn’t too bad.

I got my results yesterday from a consultant surgeon, my Gleason score 3/4 ironically like the City score on Tuesday! The 4 is 30% which means I’ve been recommended to have treatment either a radical prostatectomy or Radiotherapy.My CPG was 2.

The Consultant surgeon explained what the surgery entailed and I’m now waiting to see an Oncologist before making an informed decision.Ive a few mates who’ve had this disease and have recovered well after going the Radiotherapy route albeit one has had Brachytherapy
and the other 5 courses of radiotherapy under a Pace trail.Ive also read about a new treatment HIFU but not sure if this is suitable and it’s not available in the North West, anyone had this ?

I like to know why you would choose one over the other, I get in Rob’s case there wasn’t a choice not sure about Snakes?
I’m a fit 66 who plays football 3 times a week and apart from Lansoprazole.
I take no medication.I have no symptoms of PC at all.


Like others have already said ,get checked guys.
 
First of all, sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with PC. I hope that what you have read in here will reassure you that it’s not the end of the world because the treatment is available and the prospects for a recovery a very good, especially when caught early.

The fact that prostatectomy is an option shows that it has been caught very early. As you have seen, it was borderline whether it was an option in my case but the coward in me was glad that it effectively wasn’t an option.

My wife (Dr Google :) and I) have read plenty of stories where the prostatectomy has been tried, and failed, only to have the radiotherapy later on. The OP’s story backs this up although I’m sure that there must be plenty of success stories otherwise they wouldn’t offer that option.

In terms of my treatment, I can honestly say that the brachytherapy and radiotherapy were easy. No pain, no major side effects.

The hormone treatment and Abiraterone, whilst still no pain, cause a lot of hot sweats and I’m pretty tired these days, but still able to do all the major things I want to do.

Best of luck with whatever you decide and you know the people on this thread are here if you need support.
 
Mancitydoogle said:
I’ve been reading this thread with interest over the last few weeks as I was about to join this unfortunate club and I don’t mean City!

Like a number of you my journey started with a routine blood test as I was having some stomach issues which turned out to be silent reflux and a change in diet and medication has all but cured that.I hate having bloods taken but this was a good opportunity to get tested for PC.However my PSA came back as 6.2 so I was referred to Macc Urology for an MRI scan
this in turn showed abnormal cells so last week a had the dreaded transperenesl biopsy under a local.I’d naturally assumed this would be carried out by a man but it was four nice female nurses apart from the initial embarrassment and a few seconds of excruciating pain it wasn’t too bad.

I got my results yesterday from a consultant surgeon, my Gleason score 3/4 ironically like the City score on Tuesday! The 4 is 30% which means I’ve been recommended to have treatment either a radical prostatectomy or Radiotherapy.My CPG was 2.

The Consultant surgeon explained what the surgery entailed and I’m now waiting to see an Oncologist before making an informed decision.Ive a few mates who’ve had this disease and have recovered well after going the Radiotherapy route albeit one has had Brachytherapy
and the other 5 courses of radiotherapy under a Pace trail.Ive also read about a new treatment HIFU but not sure if this is suitable and it’s not available in the North West, anyone had this ?

I like to know why you would choose one over the other, I get in Rob’s case there wasn’t a choice not sure about Snakes?
I’m a fit 66 who plays football 3 times a week and apart from Lansoprazole.
I take no medication.I have no symptoms of PC at all.


Like others have already said ,get checked guys.
Click to expand...
Hi pal I can only post my experience we opted for surgery after speaking to both surgical and radiotherapy teams on the same day, we opted for surgery after the surgical team informed us that if we have radiotherapy and it wasn’t 100% successful then surgery couldn’t be an option so we went for surgery which is quite tough and long steady road to recovery , ironically in the end the prostectomy wasn’t 100% successful so I ended up having recovery radiotherapy without any major side effects.
There’s an awful lot to digest when discussing the issue , I’ve previously posted a contact number from prostate cancer uk who have nurses available to discuss any issues and worries you have. Which any pathway you chose I wish you the very best of luck, should you need a quick chat regarding both or any one of the treatments PM me and I’ll gladly pass my number.

Good luck best wishes
Gary.
 
In early 2018, at the tender age of 63, just, I had a routine blood test. The results were fine, except for a PSA result which was above the threshold for further investigation. At first, the medics thought it was OK, but in any case referred me to the local hospital for further investigations. The Consultant said it was worthy of a biopsy. That was horrible, but it probably worth the discomfort, as I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. They didn’t think it needed urgent intervention but gave me three choices. Wait and see, go for long-term treatment or grab the gland and get rid. After discussion with my wife, I decided for the Nuclear option. The consultant said after the op that I had been lucky, as the cancer cells would probably have left the gland and spread soon after. As it turned out, my PSA is now zero, and I am still here, but it has consequences regarding sex life. A friend, who decided to go for alternative treatment a month or two after my op, is no longer with us.

I didn’t notice the increasing frequency of visits to the loo until I was diagnosed, FFS guys, nag your GP to checked out, symptoms or not. We still have fun in bed.
 
Bournemouth Blue said:
In early 2018, at the tender age of 63, just, I had a routine blood test. The results were fine, except for a PSA result which was above the threshold for further investigation. At first, the medics thought it was OK, but in any case referred me to the local hospital for further investigations. The Consultant said it was worthy of a biopsy. That was horrible, but it probably worth the discomfort, as I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. They didn’t think it needed urgent intervention but gave me three choices. Wait and see, go for long-term treatment or grab the gland and get rid. After discussion with my wife, I decided for the Nuclear option. The consultant said after the op that I had been lucky, as the cancer cells would probably have left the gland and spread soon after. As it turned out, my PSA is now zero, and I am still here, but it has consequences regarding sex life. A friend, who decided to go for alternative treatment a month or two after my op, is no longer with us.

I didn’t notice the increasing frequency of visits to the loo until I was diagnosed, FFS guys, nag your GP to checked out, symptoms or not. We still have fun in bed.
Click to expand...
By the way, the fun in bed isn’t playing Scrabble ;-)
 
A quick update, I’ve now seen John Logue .The main prostrate Oncologist at The Christie and been given my options.
He’s a really sound bloke and I’m very fortunate in that my PC is at an early stage so I can have LDR Brachytherapy with no hormone therapy needed.
This is the option I’ve decided to take and hopefully I’ll have the procedures in the next few weeks.

Again I’m very lucky this has been caught early so get checked chaps.
 
Mancitydoogle said:
A quick update, I’ve now seen John Logue .The main prostrate Oncologist at The Christie and been given my options.
He’s a really sound bloke and I’m very fortunate in that my PC is at an early stage so I can have LDR Brachytherapy with no hormone therapy needed.
This is the option I’ve decided to take and hopefully I’ll have the procedures in the next few weeks.

Again I’m very lucky this has been caught early so get checked chaps.
Click to expand...
Fantastic news and great that you’ve seen Dr Logue. He’s the guy who is looking after me and if anybody needs to see an oncologist, I’d recommend him unreservedly.

As you say, the message here is that the earlier it’s found, the less treatment required, so get checked everybody.
 
Mancitydoogle said:
A quick update, I’ve now seen John Logue .The main prostrate Oncologist at The Christie and been given my options.
He’s a really sound bloke and I’m very fortunate in that my PC is at an early stage so I can have LDR Brachytherapy with no hormone therapy needed.
This is the option I’ve decided to take and hopefully I’ll have the procedures in the next few weeks.

Again I’m very lucky this has been caught early so get checked chaps.
Click to expand...
I had Brachytherapy back in 2018 followed by 15 sessions of Radiotherapy and Hormone jabs.

The procedure isn't anything to be concerned about at all.

My PSA was 4.7 and I was 8 on the Gleeson scale and it was very aggressive so needed to be addressed urgently.

My PSA is now and has been 0.1 for some considerable time.

You'll be fine.
 
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