A family member has just been diagnoised & the doctor has given 3 treatments to choose from, surgery, radiation treatments(40) & inplanting Radiation Seeds into the prostate. I'm wondering what treatment others went with & how well it worked. Thank you all in advance. The doctor did tell him the pros & cons, gave him a booklet on prostate cancer & details of each treatment. Just curious about others who have dealt with this.
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
A family friend of mine had prostate cancer. He went with the surgery and it worked just fine. Recover time was minimal but they told he would not be able to have an erection for about a year and he will never be able to get fully get it up after that. Sucks but at least he is cancer free. He is doing well. No relapse of the surgery. and he is happy with his choice.
2 :
I know two men who had the radiation seed treatment. They both said they were glad they chose it, instead of radiation or surgery. Sorry to hear about your family member. Don't forget to pray or meditate on their behalf! They will need that as much as the medical treatment :-)
3 :
My father is a retired physician and when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he chose to have a prostatectomy. It sounds radical, but his father died of complications from prostate cancer and he felt his risk was high. I know there are some new surgery procedures that are supposed to be less invasive now days. My dad had his surgery about 12 years ago and is cancer free.
4 :
The choice should not be left entirely up to the patient. I suggest he get another opinion, and hopefully some information about the risk and benefits of each choice. They are able to do a radical prostatectomy ( take the whole thing out) by robotics, through laparoscopes - recovery time is shortened, go home the same day often, considerably less pain. Best treatment depends on the nature of the cancer, the size, the location, etc. hard to give advice without knowing. If Urologist #1 did not explain things well, he should see another one.
5 :
It is important to get a second opinion for anything this serious. The doctor should be able to take the time to explain the pros and cons of all the different treatments. If his doctors can't give him the answers he needs to find one who can. This is too serious a matter for you to be relying on answers from a site such as this. Each case is different and a doctor who has all of the test results and who has examined him is the only one who can give an answer of real value to him. Good luck
6 :
Anti-testosterone therapy aimed at blocking androgen drug testosterone play a role in treatment of prostate cancer, doctors had thought that this therapy has been relatively harmless. Now, each of 88,000 men received prostate cancer drug treatment. Because testosterone can promote the growth of prostate cancer cells, the advent of nearly 15 years in bed more and more use of hormone therapy to block testosterone's role in slowing tumor growth and prolong the survival of patients, especially for the treatment of those who have not yet spread of cancer patients and after resection of the prostate for the control of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) increased. But in recent years, there is evidence that the hormone therapy may weaken bones and induced osteoporosis, which increases the risk of fracture. University of Texas researchers access to about 51,000 cancer patients in the medical records, found that 19.4% of patients receiving anti-testosterone therapy within five years after the fracture. In addition, the role of hormone therapy also with the dose: nine each year receive treatment in hip bone, spine or arm fracture risk can be increased 1.5 times. The researchers suggested that doctors may try to use the drug to prevent fractures to overcome anti-testosterone therapy reaction. From:www.usaphp.cn
7 :
Hi Dobiegang! My step dad had this operation gee several years ago now.. And he is doing great. He recouperated quickly and things are great. He has to go yearly to get retested to make sure things are fine.. But he said he would have it done again ! Good Luck with your family member, hope things work out great!
8 :
I have prostate cancer. I submitted to a biopsy which allowed the Urologist to stage my cancer as stage 2. Stage 2 means that my cancer spread outside of the tumor. In my case the cancer still remained in the immediate vicinity of the prostate. However, because the cancer was outside of the prostate I was advised by Three different urologist and my oncologist that I was not a candidate for surgery as that could cause the cancer to spread further and that they could not guarentee getting it all out. Before you elect surgery you should have a biopsy so you can be staged. Its important that you understand how cancer is staged. In my case I was given a choice of x number of days radiation (40 days I believe) or 23 days of radiation and one day of seeding. I chose the latter on the advice of my oncologist. I am now on my 3rd hormone shot which I received in Dec 2007. I recieve a shot every 3 months which relieves me of all sexual desire or capability. In my case I did not suffer any ill effects from the radiation treatments as I understand others might have experienced. I am now in the process of exploring non medical (natural) healing alternatives as it appears the next step for the medical community is for me to wait and see if the cancer spreads. I prefer to do some preventative measures rather than wait. The more I learn about cancer treatments the more I realize that there are a host of remedies that profess to have a "cure" for cancer. The FOCC protocol is just one of the remedies I am pursuing. Hope this helps.
9 :
I believe that being rushed into a biopsy when prostate symptoms appear, ie blood test results, should be avoided. Attend to diet, rest, fast a day or so a week, for a while, have the test again, often it is different then. Studies have shown that biopsies can spread cancer cells. There are other things one can do.
10 :
My father had surgery last May 07. The prostate still spread to his bones and now he is terminal. It all just depends on the status of the cancer. How everything works out for your family.
11 :
My brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer over ten years ago. He chose a radical prostatectomy. He has not been sorry. Everything "works." He has his PSA monitored regularly. (prostatic specific antigen) What it all boils down to is that the patient must choose what he is comfortable with. My sister's husband also had prostatic cancer. He chose the radiation route and survived about 15 years. He was bothered by frequent diarrhea from the radiation. I wish the best for your family member.
12 :
Hey bev, My dad went to the doctor today because he thinks he may have it. He has the symtoms. They are going to give him blood tests but until then we are hoping its less than that! Does your family member have any symtoms, and if so what were they? Remeber to pray for your family memeber, and I will too.
13 :
Another option would be Cryogenic treatment which I chose to have done. Apparently it's not offered by everybody. Kaiser in Sacramento doesn't do it for some reason but I had mine done at Sutter General. I felt I didn't want to be exposed to any radiation external or internally. I was back to work in 30 days even though the Doctor initially wanted to keep me out for two months. I was getting sick of sitting around the house. After the the damn suprapubic catheter was yanked out, I felt fine. Didn't feel too bad before that either but the bag of pee got to be annoying. Here's a book I got for the hell of it before I opted for treatment. It outlines alternate ways of dealing with prostate problems. Basically changing your diet by not eating pretty near everything we eat now and taking a bunch of supplements. 'The Natural Prostate Cure' by Roger Mason. I got if on the internet somewhere, Amazon, I think, about 7 bucks. Interesting but not what I felt I could deal with. For me Cryoabulation was the way to go, check it out. The only side effect is the damn ED but that may correct itself in time, it's only been 2 1/2 months since my treatment and at age 60, I'm not that concerned about it anyway. I'm not Hugh Hefner.
14 :
I don't know how old your family member is? But he should be aware that the surgery usually leaves men impotent and incontinent. That is a huge upset for most men. It is a psychological issue that many surgeons don't address very well in suggesting treatments. Many men in my hubby's family have has this cancer. One uncle decided against any treatment, and lived 7 years. Another cousin has had all the treatments with 3 recurrences and is on his 5th year post diagnosis. We have discussed this and what we have seen with other members of the family. I'm sure if it is worth the pain in treating.
15 :
This is a HUGE decision, one, that I feel is extremely important in both the eventual outcome and the quality of life for your family member. My Father died of Prostate Cancer & all 5 of his brothers have been diagnosed with it & are currently going through treatment. In my experience, I would strongly advise AGAINST getting the surgery. Since my Dad was the first in the family to get Prostate Cancer, we went blindly into the decision process, simply following the surgeon's urging to have surgery. He regretted it immensely. In our case, this was not an easy recovery and it took all of 6 weeks. Then Dad became extremely upset about his incountinence & nerve damage leaving him wearing depends & unable to have sexual relations. The surgeon said these "uncomfortable" conditions would get better in time. They did not. I would like to add that my father was only 52 when diagnosed & in extremely good physical condition, in fact he was running 5 miles a day. He basically had always been able to put his mind to anything & was able to overcome it, but the nerve damage was something that was permanent. We tried every exploratory surgery available but, nothing was able to repair any of these conditions. The thing about surgery that upsets me is that most surgeons say the risk of these conditions are minimal & rare. In my experience, this is a huge lie. Last year USA Today in an article on Prostate Cancer, said that 90% of all these surgeries had some level of nerve damage resulting in these problems. My Uncles have all learned from this & opted for the Seed Implant. They have had sucess with this option & no side effects. They opted for this internal seed over the external radiation, again due to the risk of impotence & incontinence that external radiation carries. In your case, since all 3 options are available, I would guess that your family member has been diagnosed with Stage 3 or below? This can play a big part in which way a Dr. will lean for treatment too. With that in mind, I would suggest getting a 2nd opinion to get a better picture of what may be your best option. In addition if the cancer is localized, you might consider looking into clinical trials being conducted in your area for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. I have read of many successes in the use of this cutting edge research treatment. To find out about local trials being held in your area, you can contact a local Cancer Center, Teaching Hospital, or go to the NIC website www.cancer.gov. Click on the Clinical Trials sub-heading & simply fill in the type of cancer, stage, & zip code for info. There are alot of options out there today but, I believe you are doing the right thing by researching the best fit for your family member. In addition to the medical treatment, you might suggest making some dietary changes too. Cutting out food items that have hormone additives like read meat, dairy etc. and opting for limited amounts of these items only if labeled Organic Homone-Free. High doses of Vitamin D3 (which you can buy at any store) have also shown positive results in fighting all cancers but, studies have shown a very good response in slowing Prostate Cancer Cell Growth. Hope some of these tips have helped. Difficult decisions ahead but, remember to use all available resources to assist you in these stressful times. Most hospitals offer a Prostate Cancer Support Group, ask a hospital social worker for info on one in your area. They offer a vast amount of info on treatment choices, good Surgeons and Radiologists, and are great for support & reassurance. Good luck in your research. Please feel free to email me anytime if you ever have any questions. God Bless!
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