Re: prostate removal vs Radiation with hormone therapy.

[Guest guest]

First of all your age and physical condition may make the choice for you. If you are over seventy chances are you will not be a candidate for surgery. If you are under seventy, surgery will give you the best chances of a cure. If you choose surgery it is very important that you can make it through the operation. If you have any heart problems they may not want to operate without a stress test etc. Probably because we have to many lawyers in the US. I'm assuming you live in the US. I would also suggest you ask all your friends. Don't be shy about it. You will find many who will tell you of their experiences. With the present medical advances, in surgery it is not that bad. You will most likely not loose any of your abilities except you will be "shooting blanks" to quote an earlier post. You will also be able to P like you were 21 instead of having to stand there for several minutes. After surgery you may experience some leakage but that usually clears up within a year. The number one thing, if you decide on surgery, get a doctor who does 100 prostate removals, or more, a year. These should be either robotic or regular surgery. Experience really counts. If you choose radiation, my first doctor said there was a five year "honey moon period" after that you may loose sexual capability and blatter control. You may not, with some of the new technologies. The problem is, the radiation injurers nearby tissue. I was faced with all these decisions a year ago and I choose surgery, I did all the above and then looked around for the hospital with the best reputation. I choose s Hopkins in Baltimore. So far I am very pleased with the results and everything still works. My surgery was last June and it was a piece of cake. The worst part of the experience was trying to sleep in the hospital bed for two nights. I'm sure you will get a lot more advice and you made a good move finding this sight. It is not the end of life as you know it. If you believe in God, and our Blessed Mother, ask Him to lead you and ask to intercede for you with her son. In other words send some knee mail. Trust me, it works. Best of luck with your decision and let us know how you make out. One more thing, get a second opinion. A lot of us on this sight have been through this and we are here to help. Hang in there you will probably be fine when all is said and done.

Wishing you the best,

Larry

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

First of all your age and physical condition may make the choice for you. If you are over seventy chances are you will not be a candidate for surgery. If you are under seventy, surgery will give you the best chances of a cure. If you choose surgery it is very important that you can make it through the operation. If you have any heart problems they may not want to operate without a stress test etc. Probably because we have to many lawyers in the US. I'm assuming you live in the US. I would also suggest you ask all your friends. Don't be shy about it. You will find many who will tell you of their experiences. With the present medical advances, in surgery it is not that bad. You will most likely not loose any of your abilities except you will be "shooting blanks" to quote an earlier post. You will also be able to P like you were 21 instead of having to stand there for several minutes. After surgery you may experience some leakage but that usually clears up within a year. The number one thing, if you decide on surgery, get a doctor who does 100 prostate removals, or more, a year. These should be either robotic or regular surgery. Experience really counts. If you choose radiation, my first doctor said there was a five year "honey moon period" after that you may loose sexual capability and blatter control. You may not, with some of the new technologies. The problem is, the radiation injurers nearby tissue. I was faced with all these decisions a year ago and I choose surgery, I did all the above and then looked around for the hospital with the best reputation. I choose s Hopkins in Baltimore. So far I am very pleased with the results and everything still works. My surgery was last June and it was a piece of cake. The worst part of the experience was trying to sleep in the hospital bed for two nights. I'm sure you will get a lot more advice and you made a good move finding this sight. It is not the end of life as you know it. If you believe in God, and our Blessed Mother, ask Him to lead you and ask to intercede for you with her son. In other words send some knee mail. Trust me, it works. Best of luck with your decision and let us know how you make out. One more thing, get a second opinion. A lot of us on this sight have been through this and we are here to help. Hang in there you will probably be fine when all is said and done.

Wishing you the best,

Larry

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

hard2_plz,

Much depends on your age, general state of health or any other morbidities.

Just by way of information: In 2004 at age 74+, I was diagnosed with Gleason 9 (4+5) prostate cancer. On general principles because of my age, the decision (2 independent opinions) was to avoid surgery and go with external radiation as primary treatment. I had 38 sessions (80 Gy total) of IMRT. This was accompanied by 2 1/2 years of ADT (Lupron and Casodex). To date there is no sign of recurrence. Several months ago my PSA was 0.2, just about where it has been since the ADT ended in mid-2006.

Will be glad to answer any other questions.

Manny Rosenbaum

Oak Park, MI

Subject: prostate removal vs Radiation with hormone therapy.To: ProstateCancerSupport Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 9:36 PM

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

Hello. You may also have additional options. Please also consider proton beam therapy and proton beam "pencil" therapy offered by at least one proton beam center. I am told prostate removal is considered the gold standard, but the side effects vary with the skill of the surgeon. Radiation treatment also comes in a variety of options, and also has side effects. These doctors leave the option up to the patient, often advocating their specialty as the preferred option. The reason: no accepted treatment has won out yet in long term studies. Surgery has the risk of missing tumor cells outside the prostate, requiring radiation anyway. Fortunately, two new drugs were approved last year and two more are going to be approved next year, and several clinical trials suggest additonal medicines will also be available soon for today's patients. You have been offered the two best options, but finding the best doctor and method of radiation, if you elect that route, must still require the patient to consider the options. Prostate patients need an ombudsman, or doctor to help make a decision. Get second or third opinions. Get the biopsy specimens reviewed again, some say. There are others on this forum with more experience and good links. Regards, T I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

Hello. You may also have additional options. Please also consider proton beam therapy and proton beam "pencil" therapy offered by at least one proton beam center. I am told prostate removal is considered the gold standard, but the side effects vary with the skill of the surgeon. Radiation treatment also comes in a variety of options, and also has side effects. These doctors leave the option up to the patient, often advocating their specialty as the preferred option. The reason: no accepted treatment has won out yet in long term studies. Surgery has the risk of missing tumor cells outside the prostate, requiring radiation anyway. Fortunately, two new drugs were approved last year and two more are going to be approved next year, and several clinical trials suggest additonal medicines will also be available soon for today's patients. You have been offered the two best options, but finding the best doctor and method of radiation, if you elect that route, must still require the patient to consider the options. Prostate patients need an ombudsman, or doctor to help make a decision. Get second or third opinions. Get the biopsy specimens reviewed again, some say. There are others on this forum with more experience and good links. Regards, T I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

Hard_2: I was faced with the same,but mine was removed. I was not

advised of the best treatment, as I had to decide myself. I did

receive a Tweet from the Attorney General in Atlanta, Ga. about my

"botched" de'Vinnci procedure. I want be around but maybe my

children will enjoy the spoils of others incompetence.

Rody...

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option

of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone

therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't

know what to do.

[Guest guest]

Great news Manny..Proud for you.. Rody

 

hard2_plz,

 

Much depends on your age, general state of

health or any other morbidities.

 

Just by way of information: In 2004 at age

74+, I was diagnosed with Gleason 9 (4+5)

prostate cancer. On general principles because

of my age, the decision (2 independent opinions)

was to avoid surgery and go with external

radiation as primary treatment. I had 38

sessions (80 Gy total) of IMRT. This was

accompanied by 2 1/2 years of ADT (Lupron and

Casodex). To date there is no sign of

recurrence. Several months ago my PSA was 0.2,

just about where it has been since the ADT ended

in mid-2006.

 

Will be glad to answer any other questions.

 

Manny Rosenbaum

Oak Park, MI

Subject: prostate

removal vs Radiation with hormone therapy.

To: ProstateCancerSupport

Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 9:36 PM

 

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor.

I have the option of prostate removal or

Radiation treatment with hormone therapy

(Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused

and don't know what to do.

[Guest guest]

Hard2, unfortunately there is no easy answer, and this is a decision only you can make. Read everything you can, starting with the information on the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website. They have a great series of articles to guide the newly diagnosed prostate cancer patient.

Also, check out the prostate cancer section of the Memorial Sloan Kettering website. Especially, plug your gleason score etc. into their nomogram (calculator) which will give you an idea of the five and 10-year survival rates for the various treatment options given those scores. Check out Yananow.net, which has reports of the experiences of hundreds of men who chose the various treatment options.

I was 68 when diagnosed (Gleason 3+4-7, 7 of 12 biopsy cores cancerous) and chose robotic surgery. 20 months later my PSA is undetectable, my bladder control is normal (and has been since about 15 weeks after surgery), however I do have erectile dysfunction which is handled with tri-mix injections. Many who have had surgery find viagra or cialis work fine, but so far not for me. I chose surgery because the pathology report afterwards would show if the cancer had already spread outside the gland (it hadn't) and if so I could get a head start on further treatment)

Mike

Subject: prostate removal vs Radiation with hormone therapy.To: ProstateCancerSupport Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 9:36 PM

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do. ------------------------------------There are just two rules for this group 1 No Spam 2 Be kind to othersPlease recognise that Prostate Cancerhas different guises and needs different levels of treatment and in some cases no treatment at all. Some men even with all options offered chose radical options that you would not choose. We only ask that people be informed before choice is made, we cannot and should not tell other members what to do, other than look at other options. Try to delete old material that is no longer applying when clicking replyTry to change the title if the content requires it

[Guest guest]

's posting essentially sums up my experience and thought process as well.  I felt surgery was best for me as it kept more options open if follow up care was needed. Fortunately, so far, it has not been necessary for me , but the harsh reality of this disease is that it can assert itself again at any time.  You simply never know.  With God's help, you can learn to live with this uncertainly, which will be with you for the rest of your earthly days.  

 

I did consult with a Medical Oncologist in addition to the Uro.  I was age 55 at time of diagnosis.  Now age 58 (39 months after surgery) my PSA is less than 0.01 ng/ml.  My surgery was traditional - not robotic (DaVinci).  No injections for me, but it did take over three years for the Cialis to begin to work reliably again for me. 

 

Do your research.  Make a list of questions. Ask these questions of the doctors (and their staff).  Take notes regrading their answers and responses to your concerns and worries.  Have someone go with you to your appointments to also listen to the responses you receive from the doctors and privately discuss your respective observations after the appointments.   Take ownership of your situation.  You are in control - not the Docs, and most definitely not the cancer.  

 

Take heart in the fact that there are new developments every day in the treatment and eradication of this disease.  I hope to see that day.  If I don't, I pray that my boys will.   

 

Good luck to you.  Have faith.  All will be well.

 

Coy

, Michigan

 

Hard2, unfortunately there is no easy answer, and this is a decision only you can make. Read everything you can, starting with the information on the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website. They have a great series of articles to guide the newly diagnosed prostate cancer patient.

Also, check out the prostate cancer section of the Memorial Sloan Kettering website. Especially, plug your gleason score etc. into their nomogram (calculator) which will give you an idea of the five and 10-year survival rates for the various treatment options given those scores. Check out Yananow.net, which has reports of the experiences of hundreds of men who chose the various treatment options.

I was 68 when diagnosed (Gleason 3+4-7, 7 of 12 biopsy cores cancerous) and chose robotic surgery. 20 months later my PSA is undetectable, my bladder control is normal (and has been since about 15 weeks after surgery), however I do have erectile dysfunction which is handled with tri-mix injections. Many who have had surgery find viagra or cialis work fine, but so far not for me. I chose surgery because the pathology report afterwards would show if the cancer had already spread outside the gland (it hadn't) and if so I could get a head start on further treatment)

           Mike

      

Subject: prostate removal vs Radiation with hormone therapy.

To: ProstateCancerSupport Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2011, 9:36 PM

I am diagnosed with a gleason 7 tumor. I have the option of prostate removal or Radiation treatment with hormone therapy (Lupron and Casodex). I am very confused and don't know what to do. ------------------------------------

There are just two rules for this group 1 No Spam 2 Be kind to othersPlease recognise that Prostate Cancerhas different guises and needs different levels of treatment and in some cases no treatment at all. Some men even with all options offered chose radical options that you would not choose. We only ask that people be informed before choice is made, we cannot and should not tell other members what to do, other than look at other options.

Try to delete old material that is no longer applying when clicking replyTry to change the title if the content requires it