NEW with questions

ok let me say i am asking questions for my dad. last year we went and found out he had prostate cancer psa was 5 and scheduled surgery at that time bone scan looked good and we we never told about lymp nodes. We went into surgery assuming that he was going to take out the prostate however came out to tell us that it could not be removed it had affixed itself to the rectum we were also told that out of 20 biospys his gleason (sorry most likey not right word) score was a 10 and that it was bad. within 4 days we started radiation and had 42 treatments and following those he begin hormone therapy within this past year he has not felt great but i will say we also were dealing with an unknown heart issure which ended up being a low heart rate and a pace maker was put in on july 1st and he also has Alzheimer ( wish is reason for me doing the question) in june his urine flow became very small and almost stopped so they tried doing a scope and they could not get it throw the blockage so we schedule another surgey for 17th of july. he told us that it was scare tissue and he would heal up nice. That all changed on the 20th when the doctor his self called and said that cancer was p resistant through out the tissue he removed. the psa in june had gone from .1 to .2 which is what they say they go on. we after asking finally got a ref-feral to a oncologist what are some question that we should ask to find out more of that is going on i feel in the dark and don't know where to begin he did tell us that the procedure to open the opening would most likley have to be done again. i am very sorry for sounding stupid

he is 73 i had to push to get an oncologist we live in a smaller town and i find myself with doctors that like taking 2 mins with you and running out the room i hope the oncologist is different so from what your saying if the HT was really working it would not move at all am i right? im sorry again to ask questions but you all seem to know alot more then the doctors we have seen so far

sorry my auto correct took over he told us that the cancer cells were throughout the tissue that he removed on the 17th and you did great on understanding my jumbled mess.

all 20 samples were positive and were between 8 and 10 on the scale with most being 10

he is 73 and in the first stages processing things is really hard and such but he still knows everyone and everything and can handle daily functions in his own surroundings

yes he had a turp last year as well but i looked it up and that is what they called it this year to

what i did leave out after reading notes from last year is that they suspected bladder cancer as well last year but never came back with anything on it
im sorry again

CureIt,

This is a bit out of my area of expertise (as if I had one) but I will be glad to keep you company while we wait for one of the guys who knows more about bladder issues to wander by.

Hello and welcome, Cureit, to HW PC.

As always, sorry you need to be here on behalf of your father, but glad you found us. You never need to feel alone in this journey again.

Yes, your father is in a pretty serious situation, with all kinds of added complications. However saying that, there is no reason to feel like it's a hopeless situation. Other men in his straights are doing well for themselves, and there are all kinds of advanced treatments out there for PC. Just a question of finding the right doctor and the right treatment(s) that help him best.

On the bladder side, I do have lots of experience. After my surgery, I had endless stricture problems, mine were at the bladder neck. It quickly became a chronic situation. I had 6 operations to clear out the scars, but they would grow back fast, in once instance, as little as a month between surgeries.

Then after my surgery failed to stop the cancer, I underwent salvage radiation treatments. They were not administered correctly, and my bladder and bladder neck were seriously burned. I spent 51 weeks on a Suprapubic catheter, awaiting for my bladder to heal. It never did. So in the end, I underwent the Ileal Conduit Surgery, and had my bladder by-passed, and I now urinate through a stoma in my side.

In the cases of bladder cancer, the bladder is often removed entirely or partially, and men undergo the same surgery I had. This is a possibility for your father, if he continues to have on-going bladder issues, stricture issues, etc. I was not a candidate for self-cathing, as my urologist was afraid I would only do more damage into an already severely damaged area.

If he's going to have permanent problems with his bladder or urinating, he could have a Suprapubic catheter long term. it would exit to the left ,below his belly button. It does not exit through the penis like a standard foley catheter, and is a lot less bother. Some patients remain on one for years. Some people can even change out the "tubes" themselves under the right circumstances.

Sounds like on his bladder side, they need to fully determine if he does indeed have bladder cancer or prostate cancer spreading into his bladder. That is possible too.

Please keep asking your questions, no such thing as a stupid question. As you see, there is a wide range of experience here with the men and women at HW PC, all of them willing to help and support you.

If you have any more questions of me, please feel free to post them here, or e-mail me if you wish to keep it private. Either way, be more than happy to help you both.

Never give up hope, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

David in SC

thank you passages i am glad a ran across this site it has lots of great info and support.

We are getting ready for our first apt with a MO tomorrow afternoon i plan to go in armed with a notebook and lots of questions to ask what is you guys opinion on bone scans and checking lymph nodes should i request that if its not brought up

Cureit, is your Dad being treated in the U.S.? If so, where?

Hello cureit ..........

   You are dealing with a lot, and I know how confusing some of the numbers and explanations can be at times. It sounds as though your Dad's issues with Alzheimers are very manageable at this point, so that should help ease your burden.

   My Mother has dementia (similar to Alzheimers), and she is much older than your Dad and is at a different stage of dependance ... but I have an appreciation of that, as well as, having advanced Prostate Cancer myself.

   Since my age is very close to your Dad's ... at 70-years old, maybe I can give you some degree of hope for your Dad in dealing with the Prostate Cancer. While I don't have some of your Dad's other health issues, I have additional ones with COPD and severe Kidney issues.

   I just had a CT scan and a Bone scan yesterday and will be reviewing my next directional change with my Onco next week. But, hopefully to ease your mind a little, I am in my tenth year of dealing with PSA readings - and even though I have gone thru all three of the meds that TC-LasVegas mentioned below ... there still are options.

   It's confusing ....... it's scary ....... but your Dad should be proud that he has you in his corner.

   By the way, my PC did spread to the lymph nodes at least two years ago and slightly into the bones at that time also. Since my PC seems to be very resistant to the recent Xtandi oral chemo, a bone scan was done to determine "what's next"!

My best wishes to you and your Dad.

Rob