Just diagnosed

Hi all
I hope you don't mind me writing in here but I just found out that my dad has prostate cancer today. The reason for why I'm writing here is that I don't know what to think nor do I know anything about PC.
In fact, this scares the hell out of me because what I've experienced with PC is my granddad being sick and eventually dying from this at 71 years old, when I was young. But I do realize that a lot has improved since 1991 and it gives me some comfort.

My dad got limited information about any numbers such as PSA and Gleason. What I do know is that when his PSA was measured, it wasn't that bad, he was told. If he would have been 10 years older, those numbers would be "normal". I think his PSA is around 4-4.5. The reason he was sent to have biopsies taken was that he complained about other symptoms, urine related.
He has had the PSA checked for the past couple of years due the family history of PC.

What worries me are the next steps. He had 10/10 cores positive and that sounds horrific and terrifying to a person that does not know much about PC. What does that mean?
He talked about right away to just remove the prostate, but we're going next wednesday for a scan to see if it has spread to other organs (bones), which he then has to wait for results for 2 weeks. What are your experiences with PC spreading to other organs, such as bones and lymph nodes?

It has been helpful to read about your experiences and to realize that this is sometimes can be cured even though those medical terms are not a part of my vocabulary, yet.

So I'm writing in here, hoping to keep my sanity for the next 2,5 weeks by reading up on PC, treatments and results. It's my way of dealing with this.

All the doc said was that the Gleason was in a "grey area" but didn't suspect the cancer to have spread.

Thank you for your reply. I am reading the thread you suggested and writing down what we need to do on monday.
Starting with getting the biopsy report from his doctor! I wished we would have known about the importance and names of those numbers and information before he saw the doctor today, but then again, this was not the result we were expecting.

Hello gunnjon...try to ask your Dad's urologist as many questions as you can come up with and recommendations for treatment. Be patient and take one day at a time.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Since I wrote the first message I have been with my dad to the hospital twice. First to have the bone scan and then to get the results where I met a doctor for the first time after hearing the diagnosis. Fortunately the cancer has not spread to his bones :) It was a very long week, waiting for the results.

As some of you suggested I read a lot about PC, what you need to know and stuff and I didn't stop reading the first few days. Dealt with it that way and kept my parents updated on almost everything I found.
I also read his medical journal and saw that his PSA is not 4,3 as we thought but 3,4.
When I went with him to see the doctor, I asked bunch of questions that I wanted answers to, such as his Gleason score, which is 7 (3+4) and what the reasons might be for his low PSA but still 10/10 biopsies positive. I did not get an answer to this question, yet.

We are going to see a specialist tomorrow and discuss treatment options but my dad is still set on having the prostate operated and removed due to his family history with PC and the results from the biopsy.

I wanted to ask you guys that have had surgery, if you had open surgery or the robot kind regarding the results. Which is better and gives more possibilities to have minimized problems with urinating and such.
Of course this is the first question I'm going to ask tomorrow but just wanted to try to get some insight into it before seeing the doctor tomorrow.

(If my english is bad, you will have to excuse me, I'm not from the U.S) :)

Gunjon:

Yana, the link Zufus posted is a very valuable resource.

I got started there on my journey and exchanged emails with people who's stories gave me hope.They were a tremendous help in getting me to turn the corner and find the fighter within me to challenge this crap.

I had surgery and everything went remarkably well. I suffered no incontinence or significant ED. Although not uncommon when in the hands of an expert, this isn't the norm and nobody can tell you exactly how your dad would fare. There are so many factors that impact results.

I didn't see how old your dad is, but I would suspect in his late 60s or 70s. At that age it's probably not realistic to hope for no or minimal SEs due to any treatment, let alone surgery. As perfectly as my surgery went, at that age I would look at BT.

Best of luck.

oh, he's young. Maybe surgery would also work just fine then. Had assumed he was my dad's age. So just how young are you?

BT en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachytherapy

gunnjon said...
Thank you for your reply. I am reading the thread you suggested and writing down what we need to do on monday.
Starting with getting the biopsy report from his doctor! I wished we would have known about the importance and names of those numbers and information before he saw the doctor today, but then again, this was not the result we were expecting.

Don't merely ask ofr one or two specific reports. Get paper copies of all reports and al doctor's notes in your file as well as CD's of all the actual scans, MRIs etc.

You will need a radation onco to help you iterpret the actual data, but the rad onco is happy to do that for you.

LupronJim