Ascites?...Anyone with knowledge or experience

about 2 years ago I was experiencing extreme edema. I had tremendous swelling in my feet ,calves ,thighs and abdomen. I had extreme fatigue and difficulty breathing. I had all the normal exams.. lungs, heart, dvt, sleep apnea.(which I found out I had). I had gained about 30 lbs in a very short time. Eventually all this led to my Dx of PC. Needless to say most attention became focused on treating PC.
I continued to ask about what to do with the edema. Even brought it up here many times.
The only time I got any releif from it was after chemo. I noticed that it was gone.

Anyway... for the past 2-3 months the edema has gotten worse. I've put back on the 30 lbs. My PCP has me on lasics and spiroltanactine (sp). I have shortness of breath and my stomach is huge.Fatigue is bad. (thought that would get better after ADT)
My reasearch has lead me to ascites which from what I understand can be a result of prostate cancer in rare cases. Most of the time it comes in late stage metastic patients.It has presented as a symtom in very rare cases before Dx of PC. The main causes of ascites is usually gastrointestinal cancer or liver disease. I have issues with duodenal tumors. I have been dealing with that for the last 10 years also with no cancer detected there.
I've set up an appointment to see Dr. Peter Nelson at the University of Washington. He specializes in early and late stage PC treatments. (any one know of or had experience with him?)
I need to find out what's causing this extreme edema. It's wearing me down. For 2 years now ,I've been dealing with this.
I have wanted to find a MO that specializes in PC only.
Hoping that someone might have some insight on this.

Mark

Allen, yes I understand that would be the conventional thinking and I plan on it. My concern is ...did the ascetis pre-date PC or cause it as a symptom. I obviously had PC before the extreme edema became an issue. I thought it interesting and something that I should be aware of and will bring up to my MO.
What I have found out is....the conventional thinking while a good place to start...one should not just rule out the unconventional. I'm trying to be diligent as always.
My duodenal adenomas are sporadic. Pretty rare for one to have those without FAP....as it is fairly rare to have low PSA with high risk PC ...statistically speaking.
I definitely need to be aware of the risks that it can come from Liver and pancreas and duodenal issues. all of which run in my family. Was surprised that prostate cancer (while very rare) could be a cause for ascites. That raised my eyebrow a bit.

Thanks Allen.
I did read that ascites was something that comes at end stage for PC. I believe that a call to my GI will be next as this edema has really been a drag on my recovery. Good advise...

Mark, I only know that ascites is a common symptom of Ovarian cancer. So it just leads me to wonder if there are tumors in the pelvic area that could be causing the ascites.
In addition, what often, but not always, comes with ascites, at least in women with ovarian cancer, is pleural effusion. Which could lead to a collapsed lung, if there is enough fluid around the lung. So your comment about shortness of breath, sort of raised my eyebrows.

I'm only speaking from my experience, with family members, I'm no expert. Just more food for thought.