Advanced PC and broken hip

[Novak]

Hello

My father is 71, advanced PC diagnosed in 2014(PSA 700, mets to the bones). After HT and subsequent orchiectomy his PSA went to 1, then it started to grow and since 2017 it has been around 3 – 4.

My father was in overall good health, walked around 6 miles a day with his dogs, worked full time including weekends.

4 months ago one of his dogs pulled him and he fell down and broke his hip, was hospitalised and had a surgery. The hip bone healed properly, but after the surgery he developped a bunch of new symptoms which seem to get worse every day.His knees and shoulder started to hurt, then he started to have severe headaches which won‘t go away, his hands go numb, he has stomach spasms and he refuses to eat. He got an X- ray of knees and shoulders done and it showed arthritis, which is normal for a man of his age, it didn‘t show any mets.

I can‘t get how a fracture which has successfully healed might cause such symptoms.

I guess there are 2 possible options:

1) The fracture lowered his resistance to cancer, and now it came back with vengeance, although this would be strange since no mets have been found in his knees or shoulders or neck.

2) He‘s got a serious case of depression and all his symptoms are purely psychological. He seems to have been depressed since the fracture, constantly thinking about what he should have done differently on the day he fell down.This Thursday he‘s got an appointment with a psychologist, we hope that antidepressants might help.

Does anyone have any experience with broken bones alongside with PC? Or has anybody heard about severe depression which leads to physical pain in all body?

Thank you in advance for any replies

[Tall_Allen]

Not every symptom is due to cancer. It might be arthritis, particularly if all the pain is in his joints. He may be able to get a NaF PET scan which would show bone mets but not arthritis. Get pre-authorization from Medicare. Zometa or Xgeva can maintain his bone mineral density and prevent fractures. SBRT (1-3 zaps) can alleviate pain and prevent fractures in weight-bearing bones.

[Novak in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall_Allen, thank you for your reply, we will consider SBRT

[Celtic]

A shot in the dark here but has your father had blood tests to check for inflammation, specifically CRP and ESR? If not, then do suggest them to rule out Giant Cell Arteritis which can cause "severe headaches" such as you mention which, untreated, can lead to vision loss. Has he complained about any visual disturbances? GCA is linked to Polymyalgia Rheumatica which produces pain in various parts of the body. There is no known cause, but PMR has been known to occur following stress to the body via injury/surgery among other things. Just a thought.

[Novak in reply to Celtic]

Hi Celtic, thank you four input, his blood tests came back normal, but I'll read more about Polymyalgia Rheumatica.

[Hidden]

Have you also thought the fall and fracture to his body was a big shock to his system ? Shock and stress can do so much to our bodies.

[Novak in reply to Hidden]

Hi sport0910, that's quite probable that stress(or depression) caused these symptoms.

[j-o-h-n]

Is he back to walking the dogs? If not, maybe he should to get him back into his old routine and keep his mind off of his ailments.

Good Luck and Good Health.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 08/29/2018 6:13 PM EDT

[Novak]

Unfortunately he is not able to walk the dogs, he can only walk a few metres with a crutch. Thank you, j-o-h-n.