My dad's recent diagnosis of Prostrate Cancer...

[Musketeers7]

Hi there..

I'm 20 years old and my dad has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 prostrate cancer. I'm very worried.

He is only 51 years of age... but he has been a poorly guy for a good 10-15 years now.

He has suffered and still suffers from an endless list of things..

- Deep vein thrombosis

- Pulmonary embolisms (He is prescribed warfarin to prevent them reoccurring. This thins the blood)

- Osteoporosis (This was diagnosed two years ago when he lost feeling in his leg and fell to the ground. The fall resulting in him breaking his hip and femur. He underwent surgery for this)

- Degeneration of the discs (His discs in his spin are crumbling)

- Fibromyalgia

- Osteoarthritis

... and then some....

My dad is very modest and does not like to worry my twin and I due to him already facing many other health issues.. So I am doing some research on this so I can have a full understanding.

He has told me that there are 6 stages of this cancer... 1 being the lowest stage and 6 being the most advanced. My father has been diagnosed with stage 4. Apparently this isn't in the advanced category from what my research tells me.

Now... He has been offered surgery to remove the cancer.. but he will not be able to through with this, due to him being on warfarin, it is extremely risky to open anyone up when on a blood thinner.. and way too risky to take him off of this medicine. So my dad has told me that he is going to take the radiotherapy option.... the thing is, he cannot start this treatment until his testosterone levels have lowered. This is because testosterone feeds the cancer. Unfortunately... my dad has been on scheduled injections of testosterone for just a little over a year now. This was because he was having issues with an enlarged urethra... at this point in time there was no cancer found, hence why he was prescribed this method of treatment.

So now he has to wait 3 months for this testosterone to leave his system, so he can then start his treatment.

I guess I just wanted maybe some advice... or information that anyone has about prostrate cancer..

I'm a young and worried daughter as you can imagine and like to be informed and educated on my fathers conditions so I can be of best help as possible.

[butterflyEi]

Good morning,

Assuming you are UK based one of the web sites we used was:-

prostatecanceruk.org/

At our local hospital there was also a MacMillan information office manned by volunteers who are not allowed to offer advice but have lots of written information which may be of some use to you.

The Mayo Clinic (USA) has a good web site just type in prostate cancer

mayoclinic.org/

My 70 year old husband's condition is not like your father so there is no point in sharing his story other than to say that he is on hormone therapy, this was started before the radiotherapy of which there were 37 treatments. He will continue with the hormone therapy for about another 2 years but already he is much better. The radiotherapy my husband had was targetted at the prostate - the body is marked so that the radiotherapist can always get you in the best and same position. The toilet becomes a very important focus during this time and it is best to stay close to places that you know where facilities are, we also changed our diet quite dramatically. We like curry and lots of vegetables in fact our diet was very high in fibre and although you must not get constipated during the treatment for my husband it was quite the other way round so we went for fish and chicken, plain meals with only one vegetable. He developed a sweet tooth during treatment but as sugars feed cancer we tried to find alternatives such as banana and yoghurt. The specialist advised about 3 litres (yes litres) of water during the treatment which helps to flush the treatment through the body. This again however has a knock on effect as the need to urinate about every two hours was tiring. My husband now drinks about a litre and half to two litres of water a day plus nettle/fennel teas. (decaffinated or naturally free of caffeine drinks are recommended. tea and coffee will dehydrate which is contra indicated). He has to get up a couple of times only now durig the night but as we are a bit older it is okay to have forty winks in the afternoon.

I hope the above has been of some help, you sound a very positive girl and I am sure you will be a great help to your Dad.

best wishes

[Musketeers7 in reply to butterflyEi]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for your reply. It has been very informative and I have shared your response with my dad..

I will definitely take the information you've given me into account and will start guiding my dad in the directions of changing his diet and keeping hydrated.

My dad's diagnosis all began when he was having issues urinating. It was taking him a very long time, as well as it being painful. There was also blood in his urine. The doctors told him that he had a bad infection, so meds were prescribed. He then went on for more tests when referred to the hospital.. this is then when he was placed on testosterone replacement... just turns out that now that was the very much the wrong type of medication!

Thanks again for your message.

I will be ensuring my dad has plenty of water from now on!!

[HughVG]

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear about all of this. Prostate cancer is bad enough without all of the other complications. I don't think your dad has stage 4 PC. If it was stage 4 it would have spread and been inoperable. I think what you mean is Gleason 4 (or 6). This means that the cancer its self is very treatable. Probably caused by the testosterone treatment. Is he being given hormone treatment to bring his testosterone down? He should also be given Zoladronic Acid, or better still Denosumab for his osteoporosis. This would help his condition greatly. May I ask, where you live? This can also affect his treatment.

Very best wishes and good luck.

[Musketeers7 in reply to HughVG]

Hey there, Thank you so much for your response.

Having had a look at my dad's hospital letters it is his Gleason score that is a 6. It specifically says "3+3=6 Gleason" ...

My dad has told me that the doctors have said that he would not be able to have operable treatment due to his medical history and meds that he is on.

They are still doing tests to see if the cancer has spread... My grandad on my mothers side has the same cancer but his has spread to his bones. He has been told that the cancer will not kill him... he goes to the hospital for hormone injections every so often.. He is 78 and seems to be doing quite well and keeping healthy.

I am praying that my dad's has not spread.. but we all expect the worst nowadays.. As I am sure everyone does.

I am very worried about the NHS and the way they restrict treatments and medication due to their budgets... The last thing I want is for them to place my dad aside and not do anything to prevent this getting worse.

(He was diagnosed with pneumonia a few years back, but they failed to find his life threatening blood clots and DVT!!! - He was in and out of the hospital several times that year.. and it was left for them to find his PEs and DVT on the night where he was perhaps an hour away of passing away. From this day on, my faith in the healthcare system has lowered dramatically and I just hope that nothing is missed this time round.

Thank you for the names of the medications... I will definitely mention these to my dad as well as to his doctor, as he has not been informed of these just yet.

[HughVG]

Hi, a Gleason score that is a 6 does not mean his cancer is stage 6. The cancer staging goes from T1 to T4. T4 is advanced, with the cancer having spread put of the prostate to other parts on the body, usually the bones and is inoperable. This is called metastasised and usually happens when the Gleason score is higher than 6. Gleason goes from 1 to 10 and 6 is at the lower end of the scale and usually treatable.

The NHS has very strict treatment pathways for prostate cancer treatment and in the main these are very good. His treatment will not be affected by new budgetary requirements. Your father will get the correct treatment for his illness. Zoladronic Acid is not available on the treatment pathway for prostate cancer, but it it for osteoporosis and should be given as will strengthen his bones and reduce pain.