Surgery

[Roverjohn]

Hi I have been taking hydroxycarbamide and low dose aspirin for 8 years and these have been successful in bringing my blood counts to within tolerances. I have had no adverse side effects. I now have a decision to make whether to have surgery or radiotherapy to remove a cancerous prostate. Will my mpn blood condition be a key factor in my decision?.

[Mazcd Partner MPNVoice]

Hi Roverjohn, good to hear that your blood counts are ok, but sorry that you are having to have treatment for your prostate, with regards to the choice between surgery and radiotherapy, it would be best to discuss this with your haematologist and the specialist you are seeing about the prostate, it is important that they liaise with each other and you, and advise you accordingly about all the pros and cons associated with either choice.

There is a lot of very useful information on the Prostate Cancer UK website which might be helpful to you.

prostatecanceruk.org/prosta...

Best wishes, Maz

[Applesnpears]

You need to speak to your haematologist and your oncologist about your situation and any concerns you have. They can explain the risks and benefits in your situation. In principal your MPN should not be a barrier to radiotherapy or surgery but the details might need to be modified depending on the type of MPN you have.

Equally important is your wider state of health and attitude to what is proposed and the potential side effects / risks associated with either approach.

Its certainly worth exploring the different surgical options the might be suitable for you. Prostate surgery has seen many new developments in recent years.

[katiewalsh]

Hi. Maz is absolutely correct, of course. Will your surgery be the less extensive robotic? That might make a difference with your doctors. My brother in law had prostate cancer & has no problems since his surgery years ago. Good luck. Katie

[Iyana271]

Hi there, it is a great thing that you've had no side effects of medication and your blood count is back to normal. I can understand that making the right decision regarding your treatment is quite hard, but it is really important though. Choosing between radiation therapy or surgery to remove cancerous prostate depends on how you want the treatment. Both treatments have side effects including bladder, bowel, leaking urine or erection problems and both treatments work well and are used for different situations.

If you want to treat your prostate cancer by having your prostate removed then you can go with the surgery option. And if your goal is to treat cancer avoid the risks of surgery then you can go with radiation therapy option.

Going with radiation than surgery may help to avoid erection problems. But I think it will be best for you if you'll get a consultation from your doctor. As per his experience, he can give you the best options for the treatment of prostate cancer.

[hunter5582]

Regarding the MPN - very broadly speaking, my experience has been that it is better to opt for a procedure that causes more minimal bleeding, tissue damage, inflammation. this tend to minimize any reactive thrombocytosis. However, dealing with prostate cancer means dealing with effectively treating this potentially more serious form of cancer. As you likely already know, at least some of us with MPNs are at increased risk for prostate cancer and other neoplasms. Your MPN status may well have a bearing on how aggressive your treatment needs to be to successfully treat the prostate cancer. Getting a MPN Specialist to work with the urologist dealing with the prostate treatment is very important as the urologist likely knows very little about MPNs.

I had to have a prostate surgery for BPH several years ago. A most unpleasant experience with a sub-optimal outcome. Please be sure to be very clear with your treating urologist about what your goals and priorities are in seeking this treatment. There have been advances in nerve-sparing treatments and techniques that increase the chances of avoiding incontinence and the other perils of prostatectomy. Finding a skilled up-to-date surgeon who will respect your priorities in how this surgery is conducted is very important to the ultimate outcome.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers. All the best to you in dealing with this.

[josiede]

Hi I had aggressive radiotherapy but stopped taking any medication for et because radiotherapy lowers your white blood cells, I had to argue with the doctors to accep5 me stopping taking medicatition . I was pu5 on drugs for breast cancers , here’s the thing this was five years ago and haven’t needed any medication for et and the doctors are talking about me being cured I don’t know if it’s the radiotherapy or the breast cancer drugs because trials are being run using breast cancer drugs and are having very good results , so maybe talk to your hemeotologist see if 5hey can shine a light on it , I would be happy to answer any questions