Mid point in 3 prong treatment

[EdinBmore]

AS for 7 yrs. Change in situation in August: 3+4, PSA 22, non palpable DRE; localized. Two uros, 2 radiation oncologists, and internist all recommended treatment. Each, of course, recommended his area of expertise. Uro=surgery. Radiation = radiation. Shocking! LOL

ADT (Firmagon and then Lupron; duration 4 mos thus far. No recommendation re length of ADT yet, probably 1-2 yrs...omg. Btw, ADT is devastating to me.) 25 IMRT sessions will end this wk. Woo-hoo. Fatigue and more frequent urination at night. No other side effects as of now. I'm lucky. Brachtherapy boost scheduled for 1/4. Doc will determine number of seeds "real time," meaning at the time of surgery based upon probe and lab results.

This trifecta approach scares me. There will be nothing left of my prostate and I fear the combination of treatments will only compound the side effects.

Anyone out there have experience with this treatment approach? Short/long term side effects?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Happy holidays (I apologize if that seems inappropriate here).

Ed

[Tall_Allen]

That's pretty heavy-duty for a GS 3+4, but your PSA puts you in the high risk category. The big risk is late term serious (Grade 3) urinary complications, which hits 18% of guys within a few years. Fortunately, the percent who still continued to have such difficulties at 5 years is much lower (9%).

[EdinBmore in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall Allen,

I appreciate your insights, comments and encouragement. What do you mean by The big risk is late term serious (Grade 3) urinary complications."? Be specific, please. Although it may not happen to me, I want to know more. Thanks for your continued help.

[Tall_Allen in reply to EdinBmore]

I'm just reporting the findings from the ASCENDE-RT randomized clinical trial:

redjournal.org/article/S036...

[JimVanHorn]

Well I am 73 years old and have had PCa for 11 years. I have had a total of 72 radiations and been on Lupron for 6 1/2 years. I had 42 radiations in 2007 then they found metastases and I had 30 more in 2011. I started Lupron (Eligard - generic) in 2011 and took it every 3 months for 6 1/2 years. I still have all my "junk", but I no longer have PCa. So I suggest you listen to one of your doctors and stick with the program (unless there are complications). I am on active surveillance now and see the doctor every 6 months. You are lucky that new medications are on the market that we did not have in 2007. Keep a positive attitude, and always keep truckin'.