Weight loss & chronic Fatigue

Lilabit
Lilabit Member Posts: 5 Member
edited April 2022 in Prostate Cancer #1



Hi

My husband who is 87 years old has prostate cancer (enlarged)for several years and Dr.checkups each year.No worries.

Last summer he suddenly started to lose weight without trying and lost over 20lbs over a 2 month period. His doctors regular had him exrayed, scans ,blood tests, and sent to heart doctor, skin doctor (he had melantonim 9 years ago) free of skin cancer and no one could explain his weight loss. My husband was very active, still biking around the nieghbour on two wheels and nieghbours amazed knowing he has age-related macular and can't see well and had knee surgery when he was 85 and came through with flying colors for his age. Went to the gym, no health problems other than the prostate which did not deter his life. The prostate doctor had sent him for tests a while back, but his appointment was in December 2019. In the meantime, his enegry level was low for no reason. My husband thought it was due to his prostate cancer, so before we visited the doctor, research all about prostate cancer, the stages, etc. the treatments.

The doctor told us that my husband's psa went from 24 to 31.7  His gleason score 3,4 for a score of 7.Stage T3B. The doctor did say that the cancer had not spread outside of his prostate. I specially asked the doctor if this stage of his cancer could cause the weight loss and his fatigue. He said no,and suggested we should take this up with the family docotor. Might be thyroid.Then he talked about treatments ( read about those too and it sounds worse than the disease). We decided not to do take treatment at this time, as I felt something else was going on with weight loss, and fatigue, and see if I can get to the botom of this. Wait and see approach check back in 3months. The treatment the doctor suggested was hormone therapy and if my husbaqnd would start on that therapy he would be camatose! If the cancer is not causing his weight loss now 10 more lbs and now he's progessed to extreme fatigue that he can barley wallk and is lying down all the time, then treatment would be worse.

His quality of life right now is he can barley walk, bathroom continuously day and night, has good appetite, has to eat 3 good meals, or has upset stomach, does not have any energy to go out anywhere and feels uncomfortable, can't articulate how he feels, does not have pain, just chronically tired And all this without any treatment.

I am trying mega does of Vitamin C, D, B12 and other supplements like zinc, selemium. Is it normal to have such weight loss and fatigue at this stage of his cancer and without any treatment?

Thanks for any advice, suggestions and information.

God bless you all.

Lilabit




Comments

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    #2
    Previous comments

    I have already replied to this enquiry in another thread and the enquirerer replied;

    Georges wrote;

    Hi Lilabit,
    Can you start a new forum topic for your husband's problem?
    This is Daniel57's topic so it is less confusing if people do not post new problems into his topic.
    Copy your stuff and then go to the front page, choose Add new Forum topic and then paste your stuff into the first post.
    I could do it for you if you like.
    When you have done this we can discuss your husband's case further.
    The short answer to your initial question is no.
    A case of Stage 3b prostate cancer should be almost symptom free, there may be urinary difficulties, etc, but drastic weight loss, etc sounds very unlikely.
    Has you husband had an MRI, bone scan, etc?

    Best wishes,

    Georges

    Lilabet wrote;

    Thank you George, sorry I see now that this was the wrong place to put my husbands story and did what you suggested. Trouble is I tried to delete the page here, but could not. Is there a way I can do this?
    Yes George, his last MRI was in December 2019 and has had bone scan previously, plus x rays, blood tests. I drove him to many labs for testing. Thank you again.

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    edited May 2020 #3
    Weight loss and fatigue

    Hi Lilabet,

    I feel that your urologist is right, there is no evidence that it has spread outside the prostate and a cancer of this type and  size would not have such a dramatic effect on your husband's health.
    I think that you have to consult with another doctor on the subject and maybe try some more tests on metabolic function?
    As you say your husband has already had a great deal of x rays, MRI, etc and they should have found something else that was abnormal.
    Hormone therapy is not that bad and it can control prostate cancer for a very long time.
    At your husband's age, surgery and radiation is not likely to be an option.
    Evidently you have to get to the bottom of this other problem which I feel is not connected to the prostate cancer before proceeding with the hormone therapy as the added strain would knock him for six.

    Best wishes,

    Georges


  • eonore
    eonore Member Posts: 185 Member
    #4
    Your husband

    As Georges said, you need to consult with a doctor who can get to the bottom of this.  Perhaps an internist or endocrinologist.

  • Lilabit
    Lilabit Member Posts: 5 Member
    edited July 2020 #5
    Georges Calvez said:

    Weight loss and fatigue

    Hi Lilabet,

    I feel that your urologist is right, there is no evidence that it has spread outside the prostate and a cancer of this type and  size would not have such a dramatic effect on your husband's health.
    I think that you have to consult with another doctor on the subject and maybe try some more tests on metabolic function?
    As you say your husband has already had a great deal of x rays, MRI, etc and they should have found something else that was abnormal.
    Hormone therapy is not that bad and it can control prostate cancer for a very long time.
    At your husband's age, surgery and radiation is not likely to be an option.
    Evidently you have to get to the bottom of this other problem which I feel is not connected to the prostate cancer before proceeding with the hormone therapy as the added strain would knock him for six.

    Best wishes,

    Georges


    Update

    Thank you George for your information. It was very helpful as you answered my question and confirmed what I was thinking. As we were waiting for a appointment with his family doctor, I continued with my online research and found what I thought might be answer to the energy and weight loss, other symtoms that matched him perfectly, plus the consquencies if not treated and he has those too with his AD-Fib. since I could not go in with him to see the doctor, gave my husband the research for hyerthyroidismi. My husband again specified to the doctor, his symptoms were not getting better and told him that his urologist suggested that this could be caused by his thyroids, and then asked his doctor if he had done the thyroid tests. So his doctor said no and said we need to take another approach to this and gave my husband another requsition for blood tests. Tests came back negative. Now his doctor is bringing in a specialist like an internist. So this is where we are at now. ( I believe my husband did not give the doctor my findings, as there were other tests needed to determine hyper).

    Thanks again, 

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #6
    Selemium

    Not a good idea to take selemium...a few years back there was a study, THE SELECT STUDY, done among 35K men to determine positive benefits of vtiamins E and Selemium with regard to prostate cancer. The study was stopped midway since these vitamins instead increasedthe probability of men getting prostate cancers.

     

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