Need Help

misswings28
misswings28 Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
My 68 year old husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had surgery approximately four months ago. At the time of his surgery, they found the cancer had spread quite extensively. He was sent home to heal, and now is undergoing an exhausting daily 6 weeks of HDR, High Density Radiotherapy, treatments. Please - if anyone in here has had a similar experience please let me know what your results were. We are terrified.

Comments

  • Benji48
    Benji48 Member Posts: 117
    #2
    Hi Misswings. First of all dont panic! I was first diagnosed with pca at age 67, underwent surgery, was fine for about 3 yrs before my psa started to rise & then underwent radiotherapy of 36 treatments because it had escaped the capsule.Don't know what you mean by "spread quite extensively".Has it reached the lymph node system or not or are there just "margins"(as was the case in my situation)??I'm presently 72, still alive & kicking, feeling no pain as the saying goes.Contact a local support group in your area & get all the information you possibly can.
    Best of luck & try not to be overly concerned. I know it's difficult but you must do it!
    cheers, Benny
  • lindatn
    lindatn Member Posts: 229
    #3
    My husband at 62 and a PSA of 59 just finished 42 radiation treatments, 26 external pelvic, 16 IMRT to the prostate only. How high was your husband PSA? The treatments are long but he went through fine, drove everyday a 100 miles. He has been out of treatment for two months and is doing well. He also was on Lupron which has been the worst. We have gone into alternative medicene and diet, there are many websights on it. We also confer with a ND Dr in FL for herbs etc. We feel he will probably have a better chance with this as with Western medicene. We are no new comers to cancer as I'm just a year out of treatment for Breast cancer so we have both been down the road. By the way when ones husband has prostate cancer it is more likely for you to have breast cancer then the average odds. Take care of yourself also and have a mammogram. We no longer eat any meat or chicken and only a small amount of fish.Mostly fruits and vegetables. Good for the weight also. How far has your husband cancer spread? Never give up hope, keep on loving and praying. Linda
  • nutt
    nutt Member Posts: 140
    #4
    lindatn said:

    My husband at 62 and a PSA of 59 just finished 42 radiation treatments, 26 external pelvic, 16 IMRT to the prostate only. How high was your husband PSA? The treatments are long but he went through fine, drove everyday a 100 miles. He has been out of treatment for two months and is doing well. He also was on Lupron which has been the worst. We have gone into alternative medicene and diet, there are many websights on it. We also confer with a ND Dr in FL for herbs etc. We feel he will probably have a better chance with this as with Western medicene. We are no new comers to cancer as I'm just a year out of treatment for Breast cancer so we have both been down the road. By the way when ones husband has prostate cancer it is more likely for you to have breast cancer then the average odds. Take care of yourself also and have a mammogram. We no longer eat any meat or chicken and only a small amount of fish.Mostly fruits and vegetables. Good for the weight also. How far has your husband cancer spread? Never give up hope, keep on loving and praying. Linda

    Sounds as if you already got some good advise.
    Don't panic. Take one day at a time. When the doctors get done describing the situtatuion it usually appears huge but it isn't. One day at a time.
    Joe
  • mboneal
    mboneal Member Posts: 9
    #5
    I don't know if the email I sent you went through or not. My husband had surgery almost 6 months ago and have been blessed with many positive test results and some not so good. Garys margin tested postive but his lymphs were clear. Being the wife is one of the toughest jobs ever! I have cried more tears then I thought possible, have been on nerve medicine and anti-depressants for a short time. But I am thankful that my doctor saw fit to reconize my total inability to handle something like this. But my terror turned into a need to learn as much as I could about prostate cancer and how this all fit into Garys diagnosis. The one important thing is to learn everything you can about his pathology reports, scores, actual gleason, extent of the spread of cancer...where to how extensive and talk to your doctor his nurse, this dicussion board and know that you will be prayered for here and kept in many hearts and minds. We have been blessed and so far have been cancer free. My prayer for you is the same. Take care, Mary and Gary
  • carmenf
    carmenf Member Posts: 3
    #6
    mboneal said:

    I don't know if the email I sent you went through or not. My husband had surgery almost 6 months ago and have been blessed with many positive test results and some not so good. Garys margin tested postive but his lymphs were clear. Being the wife is one of the toughest jobs ever! I have cried more tears then I thought possible, have been on nerve medicine and anti-depressants for a short time. But I am thankful that my doctor saw fit to reconize my total inability to handle something like this. But my terror turned into a need to learn as much as I could about prostate cancer and how this all fit into Garys diagnosis. The one important thing is to learn everything you can about his pathology reports, scores, actual gleason, extent of the spread of cancer...where to how extensive and talk to your doctor his nurse, this dicussion board and know that you will be prayered for here and kept in many hearts and minds. We have been blessed and so far have been cancer free. My prayer for you is the same. Take care, Mary and Gary

    I, too, am the wife of a prostate cancer patient and have some of the same questions you have written in this email.

    My husband had surgery this past Monday to remove his prostate. The pathology testing showed his prostate was Gleason 7, his lymph nodes clear, but as the Dr worded it, "he had a microscopic break in the prostate shell". I'm not sure at this point what that means. He said it could mean that cancer cells escaped so he is recommending radiation as a precaution as soon as my husband recuperates from the surgery (in
    4-6 months). Can anyone tell me what to expect or does anyone have a similar situation? We were so hoping the surgery would get rid of this problem.
  • pickeroon
    pickeroon Member Posts: 2
    #7
    carmenf said:

    I, too, am the wife of a prostate cancer patient and have some of the same questions you have written in this email.

    My husband had surgery this past Monday to remove his prostate. The pathology testing showed his prostate was Gleason 7, his lymph nodes clear, but as the Dr worded it, "he had a microscopic break in the prostate shell". I'm not sure at this point what that means. He said it could mean that cancer cells escaped so he is recommending radiation as a precaution as soon as my husband recuperates from the surgery (in
    4-6 months). Can anyone tell me what to expect or does anyone have a similar situation? We were so hoping the surgery would get rid of this problem.

    carmenf,
    I had a very similar situation, but I chose hormone therapy and radiation. See the messages on this message board entitled "Questions on radiation therapy", and hit on the reply by Pickeroon(that's me) The very best thing we can do is be loving and understanding to our spouces. The thoughts go wild at times, with the worst case scenerio usually dominating our minds, BUT remember, a loving, gentle, patient wife is a treasure to her man. There are so many new advances with this cancer, that we can not imagine the medical progress we'll see in just 2-3 years! So be encouraged. It also helps to have lots of people petitioning the Lord for you two every day! Love, Kim

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