metastatic prostate cancer pain..HELP

melle
melle Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
Hello,

I'm new and I need help. My father's been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer with a PSA of 215, and went up to 256 in 3 days, and now all of a sudden it went down to 134. No treatments have been done yet by the doctor, we are given hormone therapy option, the doctor will start the injection on tuesday (day after tomorrwo). The mets are on his spine, pelvis and very little on the skull.

I dont know what to do, he is in pain..he keeps saying that his shoulders ache and his lower back, and that he's got acid reflux that could block his breathing. It got worse lastnight and he has not recovered from the pain / soreness. The pain killers the doctor gave are not working and neither is the sleeping pills.

He keeps saying that he feels bloated, and getting acid reflux. And that also, the pain /aches on the shoulder area is not manageable anymore, on a scal of 1 - 10 it is now 9.

Are these things expected from metastatic prostate cancer? The thing is he keeps saying the pain / aches he has had it forever and it runs in the family.. the doctor did not agree with him, although his MRI says that the area around his shoulders are fine (apart from the bone) ..and i'm not sure if that pain is from the bone...

i really dont know what to do.... we have not been scheduled for radiation, we will be in the next 2 months... after the hormone therapy injection on tuesday.

Will hormone therapy make the pain go away? it's unbearable to watch... what should we do?

appreciate your comments ....:(

Comments

  • fathersson
    fathersson Member Posts: 121
    #2
    Hello

    My thoughts are with you. My Dad went through this a decade ago. Now I have PC as well but thankfully it has been caught early. I do know that the Doctors eventually prescribed morphine to kill my Dads pain.. you may want to check into this.

    Good luck,

    Frank
  • melle
    melle Member Posts: 3
    #3
    fathersson said:

    Hello

    My thoughts are with you. My Dad went through this a decade ago. Now I have PC as well but thankfully it has been caught early. I do know that the Doctors eventually prescribed morphine to kill my Dads pain.. you may want to check into this.

    Good luck,

    Frank

    Frank,
    thank you for your
    Frank,

    thank you for your comment, so hormone therapy is not going to make the pain go away then? If his PSA level goes down, will it still be there? Do you know if a healthy diet will help?
  • Trew
    Trew Member Posts: 932 Member
    #4
    Melle, a lot of us have
    Melle, a lot of us have never been where your father is and we are doing everything we can not to be in his stage of cancer. I'm sure for many it is a challenge to know just how to repond to your post. Your father's condition sounds very serious and I wish with all my heart I could offer advice or insights into what he is facing. I do know others on these boards or else their caregivers have been where you and your father are right now and a patient seaching of the posts here might give you some answers.

    Also, the ACS has a support phone number. Early in my travels with PC I called the number and found the one answering was very supportive. One of the questions I asked about bladder neck invasion could not be answered by the person I contacted and she took my phone number and called me back when she had gotten an answer from one of her support people.

    So go to the top of the page and find thehelp number of ACS and give them call. I think it would be a great help to you right now.

    May my tenderest regards to you and your father. As you know, PC can be very tough, very hard on a man.

    May the Lord be with both of you right now.
  • melle
    melle Member Posts: 3
    #5
    Trew said:

    Melle, a lot of us have
    Melle, a lot of us have never been where your father is and we are doing everything we can not to be in his stage of cancer. I'm sure for many it is a challenge to know just how to repond to your post. Your father's condition sounds very serious and I wish with all my heart I could offer advice or insights into what he is facing. I do know others on these boards or else their caregivers have been where you and your father are right now and a patient seaching of the posts here might give you some answers.

    Also, the ACS has a support phone number. Early in my travels with PC I called the number and found the one answering was very supportive. One of the questions I asked about bladder neck invasion could not be answered by the person I contacted and she took my phone number and called me back when she had gotten an answer from one of her support people.

    So go to the top of the page and find thehelp number of ACS and give them call. I think it would be a great help to you right now.

    May my tenderest regards to you and your father. As you know, PC can be very tough, very hard on a man.

    May the Lord be with both of you right now.

    Thank you Trew, I wish where
    Thank you Trew, I wish where we live we have a better support group and helpline for cancer. Nonetheless, I will give them a call. He is 70 years old, I know the odds of beatingthe disease is very slim - though he may die of "natural causes" anyway (or with the disease).. but i am hoping that he can at least have a quality of life in his old days..and not stuck in bed, worrying what is wrong with him... and why this constant pain will not go away.
  • Trew
    Trew Member Posts: 932 Member
    #6
    melle said:

    Thank you Trew, I wish where
    Thank you Trew, I wish where we live we have a better support group and helpline for cancer. Nonetheless, I will give them a call. He is 70 years old, I know the odds of beatingthe disease is very slim - though he may die of "natural causes" anyway (or with the disease).. but i am hoping that he can at least have a quality of life in his old days..and not stuck in bed, worrying what is wrong with him... and why this constant pain will not go away.

    The phone number for the ACS
    The phone number for the ACS hotline is:


    Need answers? 1·800·ACS·2345
  • thankfuljen
    thankfuljen Member Posts: 2
    #7
    prostate cancer that has spread into bones
    Sorry to hear, on here to find out more abot this prostate cancer...My husband had prostate
    cancer that has spread to bones, pelvis,front of legs....they started him on hormone therpy and it really helped him....He had got where he couldn't hardly get in and out of
    car or bed...sleeping in recliner...they gave him some pills and shot, three days later his
    pain was gone....PSA was 191---next shot it went to 21 then to 0.5....after the third shot it was going back up to 13 and he was hurting again...so they started him on radiation this week....He has taken 4 treatments....pain is better....still hops some.praying that
    this will help...he has to take 10 radiation treatments....He has 6 more to go...
    Everyone is different so try the hormone treatments. We will be praying for him and you.
    I know what you are going thru, want to help him so bad and your hands is tired...the
    doctors are angels sent to us...We just have to try different things.Hope this helped
    some....Some things work diffent on different people....
  • 2ndBase
    2ndBase Member Posts: 220
    #8
    Pain Relief
    I am in hospice care and received a great deal of pain relief since starting on dexmethasone. It is a steriod and along with the morphine I have my pain level under control. Three weeks ago I was in severe pain. Do not expect much relief from hormone therapy and the side effects are very bad.
  • mrspjd
    mrspjd Member Posts: 694 Member
    #9
    2ndBase said:

    Pain Relief
    I am in hospice care and received a great deal of pain relief since starting on dexmethasone. It is a steriod and along with the morphine I have my pain level under control. Three weeks ago I was in severe pain. Do not expect much relief from hormone therapy and the side effects are very bad.

    2ndBase
    Glad to see you back posting again even if it is occasionally. You were missed here. Wishing you & your family heartfelt peace and comfort.
    Sincerely,
    mrs pjd
  • 1231kath
    1231kath Member Posts: 7
    #10
    MELLE, SO SORRY TO HEAR
    MELLE, SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR FATHER, MY HUSBAND ALSO HAS PC THAT HAS GONE TO THE BONE, HIPS, SPINE,SHOULDER, HE TAKES OXYCODIN, THEN FOR BREAK THROUGH PAIN HE TAKES VICODIN, THEN AT NIGHT MORE OXY, THE RADATION WILL HELP THE PAIN, I'M SURPRISED THERY HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET. I WOULD REALLY QUESTION THE ONG ON THIS. MY HUSBAN TAKES AT LEAST 3 VIC AND 3 VIC A DAY, HE WILL GET IN THE SPA IT HELPS WITH HIS BACK PAIN. WE R NOT AT MORPHINE YET, BUT I KNOW ITS NOT TO FAR DOWN THE ROAD FOR IT. HIS ONG SAYS THERE NO REASON FOR HIM TO BE IN PAIN AND WILL GIVE HIM ANYTHING HE NEEDS. I HAVE FOUND IT EASIER TO MAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERN BEFORE SEEING THE ONG, I KEEP A JOURNAL SO I CAN SHARE EACH DAY WITH THE NURSE OR DOCTOR ON WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING, ITS EASY TO FORGET FROM DAY TO DAY ON ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP. I PRAY FOR PEASE FOR MY HUSBAND WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS BATTLE FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS.

    BEST REGARDS, KATH
  • Trew
    Trew Member Posts: 932 Member
    #11
    1231kath said:

    MELLE, SO SORRY TO HEAR
    MELLE, SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR FATHER, MY HUSBAND ALSO HAS PC THAT HAS GONE TO THE BONE, HIPS, SPINE,SHOULDER, HE TAKES OXYCODIN, THEN FOR BREAK THROUGH PAIN HE TAKES VICODIN, THEN AT NIGHT MORE OXY, THE RADATION WILL HELP THE PAIN, I'M SURPRISED THERY HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET. I WOULD REALLY QUESTION THE ONG ON THIS. MY HUSBAN TAKES AT LEAST 3 VIC AND 3 VIC A DAY, HE WILL GET IN THE SPA IT HELPS WITH HIS BACK PAIN. WE R NOT AT MORPHINE YET, BUT I KNOW ITS NOT TO FAR DOWN THE ROAD FOR IT. HIS ONG SAYS THERE NO REASON FOR HIM TO BE IN PAIN AND WILL GIVE HIM ANYTHING HE NEEDS. I HAVE FOUND IT EASIER TO MAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERN BEFORE SEEING THE ONG, I KEEP A JOURNAL SO I CAN SHARE EACH DAY WITH THE NURSE OR DOCTOR ON WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING, ITS EASY TO FORGET FROM DAY TO DAY ON ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP. I PRAY FOR PEASE FOR MY HUSBAND WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS BATTLE FOR THE LAST 6 YEARS.

    BEST REGARDS, KATH

    Some of these posts hurt
    Some of these posts hurt just to rerad them. Sympathy and love seem like such meaningless words at times. I wish we could al swell up together in one big embrace and squeeze the pain and sickness away. But we can not. So we rest in the hope of a better life ahead.

    I do.
  • dakotarunner
    dakotarunner Member Posts: 102 Member
    #12
    Trew said:

    Some of these posts hurt
    Some of these posts hurt just to rerad them. Sympathy and love seem like such meaningless words at times. I wish we could al swell up together in one big embrace and squeeze the pain and sickness away. But we can not. So we rest in the hope of a better life ahead.

    I do.

    I agree Trew. We can not all
    I agree Trew. We can not all get together in person, but I have the feeling we are all together spirit. Positive thoughts and prayer can be a powerful force.

    Best to all. DR
  • thankfuljen
    thankfuljen Member Posts: 2
    #13
    prostate cancer that has spread to pelvis bone and front of legs
    My husband has already had his radiation treatments. He had to have 10 treatments...his legs are so much better. He can cross them and he hasn't been able to do that in a long time. The after effects are hitting him now, dirrea...it is ruff...but they have told him to take imodium A-D.....has helped but box says don't take no more than 4 in 24 hours...we
    was trying to go by that....didn't work to good...called today and they said not to go by
    box. take 2 first time and then 1 every time stool was loose....seems to help today.
    He took the hormone therphy shot it helped the pain to but only worked 8 months, then pain started back...He had to take shots every 4 months...Psa started back up and that is why they started his radiation treatment for pain....he didn't have any side effects from harmone treatment, some do and some don't everybody is different....I don't count sex as a side effect because as long as we have each other thats all that counts....Having him for 48 years come Dec. and wanting him 48 more is all that counts. We are praying for your Dad.
    Please pray for us to.
    Thankfuljen
  • havit2
    havit2 Member Posts: 21
    #14
    thankfuljen said:

    prostate cancer that has spread to pelvis bone and front of legs
    My husband has already had his radiation treatments. He had to have 10 treatments...his legs are so much better. He can cross them and he hasn't been able to do that in a long time. The after effects are hitting him now, dirrea...it is ruff...but they have told him to take imodium A-D.....has helped but box says don't take no more than 4 in 24 hours...we
    was trying to go by that....didn't work to good...called today and they said not to go by
    box. take 2 first time and then 1 every time stool was loose....seems to help today.
    He took the hormone therphy shot it helped the pain to but only worked 8 months, then pain started back...He had to take shots every 4 months...Psa started back up and that is why they started his radiation treatment for pain....he didn't have any side effects from harmone treatment, some do and some don't everybody is different....I don't count sex as a side effect because as long as we have each other thats all that counts....Having him for 48 years come Dec. and wanting him 48 more is all that counts. We are praying for your Dad.
    Please pray for us to.
    Thankfuljen

    thankfuljen
    I was also suffering with bone mets, unable to sleep, barely able to walk. I opted for orchiectomy and casodex (not that I had many options). I try not to spend too much time thinking about what lies ahead and what other treatments and side effects I may have then. I feel I am blessed now to have the time, when I have the strength and energy to live almost normal. My prayers are with you, everyday.
  • wolf
    wolf Member Posts: 7
    #15
    High PSA and bone metastases
    Hi Melle,
    You may want to read the story of a patient who had a PSA of 420 and bone metastases at: http://www.protonbob.com/testimonials/testimonial40.asp
    I had the same treatment in 1994 (my PSA on initial diagnosis was 101.6) and my PSA 2 weeks ago was 0.3 - absolutely no side effects.

    Wolf

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