Prostate Cancer

[proudmary]

My lovely lovely dad has prostate cancer, he is 82 and recently had an operaton on his prostate so he could have his catheter removed, he had his catheter out for two weeks and it's now back in, We had some results fro his biopsy today, we were told that the scale for this type of cancer goes from 1 to 10 and that dad is a 9, we are seeing the consultant on Wednesday and are preparing ourselves for the worst. Mam isn't saying anything to dad she is waiting for the consultant to talk to them, does anyone know what this scale means? Is there a treatment we should ask about or is it too late? What kind of questions should we be asking the consultant? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Buenchico]

Quote:
Gleason score

The samples of tissue from the biopsy are then studied in a laboratory. If cancerous cells are found, they can be studied further to see how quickly the cancer will spread.

This measure is known as the Gleason score. The lower the score, the less likely the cancer will spread.

A Gleason score of 6 or less means the cancer is unlikely to spread.
A Gleason score of 7 means that there is a moderate chance of the cancer spreading.
A Gleason score of 8 or above means there is a significant chance that the cancer will spread.

Source:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cancer-of-the-prostate/Pages/Diagnosis.aspx

Click through the links in black type, near to the top of the page, for further information.

Chris

[Sqad]

Questions that i would ask in his position.

1)What is my PSA?
2) Can I have a bone scan?
3) What is your opinion (Urologist) re. ongoing treatment?

Good luck.

[fbg40]

Hi Proudmary
So sorry to hear of your Dad's diagnosis. I was diagnosed two years ago with prostate cancer but was fortunate enough to be told that my score on the Gleason scale was 3 + 3, i.e. 6 and that it was the least aggressive of all the cancers. I had my prostate removed followed by a course of radiotherapy, every day for 7 weeks. I know what it's like to be told you have cancer, so can fully sympathise with your Dad and your family. I just wish I could help you and your Dad. Good luck and please keep us posted.
FBG40

[beso]

Your Dad is an old man who has lived a long life.

Remember the joy.

[NOX]

Just because he is old if he is otherwise in good health then he needs to press for treatment if it's appropriate. I think sometimes it's easy for people who are younger to think we'll 80 odd is a good innings let's just go for quality of life etc. My ex father in law was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was very elderly and they told him 6- 12 months , what they didn't tell him was that was without treatment- he lived several very good years after pushing for treatment and it wasn't the cancer that killed him in the end- so make sure you ask what Squad suggests and don't rule anything out if you think it's appropriate to you and your Dad. Hope it turns out well for you.

[proudmary]

Hi all, thank you for your advice and comments, yes, dad is quite old and he has had a good innings but being very selfish I dont want to loose him. Anyway, the good news is that dad will be getting hormone treatment, his cancer is very aggressive but the hormones will help to shrink his prostate which will help.

[ChillDoubt]

As others have said, 82 is a pretty good innings. Just ensure he remains as comfortable and as pain free as possible, but I'm sure that was and is uppermost in your thinking anyway.
Hope all goes as well as can be expected for you and him.

[boxtops]

sorry to hear your news, but yes, see what treatments can be made available to your dad - if he's otherwise well, 82's not that old these days.