Prostate Cancer - Gleason Score of 7

[boulette]

Hi, my father was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer about 18 months ago, with a PSA score of around 8. He was on a watch and wait procedure. Just last week, he had a 2nd biopsy where they said the cancer had now spread to the other part of the prostate. His Gleason has gone up from a 6 to a 7.
He is 77 years old, but looks about 60 and is VERY fit and healthy. He now has to have a scan to see if it is spread. We are all so worried, but I just wanted to ask, what is the likely hood that this has spread, bearing in mind it was very low grade just last year?
His gleason is 7 and his last PSA reading was 8.
Please help!
Thanks.

[purelife53]

Sounds like a bit of a problem but in no way an emergency. Relax and think about your Dad's options. He's getting a bone scan I presume and thats ok, but not required. At 77 in great shape lets try to keep him that way. Don't let the Doc talk you guys into Surgery, its not needed in my opinion. Your dad should live long enough with the Prostate Cancer to easily die from something else in the next 15 years or so. Most guys his age get 35 or so radiation treatments which take about 20 min. a day and have very few side effects. If you did only the Radiation he might be fine forever, but as iceing on the cake many docs follow or combine the radiation with hormones for a few months, the hormones have some nasty side effects but are usually well tolerated, This disease usually moves really slow in someone 77. I think he will be fine just take your time and discuss all the angles. Good Luck!

[boulette]

Thanks so much for your help and advice! Fingers crossed my dad will be ok with just the radiotherapy. Just praying it hasn't gone anywhere else.
Thanks!

[boulette]

Thanks Purelife53 for replying to my question.
My father had a scan and the results were it hadn't spread to anywhere else and he starts hormone and radiation treatment very soon!

[HIFUed]

Glad it hasn't spread!

Does he know how miserable he will be taking hormone treatment?  It gives him all the symptoms of menopause, hot flashes, mood swings, etc.  

I'd just do the seeds.

I did HIFU, which is totally painless, no hospital time, no cutting, no side effects, but it cost $25,000. and he must go to Puerto Vallarta or Nassau to get it.  It's approved all over the globe except here, where it was invented in 1941, it's in clinical trials here.  It has a 97% success rate--in a study out of Japan.  It's ultrasound!  high intense ultrasound, it cooks the gland.  If he is interested I could tell you more.

[boulette]

Hello and thanks for your message!

We are in the UK so we don't have the seeds. The only option he had was hormone treatment for 3 months alongside radiotherapy so he's started to take the first set of pills today.
He could have had it removed but they advised him against it, in case they don't manage to remove the whole of the cancer.
He saw his consultant who talked him through the hormone treatment so he knows what is what. He only hopes he wont need to wear a bra - at least he still has his sense of humour!
What is HIFU then?
Sarah.

[HIFUed]

It's ultrasound, high intense focused ultrasound.  It ablates/destroys the tissue of the prostate. During the HIFU procedure, sound waves are used to heat the prostate tissue thus destroying the cancerous cells. Essentially, ultrasonic waves are precisely focused on specific areas of the prostate to eliminate the prostate cancer with minimal risks of effecting other tissue or organs. Temperatures at the focal point of the sound waves can exceed 100oC In lay terms, the HIFU technology is similar to using a magnifying glass to burn a piece of paper by focusing sunlight at a small precise point on the sheet. The ability to focus the ultrasonic waves leads to a relatively low occurrence of both incontinence and impotence. (0.6% and 0-20%, respectively According to international studies, when compared to other procedures, HIFU has a high success rate with a reduced risk of side effects. Studies using the Sonablate 500 HIFU machine have shown that 94% of patients with a pretreatment PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) of less than 10g/ml were cancer-free after three years

The Japanese published data that showed a 97% success rate at 5 years for low risk cancer and a 64% for high risk.

Although not yet approved for use in the Uniteds States, many patients have received the HIFU procedure at facilities in Nassau, Canada, Mexico and South America. Europe has been using the HIFU technique for 18 years!  There are clinical studies in the UK, I guess no one told you about them.  Oxford Hospital and Royal Marston are two that I know of.  He could go to Belgium and get HIFU for $10,000.(or 6,800. pounds) or Germany for $12,000. or Italy for $6,000. or Switzerland for $12,000.  I could find the doctors names for you....

No hormone drugs are needed, no hospital time, no discomfort.  It's cheap though, so no enthusiasm from the medical community.

Hormone therapy isn't considered a "cure", it just suppresses the cancer.

[HIFUed]

oh, reread--he is also doing radiation, which is considered curative, but it does carry side effects, tired and flu like symptoms as well.  Much good luck to him.  There are many clinics in Europe that offer HIFU, many men from the USA go over for treatment.  

[boulette]

Hello and thanks for the follow up. That's really interesting to know as nothing of this was mentioned at his consultation. He is going "private" so his medical insurance is paying for his treatment, since the NHS (I'm sure you know all about our NHS) has such a long waiting list, he would have had to have waited about 2 months just for the initial scan!
I will mention the HIFU to him and maybe he can ask at his next consultation.
Thanks so much again for the advice, it's really helpful.
Sarah.

[HIFUed]

boulette said, "That's really interesting to know as nothing of this was mentioned at his consultation. "
Guess you guys are just as corrupt as we are.  When HIFU is approved the money the medical establisment brings in will shrink like crazy, as the side effects and complications are as close to non-existant as possible, and ultrasound is cheap.  the most important thing is to get a well experienced doctor, as HIFU is a skill learned like surgery, it takes practice.

My doctor didn't mention it either, I guess doctors can't really mention it until it is approved, but if you bring it up then they can answer.  

The out of pocket cost was nothing compared to the horror stories you can read at forums, my quality of life was worth every penny spent.