Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Prostate Cancer (Expert Forum)
Treatment options for my dad
This forum is for questions about: Advanced or Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Biopsy, Bone Scan, Blood in Urine or Semen, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), CT Scan, Cystoscopy, Erectile Dysfunction, Hormone Therapy, Incontinence, Pain (abdomen, low back or hip), PSA Test, Prostatitis , Radiation Therapy, Rectal Exam, Recurrent Cancer, Risk Factors, Screening, Staging (Tumor size; Metastasis), Surgery, Transrectal Ultrasound, Urinary Difficulty or Burning, Urinary Urgency (Leaking), Watchful Waiting.
Treatment options for my dad
by elaine391, Oct 25, 2009 08:10PM
Dear Doctor Tewari,
(Apologies if this question appears twice... I'm new to MedHelp and I think I posted this question once in the wrong place...)
My dad is 79 and he lives in Hong Kong. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with metastases in his bones about a year ago. He had never had any kind of treatment prior to diagnosis. He was put on LHRH agonist treatment in Oct 2008 (1 shot every 3 months). His PSA went down for 6 months, then at the 9 month mark it had started to go back up. Flutamide was added back to his treatment regimen, but at the 12 month mark his PSA had shot up a lot more again. So they withdrew the flutamide and discussed treatment options including additional hormone shots, palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. I think he is considered to have hormone refractory disease at this point, is this correct?
My dad is not a technical person and he is extremely confused about all these options and what he should try and in which order, and whether or not any of it was worth the side effects. I did some research and found some information from prostate-cancer.com and from prostate-cancer.org.uk, but some of it is too technical for him. Where can I find comprehensible information designed for patients that explains what his treatment options are at this point in time, how those treatments are administered, what the side effects are, and the probability of a favorable response for each of these treatment options? Thanks very much for any information you can share.
Elaine
(Apologies if this question appears twice... I'm new to MedHelp and I think I posted this question once in the wrong place...)
My dad is 79 and he lives in Hong Kong. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer with metastases in his bones about a year ago. He had never had any kind of treatment prior to diagnosis. He was put on LHRH agonist treatment in Oct 2008 (1 shot every 3 months). His PSA went down for 6 months, then at the 9 month mark it had started to go back up. Flutamide was added back to his treatment regimen, but at the 12 month mark his PSA had shot up a lot more again. So they withdrew the flutamide and discussed treatment options including additional hormone shots, palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. I think he is considered to have hormone refractory disease at this point, is this correct?
My dad is not a technical person and he is extremely confused about all these options and what he should try and in which order, and whether or not any of it was worth the side effects. I did some research and found some information from prostate-cancer.com and from prostate-cancer.org.uk, but some of it is too technical for him. Where can I find comprehensible information designed for patients that explains what his treatment options are at this point in time, how those treatments are administered, what the side effects are, and the probability of a favorable response for each of these treatment options? Thanks very much for any information you can share.
Elaine
Post Comment
