Dad diagnosed with prostate cancer, what next?

[nickypeaches]

Hi, my father was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is 66 year old. The urologist did a 6 core biopsy and out of the 6, 3 came back cancer. The gleason score was a 6. He has his consult with the urologist today. I am waitly patiently for my dad to call and tell me what next. What is next? I am so scared for him. I do not live near my dad, I wish I was able to go to his consult with him today. My father thinks the doctor will recommend radiation seed therapy. I also mentioned to my father that after his consult with his uro today he should go for another opinion and my dad disagrees with me. He says he is comfortable with his uro and he likes him. Can anyone tell me what they have been through with prostate cancer.....and after diagnoses what is next? Thank you in advance.

[Enoch Choi]

Multiple opinions is always a good idea, to confirm an initial proposed treatment.

A gleason score of 6 is not enough information to say what treatment is possible.  One also needs the morphology of cells found on biopsy.  The range of options are:
- no treatment (unlikely with gleason 6)
- radiation (external beam VS brachytherapy VS HDR)
- surgery (traditional VS robotic)

Make sure your dad discusses all of the available options.

Enoch Choi, MD

[nickypeaches]

It was a gleason score of 6 and it was graded a t2c. My father said the doctor aid it's in both lobes of the prostate. Is it possible some cancer could have spread outside to the lymph nodes or else where?
My father said they recommend either the radiation seed implants or removal of the prostate. My father says he'll go with the seed implant. My father will meet with the radiation oncologist next week. Then a stress test with a cardiologist then back for a consult with the urologist.

[Enoch Choi]

How'd all of the visits go?  That's a lot to do in the last 3 weeks.

The grading of t2c is concerning since it's a higher grade in the TNM categories.  It starts at T1c and goes up to T3a.  A higher grade carries more risk.

It's worth getting multiple opinions before deciding on one course of therapy.

Enoch Choi, MD

[nickypeaches]

Thank you for getting back to me. My father is scheduled to have the seed implants on May 8. Yesterday he received a call from the cardiologist that there is blockage in the heart and they want to do a cardiac catheterization on this Monday. He said they have to take care of the heart before he can have the prostate procedure done. Can the cancer spread in the meantime? Why is getting put to sleep for an hour and half for the radiation seed implants so dangerous for someone with heart complications? Is there a chance they can lose him while under anesthesia? I keep praying for my dad. He had a heart attack in 2000 with 2 stents put in during angioplasty.

[Edder]

At what age would you say it was no longer feasible to remove the prostate gland.  My grandfather is 75 years old and his doctor says they can not remove his prostate, rather they want to remove his testicles.  Also, he has been experiencing extreme testicle pain.  What home remedies can you recommend.