What prostate cancer treatment option is right for me?

Hi Joseph I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 4/12/2022. I was given the options by my urologist. Surgery or radiation. I met with my urologist, primary care physician, and possible radiation oncologists before making the decision. My urologist told me my Gleason score was 8-10, so he told me treatment the Sooner the better whatever my choice was. Before I made my choice my urologist scheduled a radioactive full body bone scan. I can tell you more about that if you wish. The results confirmed my cancer was localized to my prostate. I think you call that stage 1. My cancer had not metastasized to my bones or other organs in my body. So that clarified or confirmed my options after meeting with oncology. I knew what would happen after surgery, hormones therapy or radiation. The choice was mine. Even though I had already made or gave my sister my power of health attorney. I had that document drawn up by my lawyer long before being diagnosed with cancer. For just in case I can’t make my own health decisions. I chose surgery. Anyway long story short I also had hormone therapy before and after surgery and radiation after surgery. My Psa at diagnosis was 6.7. In 2022. My last Psa June 2026 was 0.18. Message me if you want to know more

Making treatment decisions for prostate cancer can feel overwhelming, and reaching out to connect with others who understand this journey shows real wisdom. The community here has walked similar paths and can offer valuable perspectives on weighing factors like treatment goals, potential side effects, and quality of life considerations that helped guide their own decisions alongside their medical teams.

Dear Joseph S — I’ll add my story to that of John P because my story is almost exactly the same as his, including diagnosis year, PSA, Gleason, alternative treatments. As a result of my treatments with 42x EBRT and 4 months of ADT in the first 6 months of 2024, I developed 29 negative side effects. Two years later, I had 25 of those same side effects—none were better and many were worse, plus this year I’ve acquired another three complications. What I most regret about my handling of this entire misadventure is that 1) I hadn’t hurried my decision; there’s plenty of time to interview doctors and institutions and, above all, make YOUR OWN decisions; 2) I didn’t know about O4M so I missed out on reading about the experiences of dozens or hundreds of patients who had already gone through everything I’ve gone through; 3) I didn’t read the hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed, professional medical journals that deal with every form and consequence of every type of PCa; 4) I mistakenly thought my doctors and medical providers would fully warn me of the dozens of harms and afflictions possible with radiation and hormone suppression and have since learned—too late— that’s not what most doctors do. Now it’s too late for me, but I hope your experience will be dramatically better than mine.

Hi Dave. Does 42x EBRT mean 42 rounds of radiation? Is there more than one kind of radiation? I had 28 rounds of radiation at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Part of Yale New Haven Medical I’ll have to contact my oncologists and look at my MyChart to see which kind of radiation I had. Whatever I had worked.

Dear John P — It’s my understanding there are multiple modalities within the realm of radiation, one of which is EBRT=electron beam radio therapy. I had 42 treatments because my body can’t take full doses at each session owing to three previous urological procedures I had that were botched in one way or another and made things worse rather than better. The last of those procedures was UroLift, which has literally caused no end of troubles to this day. More like you was my PSA of 6.7, Gleason 8, Stage 1, localized to prostate only. Nonetheless, I’ve learned through O4M that every body is truly different, so the same numbers don’t predict the same treatment outcomes. Also, my age at treatment was 74, an advanced age at which side effects tend to be more numerous and less likely to dissipate. Thanks for your postings; I would have lost all hopes if it weren’t for all the stories, like yours, on O4M.

Mine was caught early but growing very fast. I elected for surgery first because if not finished by radiation surgery was not possible later.

Thomas—PET scan showed my tumor only in one core and only 0.83mm so radiation seemed better choice than RP. Also, no matter which I chose, my disease profile is such that 99.9% of patients are dead within 10 years of diagnosis, so I went with what gave me a shot at restoring sexuality and maintaining muscle mass.

Joseph, like some others here - I too had the option of surgery or radiation. It is a personal choice which way to go depending on one's lifestyle and overall health condition. My Gleason score was just under the need for hormone therapy so I (based on all of the above) chose radiation (5 consecutive sessions of 1 hour each, but there are other options of shorter sessions [15 minutes] throughout 46 days). Exercise and a good diet is key with either decision of surgery or radiation. Lastly, discussing with my family and healthcare team was also key. And a mental health provider is also a good idea given all the emotions one has to navigate. Hope this helps your decision; wishing you many blessings and a positive outcome.