prostate cancer

[rolex]

Hormone therapy was great for 18 months but dads cancer now spread to ribcage, awful disease.. He's 93 now. Is it worth him having some radio therapy to just prolong the agony?

[Shaw Tarse]

Probably not

[Henners]

I have a relative (<40yrs old) who had just gone through radio.


She's fit an healthy but it really fked her up. For someone >90 (hell, even >70) I'd be leaning into the 'no' camp.

[Riley Blue]

Sadly at his age and with it having spread as it has it would be pointless.

[The_Doc]

rolex said:

Hormone therapy was great for 18 months but dads cancer now spread to ribcage, awful disease.. He's 93 now. Is it worth him having some radio therapy to just prolong the agony?

He should have the involvement of an oncologist, at least in a palliative capacity, and they can advise

Sometimes a targeted dose can be quick and easy.

Oncology and cancer treatment is a complicated issue. There is no such thing as "cancer", all the cell lineages are different and some are sensitive to radiotherapy, some chemo, and some neither.

EG. Prostate cancer can be: Acinar adenocarcinoma, OR Ductal adenocarcinoma OR Transitional cell (or urothelial) cancer OR Squamous cell cancer OR Small cell prostate cancer

see?

[julian64]

I wouldn't ask this question o nan internet forum because all you will get back is well meaning experience from dissimilar situations.

Radiotherapy used at this point on him is highly likely to be palliative. That is to say they aren't trying to cure him with the radiotherapy as they do in some other diseases. For that they would be targeting the prostate itself with a small radioactive seed or possibly combined beam radiotherapy, but not in the case of distant spread.

The problem with the prostate is that it metastasizes very very early on to either the brain or bone mainly. The bone pain you get is quite an intractable sort of pain and difficult to treat with conventional painkillers.

So they are possibly advocating local radiotherapy just to the areas of likely bone pain to allow him a pain free existence with minimal need for painkillers. It probably won't even be more than three treatments, and possibly only one, so please chat to the oncologist before making a decision with your dad.

[Dogwatch]

Radio was effective for me as the cancer hadn't spread beyond the Prostate but even so it was a lot of hassle for me at 69. I don't think I could have coped with a full course if I was a decade older.

Sadly Hormone therapy apparently loses its effectiveness as the cancer learns to counter it.

Edited by Dogwatch on Tuesday 18th April 17:31