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I received the following as an input on the Yana site, but clearly it is more appropriate to post the request here:
Hi, Was browsing the web looking for information on Prostate Cancer as my dad (76) was diagnosed with the disease in 2007. He has been getting implants, however in December he was hospitalised with a fever and severe leg pain. He had had a bone scan last year and there was nothing to report from his urologist. During his hospitilisation in December he received a second bone scan and there was metatasis all over. Hips, femur, ribs, pelvis. Could this have happened in such a short time. Less than a year.
At present he is back in hospital on numerous meds and in severe pain. He has blood clots in his urine and severe constipation. I am so worried and there is no feed back from medical staff. His PSA is rising rapidly and I fear for the worst. Is my Dad about to die from this horrible disease? We are all devastated.
Please be honest if you know someone in a similar situation and whether there is a way back from this stage.
I have responded by e-mail saying:
Thank you for mailing Yana. I was very sorry to read of your Dad’s problems and the fact that you can get no help from the medical staff. The format of an Experience Story is not the best one for getting a response, so I have re-posted your mail on the Yana Forum.
It is very difficult to be too specific about your Dad’s prospects because you do not give any substantial information such as current PSA, doubling time of PSA, original Gleason Grades. Even with this information it might be very difficult to predict what will happen.
In answer to your specific questions:
“Could this (the widespread metastasis) have happened in such a short time? Less than a year.” Yes it could have done. Some aggressive cancers do move at that kind of speed, but all scans are unreliable because what they show can be confusing. For example bone scans can highlight old damage – a broken bone for example – and wear and tear on joints associated with age. So the metastasis may well have started some time back but only have become obvious enough to be clearly identified now.
“Is my Dad about to die from this horrible disease?” It is simply not possible for anyone, including medical staff, to give you a definite answer to this question. I have to say, in all honesty, that from what you have said, it seems likely that will be his fate. I don’t know if it will give you much comfort, but a piece I wrote “The Elephant in the Room” may give you some guidance.
If anyon else would like to mail her and offer her comfort or help, her e-mail address is ja.condie@talktalk.net Bear in mind that it is likely that she is in Britain.
