schoolpsych said...
Hello NiRo,
Sorry to hear about your father's diagnosis but glad that you found the forum and are doing the research on how to go about treatment. I was diagnosed in 2016 with G9 and a positive lymph node. I did have the lymph node biopsied/confirmed prior to looking at treatments. I see you say that biopsy was in the works for your father, but I don't see the result here (maybe I missed it). Regardless, for what it is worth, I ended up throwing everything at it. Some doctors mentioned being cautious of possible "overtreatment" but I was only 50 at the time, and in mind mind, it made sense to hit it with everything available. Four years after the diagnosis, I am doing well, back to normal life, undetectable PSA, with treatment having finished almost two years ago. Unfortunately, the more doctors you meet with, the more differing advice you'll get so in the end, you and your dad will be forced to consider all the info, make a choice you feel comfortable with, go for it, and never look back. I did surgery to remove my prostate and positive lymph node, whole pelvis radiation, and chemotherapy. I also used Lupron for a little over two years (started just before surgery) and took Zytiga for six months. I'll never know if I could have been in the same place I am now without throwing everything at it and treatment was certainly a tough road at times but I don't regret any of it ever.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to talk any time. My email address is in my profile. Keep us posted on how it goes for your dad.
Bill
Adding Zytiga to the primary treatment plan is not an easy task. I did surgery at Cleveland with radiation and ADT local. I tried to get both my local MO and Dr. Klein to add Zytiga to my 24 month ADT and both wanted to keep Zytiga in reserve.