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Hello to everyone,

I am new to this forum and actually have never used a forum before. I hope I am using it correctly.
I am desperate for support and advice for my husband/best friend/soul mate of 32 years.
He is 57 years old and was diagnosed 5/2015 with Stage 4 prostate cancer with lymph node involvement and bone mets. The oncologist told us the bone mets are "too numerous to count". No organ involvement as of the scans in June.
He has a Gleason score of 9/10 with the whole left side positive with 5+4 in each core and 1 core positive on the right of 4+5.
His PSA was 88 at time of physical (which is how it was detected) in May and 112 when treatment was started. He was supposed to start Firmagon and the chemo drug Docetaxel a week later, but the night before starting chemo he developed appendicitis and had to have surgery. He finally started treatments the middle of June. His PSA dropped to 12 the beginning of August and will not have another PSA test until he ends chemo the end of October. He will have had a total of 6 treatments every 3 weeks.
I am so scared and have spent hours on the internet researching and looking for hope and encouragement. I know I am rambling, but it is all so confusing and feel like my brain is in constant chaos not knowing what to do next. Does anyone have any suggestions or have you had a similar diagnosis that can help or guide me in any way?
Thank you for your time.

TeamChris,

It sounds like you and your husband are starting with the right treatments for his diagnosis.
Has he had a bone density test? It is recommended that men that are undergoing ADT also add a bone-strengthening medication...my husband has a Zometa infusion once a month. And he might want to do a lipid panel and watch that as lipids can increase too.

I know you both are still in the shock phase. Trust me, life will calm down gradually. Frank and I, but mostly me, spent so much time learning about prostate cancer and it's treatments for the first six months that I actually think I knew more than most doctors!! Then I hit the wall and now come to this forum, the
"New" Prostate Cancer Info Link" website and a couple of others. I want clinical data for the most part and advice from people who are living with PCa. This forum is the best there is, imho.

How many cycles of docetaxel has your husband completed? It worked well for my Frank without too many side-effects. The pre-meds that they use now prevented the nausea etc. that he was worried about.
He finished the end of May.

Keep on coming here and asking your questions...

Lisa

Teamchris,

Welcome. I'm sorry for that very harsh diagnosis.

You seem to have an excellent oncologist who really knows what he's doing, starting your husband off with chemo and hormone therapy. It's the best combo we know of for increasing survival for men in your husband's situation. And the excellent results he is already getting reflects that. It may also help to add a medication like Xgeva or Zometa to help maintain his bone density during hormone therapy.

Very few of the newer medications are approved for use while a man is still sensitive to hormone therapy, except in clinical trials. If experimental drugs and drug combos are of interest, you can bring that up to his oncologist at some point and let him know. For now, he is getting exactly the right thing.

One has to take it as it comes. I've found that the sense of panic usually subsides somewhat with time, but anxiety and depression often, and understandably, linger. I attend support groups sponsored by the Cancer Support Community. UsToo often has them as well. You may find them to be useful to you.

- Allen

If you have not read Dr. Pat Walsh's book, "Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer" you might gain some insights from reading it..The last chapters deal with advanced disease and contain a lot of valuable information....You will need to establish a good working relationship with your (medical) insurance company because in the end they will decide what they will pay for and what they will not..Always get pre-approvals to avoid nasty surprises..There are new drugs and treatments available (to some) but they are very stingy about prescribing and approving them..Provenge, Xtandi, Zytiga can be effective if properly used in a timely fashion..The squeaky hinge gets the oil...Best of luck to you..

Glad you found us, I know the feeling when I found HW some nearly 7 years ago. Yes, your husbands situation and stats are very serious, but there is still reason to have hope. I wish, him, and you the best. Please keep us posted as he continues his treatments.