First post

Hi @mrcodydog ,

Dinu here (45yrs, 4+5) I was diagnosed in August 2025, with PSA 690 and biopsy 1 week later put me on Gleason 9.
I started immediately with daily Bicalutamide, and after all the scans were done (Bone scintigraphy, PSMA PET CT, regular CT, mpMRI) in the following 3 weeks, my PSA dropped to 34. I then started Lupron monthly injections which dropped my PSA to 4, but when it went back up 2 months later I was switched to Firmagon (Degarelix) monthly injection and came back to PSA 4.
I have no metastasies.
Other than the decrease in the energy and reduced erection, i did not have any other side effects. Maybe because my age.
I have done RARP in March, removing prostate, seminal vesicles, and 13 lymph nodes.
The ADT will continue for 2-3 years and currently I am undergoing 33 sessions of Linac Adjuvant radiation therapy (week 3 now, 4 to go).
I am not sure how old you are, but keeping a positive attitude is key to going through with this inconvenience :).
Talk to as many other guys that have gone or are currently going through the journey, trust the medicine (but always do your research and do not feel afraid to ask for second opinions). It is not about hurting anyone's feelings, but to ensure you are getting all the options on the table and then you an make an informed decision.
If you are willing to share, there is an online support group that help me a lot and they hold regular online support video chats (https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/). They are very candid and you will get a lot of advice directly from other guys who are going through.
Depending on your physical and medical condition it is recommended to maintain an active life style. It helps with maintaining your muscle mass while under ADT treatment, but it also keeps you mentally strong.
And as with any other medical conditions, there are a lot of do's and dont's.
Even on this forum there are trends about nutrition and diet while having prostate cancer. Read up and start making small changes that can help in the long run.

As always, Stay Strong and Be Positive!
Dinu

@dinu

Handsome man! Hang in there, bro! Happy for you!

I’m 71 but in good health I was sailing in races the first time I got really nauseous was in a race in May but I never get seasick. I felt a bit sick before the race but my friend didn’t have anyone to go with and I didn’t want him to sail alone and we actually did quite well. My father had colon cancer but caught it before it spread so I was very diligent about colonoscopies and had one in March but really didn’t worry so much about the prostate no one pushed me to get tested but I don’t have any family history and even knew of anyone that had an issue now I feel so stupid as It’s just a blood test and trust me a colonoscopy is definitely a pain

@mrcodydog wrote ❝is there a life worth living after this? I don’t know if I should plan anything for the future. I was enjoying the best time in my life but now I just feel broken.❞

It's normal to feel that way at first — you have to let yourself go through it — but you're *not* broken, and the answer to whether life is still worth living is "HECK, YEAH!"

I was diagnosed with stage 4 in 2021 at age 56, and by the time we knew, the metastasis had compressed my spine, left me paraplegic, and put me in a hospital bed for 3½ months during COVID (I spent that Christmas in isolation under a ward lockdown 😥). It took me two years from bed to wheelchair to walker to cane to walking unassisted, all the while dealing with the side-effects of ADT, Apalutamide, and two rounds of radiation.

But it gets easier. I'll never have the body I had before — it's shaped differently, some of the muscles below my ribs just don't work thanks to permanent nerve damage, I can't fully feel my toes, and the other side-effects are a challenge — but I cook meals for my family, garden, cycle, walk my grandpuppy, paddle a canoe, and in January I met my first grandchild, something I didn't expect to live to see when I got my diagnosis almost 5 years ago.

Life with cancer is still wonderful; it's just a different kind of wonderful. Some of the hundreds of posts in this thread might give you a glimpse of hope:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-brought-you-joy-today/

@mrcodydog hang in bro- PC is definitely a shock to the system. Your body is adjusting to the medications and after 30-40 days or so, you should regain your footing and you will. Take your meds, exercise, drink water, smile..its gonna be ok ! so you got a batch of bad lemons, squeeze 'em into lemonade and sell to strangers !! ha..

Anyway, welcome to the PC club- no one wants to be here but here we are..here to help you too..keep us informed of your progress and struggles...many here have been thru hell and made it out the other side. you will too

An update today I have had some much needed rest and feel much better i just want to thank everyone i have some wonderful friends and a fantastic wife who have been there for me but it’s easy to get overwhelmed and sharing honest thoughts with others people in the same boat is really important because unless you’re in the same situation you really don’t know what to say. Your are correct we share a condition no one wanted but share anyway

@mrcodydog NOOO - Don’t feel stupid!! YOU were focused on colon cancer and rightfully so. Many of us are laser focused on prostate cancer - diet, preventive strategies, repeated blood tests and digital exams…and yet, unbeknownst to many of us there is another silent killer creeping up that none of us are even thinking about! We’ll have our “huh?” Moment as well…
In the meantime what you are going thru is horrible, no getting around it. I have not been anywhere close to what you are experiencing; but I have read so many stories just like yours (and worse) written by men on this forum.
Their days were also filled with pain, nausea and a desire to stop living. …but here they still are, still fighting - and winning…
You are in the worst part of it right now, your body reacting to the cancer as well as the treatment. YOU are the battleground and the war is going on inside you.
Take the advice of all those posters who’ve been thru this and just take one day at a time. Don’t project and get yourself down emotionally - you really do need to stay positive; the fact that you are even going thru all this means that you DO want to live so keep at it.
Hopefully you’ll turn the corner soon and be able to get some normalcy back in your life…what a great feeling that will be…Best,
Phil

@mrcodydog You're going to get emotionally overwhelmed a lot in your first year — it's not a failure, just a normal symptom of the disease. I'm glad you're having a better day today. The good days will become more frequent in the future.

Here's some encouraging reading about how stage 4 prostate cancer is transitioning from a terminal disease that people die of, to a long-term managed disease that we live with. It was published over 2 years ago, and things have already gotten even better in that short time:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/treating-prostate-cancer-at-any-stage/