I'll start with my usual caveat, I'm not a dr, just a patient who's done a lot of reading. Hopefully, those more knowledgeable will join in soon. I wanted to get you a response to hope calm fears a little.

PSA of 38 seems pretty high to me, but I've read of a LOT higher at initial diagnosis. Having said that, this type of cancer is typically somewhat slow going so just based on the information given, there's likely some time to formulate the best response.

My belief would be that the hormone therapy right now, is primarily to create more time by slowing the cancer spread. Testosterone is believed to be food/fertilizer for prostate cancer so the theory is that by removing/reducing that hormone we can slow the spread.

My guess is it is likely that they will discuss the need for further treatment response after that gets started. Selecting from the various treatments available depends on a lot of factors. Since the cancer is already out of the organ, my guess would be hormone and radiation may likely be the go to, but, it could also be a form of drug therapy.

A lot goes into the treatment decision such as general health, age, etc.. It's also a great idea for the patient and family to get as much information as you can and be an integral part of the decision process. The patient will have to deal with any quality of life issues caused by the selected treatment.

Left unchecked, any cancer can be life threatening but it sounds like your father is on his way to treatment options. I was told by my doctors that most men that get this pass away WITH prostate cancer as opposed to FROM it.

I'll end with, I think you've come to the right place. There's a lot of information and a lot of folks who have done a great deal of research on the topic. Best of luck to you and your father!