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Meeting up with others who are having Proton Treatment
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Mar 25 7:26pm | Replies (54)Comment receiving replies
I have a Gleason 3+4, and also two Gleason 3+3 with a PSA of 3. Am currently waiting on the results of a Decipher test. Of the treatment options you have researched which one offers the best chance for eradicating the cancer while preserving healthy tissue?
Regarding radiation therapy WEB MD said "can also cause significant side effects such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence. But many of these less-invasive procedures(treatments) don't always completely eliminate the cancer, and some treatments can't be repeated if the cancer comes back." Then there is High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU): which delivers intense sound energy to destroy the tumor without damaging the surrounding tissue. WEB MD said "Side effects included difficulty urinating in the first two months after treatment, but the symptoms were easily treatable with medications." HIFU is a form of ablation treatment. HIFU generates heat to destroy the tumor while another form generates cold to freeae the tumor.
What are your thoughts?
Replies to "I have a Gleason 3+4, and also two Gleason 3+3 with a PSA of 3. Am..."
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I am about to start 5 treatment proton radiation and after seeing the article on a study just out on localized prostate cancer I am wondering if being treated is even worth the risk. The study followed 500 each of a prostatectomy, radiation, and doing nothing but watching it for 15 years and the death rate from prostate cancer was the same at 15 years for all three. That makes me 90 and I am wondering if risking the side effects is even worth it and the doctors sure won't tell you to not do anything as then they don't get paid. The article did not mention Gleason Scores but just that it was localized prostate cancer. What quality of life will we all have at 90?