Hormone Therapy

My 81 year old dad was just diagnosed.  The plan is to give him a hormone shot and retest him in three months although they said the cancer was agressive.  We are wanting to get a 2nd opinion but I'm not sure who to go to.  This was all done by the urilogist he had been seeing.  Can anybody direct us where to go and does this treatment sound right?

Lynn

On 10/18/2009 texasd wrote:

My 81 year old dad was just diagnosed.  The plan is to give him a hormone shot and retest him in three months although they said the cancer was agressive.  We are wanting to get a 2nd opinion but I'm not sure who to go to.  This was all done by the urilogist he had been seeing.  Can anybody direct us where to go and does this treatment sound right?

 

Lynn

Lynn,

 I am sorry to hear about your dad. You say the cancer is agressive what was his Gleason, PSA and if it was staged what stage? Usually prostate cancer is slow growing so you have time to get second opinions and research your options. I have read if they biopsied all 80 year olds 80% would test positve for prostate cancer but must die from other causes.

Dan

Correction

Most die from other causes.

A dear friend of mine (age 87) was given the hormone therapy by his doctor and he grew so weak he was unable to walk without help and completely lost his appetite. At 87, he was an active and robust man who has always walked and exercised. It was shocking to see how quickly he deteriorated. He stopped taking the treatment but continued to get weaker (to the place where he doesn't have the energy to talk).

His wife has taken him to an Oncologist who tells her that, at 87, he should never have been given that type of treatment. AND, it can take 3 -12 months for these side effects to subside!

They are now doing radiation treatments for the next 8 weeks in hopes of slowly the progression of the cancer.

DO NOT take the treatment advice of any doctor whose specialty is not Cancer!