Today its off to St. Marys to get the biopsy results.Sue is coming with me to hear the news as we have decided it is important to share this journey together and I am very grateful for her moral support. I have been hanging on to the idea that the high PSA and lumpy enlarged gland may have been caused by stones or something else.
Hopes dashed. The "Gleason Score" is a high risk 8 out of 10 . This is an analysis of the abnormality of the cells taken from the biopsy and is used to determine the GRADE of the cancer (how aggressive it is). Both sides of the prostate are affected. Information comes thick and fast. Most shocking is that the specialist reckons this means I have had the disease for between 10-15 years. He confirms that it will be no good doing a prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate) as this would be shutting the door after the horse has bolted. As I am still young by prostate cancer standards he reckons this must be an inherited disease.
Hormone therapy is to be initiated immediately. I am prescribed tablets to start taking tonight. These are to reduce the male sex hormones -androgen's, including testosterone which the cancer cell "feed" on. I am also given a letter for my doctor to give me a further injection of hormone treatment in two weeks time. It is important that I take the oral tablets for one month and have the injection half way through this period. Something about reducing tumor flare?
I make a follow up appointment in a months time before which I have to have two MRI scans to see how far the cancer may have spread - called the STAGE.
Another booklet is provided "Living With Hormone Therapy" and I realise this whole thing is real.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment