Re: Steph please, prognosis

Steph wrote:

"J" <nexsw@nvalid,anon> wrote in message
Steph wrote:

"J" <nexsw@nvalid,anon> wrote in message
prostate cancer patient, late diagnosis, no RRP, no brachytherapy, no
biopsy, way too late for that.
he's on 2 hormone therapies which I think may be helpng him urinate,
rather than a catheter.
He's youngish, but unfrortunately has chronic heart disease and
diabetes.

He's in Wales. They have no intention of giving him RT.
He's lost 9 stones without trying and despite being a home-type chef.
(one
of the loves of his life).
Due to messages on the other newsgroup, he thinks he's good until
summer
2008 or longer.

results of Bone-Scan - as follows:
"There is extensive metastatic disease involving the Skull Vault; the
cervical, thoracic and lumbo-sacral spine, bony pelvis, ribs, sternum,
shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles and digitals. There is a
concentration of metastic disease involving both proximal femora"

Head x-ray - shows a cluster of as yet unspecified abnormal cells
located
between the (I forget now - but between two brain lobes)
Chest x-ray - small cluster of abnormal cells in the right upper lung.
Abdominal x-ray - two abnormal cell clusters on the liver.
CT-Scan to follow.

One problem is he lives alone and has no one to care for him and his
cat.
Problem #2 he's been on they're cutting his morphine from 60 mg taken
twice a day to 10 mg twice a day.

Median? for this self-described stubborn man and prostate cancer
patients
seem to do better, but there's the hips and the liver and the brain, in
this man.

I need to know (so as to know) when to tell him to call in hospice.
Thanks
J



Median survival with bone mets is 10-12 months, but with brain or lung
mets
is shorter - maybe 3-4 months

Thanks Steph.
I really mucked this one up.
He's in Scotland. Diagnosed Jan 10 - just got in to see an oncologist.
Only to
have them cut back on his pain meds !!

So there's no point in fighting for RT? (he'd have to go outside the
system,
since they've denied him, and pay for it himself).

If he has bone pain, he should get RT on the NHS, and he will get that in
Scotland.
If they've "denied" RT, who is "they"? His oncologist certainly wouldn't.

His oncologist said "no RT"

The pain meds issue; he'd had chronic pain from other causes for years and
both
his GP and he just assumed that the pain that crept up from worsening of
the
other condition. So his GP had him on pain meds (strength) that
controlled the
pain, but now the oncologist is cutting back his pain meds.
Doesn't make sense to me if they won't palliate his pain with RT.
J


There's big problems in UK for prostate cancer patients.
Someone else has just chimed in.
Her FIL was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996 and severe back pain and was
told he had to have his testicles taken off. The FIL complained to the son that
he couldn't understand a word the doctor was saying because he was a foreigner
(overseas doctors practising in NHS) In addition, the doctor told him to go home
and take paracetemol for the pain.
So the son, in New Zealand went to visit and went with him to see the doctor and
the doctor refused to speak about the prostate cancer with them both. And again
said "things are ok; go home and take the paracetmol". They went back two years
later because the FIL had been hospitalized and fell out out bed and fractured
his his femur.

Her husband, the son, now has prostate cancer.
She's saying that "the treatment metered out to PCa patients in the NHS. it is
a post code lottery and men like Hugh are being left on the scrap heap." (Hugh's
the one I"m trying to motivate to get to a radiation oncologist and who was
refused by the oncologst at, I think, the Beaton hospital.

She goes on to say "The NHS was set up to provide free medical care for all, and
remember
all working people are paying National Insurance for this and when the time
comes for treatment , the bean counters will not allow best practise to happen
and you are at the mercy of the local PCT and their
budget management dictated by the Minister of Health in Whitehall."

According to this http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2460992005
they're supposed to be treated within 2 months of diagnosis.
I think they're abandoning advanced cancer patients, particularly ones who don't
press the issue or know their rights (don't have an advocacy group such as
breast cancer patients seem to), in favor of curable or "louder" ones.
J

.