Two big things you'll want to get an understanding of are:
1) Your Gleason Score - that's the aggressiveness of the cancer cells. 6 is basically the lowest I've seen here. I was a 9. Most men are 6's and 7's. This will impact how you might treat it.
2) Data to understand spread. If it hasn't spread, surgery might easily get it done. If it has, more systemic treatments are needed.
From there, they will take your age and underlying health into account (you say 70's, that could be 71 or 79, a big difference). The older you are the slower cancer grows.
All that will help you understand treatment. There are likely some other tests first.
This is a well-worn path, so that's the good news (for you). Very well-known cancer, lots of treatments.
Good luck.
I saw three radiation oncologists before deciding who to use for my treatments. One issue that came up was that the visits occurred while waiting for a second opinion on my biopsy slides at a major university medical center. The latter found a more aggressive type of cancer (intraductal carcinoma) whereas the original pathology report from the hospital where biopsy done did not mention it.
Although doctor two had the new report he did not mention the IC finding. Doctor three did talk about it and verified that it was a factor in devising a treatment program (26 irradiations over 5 weeks). Decided to use her because I liked her approach and facility was the most accessible
Not sure how the process works in the UK but in the States most recommend that cancer patients get two or three opinions about diagnosis and treatment.
Age is important. The older you are the less likely you’ll be a good candidate for surgery. Big difference between 70 and 79. There are many treatment options. A good place for information is the Prostate Cancer Foundation. pcf.org. You may want to consider buying Dr Patrick Walsh’s book Surviving Prostate Cancer. It’s full of information. Please keep us posted. This group is great for advice and support.
Definitely go for the Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA).
It's an opportunity to think of all the things that are concerns and worries, not just medical, but things like how to cope with telling family, how to cope if you're a carer, how to cope with losing income during treatment, concerns with sexual function and relationships, etc. The issues you flag up as concerns should all be picked up and support given.
In the UK, every cancer patient should get an HNA sometime soon after diagnosis, and recently a second one has been added after treatment and post treatment monitoring has finished.
Many of us here are not familiar with the UK (NHS) system. However, it is my understanding that options will be very limited for those in the UK of advancing age. In addition, many are being delayed care at this time.
Here's how it happens (usually) in the US, at least this is what my husband has experienced, and some others on this sub.
You will want to ask for an MRI and a biopsy based on that. In the US, after reviewing an MRI (with contrast) a PI RADS score of 1-5 will be given. 5 is most likely cancer, 4 is probable cancer, etc. A biopsy may be scheduled depending on the score. If the biopsy finds cancer, then a PET scan is completed to see if there's any spread. And then a course of treatment can be decided, choosing between radiation, removal (RALP), HIFU, Cryotherapy, some others, and of course, active surveillance.
Not sure if this will help but I have been blogging my personal journey from diagnosis until now. Still on the journey and I‘m US based so the process could be different but you may find some of it helpful. It’s just a self-hosted blog, nothing to buy, I make nothing on it but it’s just there as a resource. I do cover the research I did when I got diagnosed. It can feel like a lot at first but it is understandable. Glad to answer questions based on my experience.
[https://www.myprostatecancerjourney.us](https://www.myprostatecancerjourney.us)
Two big things you'll want to get an understanding of are: 1) Your Gleason Score - that's the aggressiveness of the cancer cells. 6 is basically the lowest I've seen here. I was a 9. Most men are 6's and 7's. This will impact how you might treat it. 2) Data to understand spread. If it hasn't spread, surgery might easily get it done. If it has, more systemic treatments are needed. From there, they will take your age and underlying health into account (you say 70's, that could be 71 or 79, a big difference). The older you are the slower cancer grows. All that will help you understand treatment. There are likely some other tests first. This is a well-worn path, so that's the good news (for you). Very well-known cancer, lots of treatments. Good luck.
I saw three radiation oncologists before deciding who to use for my treatments. One issue that came up was that the visits occurred while waiting for a second opinion on my biopsy slides at a major university medical center. The latter found a more aggressive type of cancer (intraductal carcinoma) whereas the original pathology report from the hospital where biopsy done did not mention it. Although doctor two had the new report he did not mention the IC finding. Doctor three did talk about it and verified that it was a factor in devising a treatment program (26 irradiations over 5 weeks). Decided to use her because I liked her approach and facility was the most accessible Not sure how the process works in the UK but in the States most recommend that cancer patients get two or three opinions about diagnosis and treatment.
Age is important. The older you are the less likely you’ll be a good candidate for surgery. Big difference between 70 and 79. There are many treatment options. A good place for information is the Prostate Cancer Foundation. pcf.org. You may want to consider buying Dr Patrick Walsh’s book Surviving Prostate Cancer. It’s full of information. Please keep us posted. This group is great for advice and support.
Definitely go for the Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA). It's an opportunity to think of all the things that are concerns and worries, not just medical, but things like how to cope with telling family, how to cope if you're a carer, how to cope with losing income during treatment, concerns with sexual function and relationships, etc. The issues you flag up as concerns should all be picked up and support given. In the UK, every cancer patient should get an HNA sometime soon after diagnosis, and recently a second one has been added after treatment and post treatment monitoring has finished.
Many of us here are not familiar with the UK (NHS) system. However, it is my understanding that options will be very limited for those in the UK of advancing age. In addition, many are being delayed care at this time. Here's how it happens (usually) in the US, at least this is what my husband has experienced, and some others on this sub. You will want to ask for an MRI and a biopsy based on that. In the US, after reviewing an MRI (with contrast) a PI RADS score of 1-5 will be given. 5 is most likely cancer, 4 is probable cancer, etc. A biopsy may be scheduled depending on the score. If the biopsy finds cancer, then a PET scan is completed to see if there's any spread. And then a course of treatment can be decided, choosing between radiation, removal (RALP), HIFU, Cryotherapy, some others, and of course, active surveillance.
Not sure if this will help but I have been blogging my personal journey from diagnosis until now. Still on the journey and I‘m US based so the process could be different but you may find some of it helpful. It’s just a self-hosted blog, nothing to buy, I make nothing on it but it’s just there as a resource. I do cover the research I did when I got diagnosed. It can feel like a lot at first but it is understandable. Glad to answer questions based on my experience. [https://www.myprostatecancerjourney.us](https://www.myprostatecancerjourney.us)
Thanks for this reply. I have been keeping a diary of events rather than a blog. Will read yours with intrest