[Antipodes456]

Sample size n=1, but my dad was on the research or clinical trial of this exact treatment in Sydney, it worked for his prostate cancer, he's still clear from PSA tests (and possibly had biopsy also. No side effects.

Previously he'd had the radioactive beads treatment which failed, the only other option was removal. Both these options have potentially unpleasant side effects.

Happy to ask him questions if anyone wants to know more

[breck]

Would you be interested in chatting more about the whole experience? [e-mail] or 1-808-727-1111

I've been in Cancer Research for 5 years and am now starting my own idea to help (utilizing my background in software engineering and data science): CancerDB.com a public domain ad-free knowledge graph. The idea is to get a core group of researchers collating all the data into one place that's accessible by both patients, families, caregivers, and researchers.

[givemeethekeys]

How does it go? Was he put to sleep? What was the prep like leading up to it? What was the recovery like? Did he have to take any drugs?

[Antipodes456]

https://www.phillipstricker.com.au/prostate-cancer-treatment....

"After a full workup to ensure that our patients are suitable for the program they then undergo a day surgery procedure which takes between 40 and 60 minutes. Depending on the extent of the cancer this may simply ablate the lesion, a quarter of the prostate or a half of the prostate. No prostate cancer cells are resistant to this treatment. Large areas can be treated with minimal side effects.

After the treatment patients stay in the day surgery unit for two to four hours and they are discharged home with a Foley catheter in place. Postoperatively pain is minimal and patients are discharged with tablets for mild pain, moderate pain, bladder spasms and relaxation of the prostate and antibiotics as required.

On day 2 a limited multiparametric MRI is performed. The Foley catheter is left in for two to five days depending on the extent of the treatment."

I'll ask him about prep / recovery

[wil421]

My father had an aggressive form of prostate cancer that required removal. He was put under at a hospital. The surgery wasn’t very long and the procedure wasn’t too invasive.

Recovery wasn’t so bad but you have a catheter for a bit. Cancer drugs and all but no hair loss. IIRC, he was very low energy. He’s been cancer free for over a decade.

There’s a chance you can lose the capability to get an erection so you’ll want a good surgeon (I did not discuss this with my dad). Another person I knew had to wear a small pad because he could have a small amount of urine dribble. He said he could pee like a horse and it was much easier post op.

[glenstein]

May I ask how this was discovered in your dad's case? I feel like prostate cancer is the single most dangerous cancer for men in the late 30s, 40s, and 50s. So it's a subject I'm trying to pay attention to.

[Antipodes456]

He had a change in PSA levels in his blood - it's a good idea to get your bloods checked annually so you can pick up any changes, as PSA levels vary a lot person to person.

Also gan get "the finger" to see if you have an enlarged prostate.

I think as far as cancers go, prostate is one of the better ones to get, not normally aggressive, you'll probably die before it kills you.

Test often if you have family history.

[haldujai]

No way, colorectal and lung (even if you're a non-smoker, worse prognosis) are both relatively very common and will kill you quickly.

We're seeing a lot of early presentations in both contributing to the lower screening start by the USPTF, evidence still coming in on lung and what to do.

[hlehmann]

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was about 57. I had had somewhat regular "finger up the butt" exams prior to that, since I was about 45, which were all negative. Then a PSA blood test test came back positive and I then had a biopsy done (no fun, trust me). Because I was still in my 50's I needed to do something beyond just continuing to monitor it. Between radiation treatment and a prostatectomy I chose the latter. Eight years or so later my PSA tests are still negative, knock on wood. Lesson learned, I think, is to get a simple PSA blood test done regularly once you've reached a certain age.

[haldujai]

I don't think you can conclude that from one patient, that's not how medicine works.

Whether to actively surveil vs treat depends on individual patient characteristics and grade (generally Gleason 7+) and the fact that you didn't have a complication does not mean they're not sufficiently high. On a population level analysis the evidence clearly support that there is no improved mortality with prostate cancer screening.

[markdown]

Could you share the hospital or research facility where this was done?

[Antipodes456]

I believe it was Prof Stricker: https://www.phillipstricker.com.au/prostate-cancer-treatment....

[markdown]

Thank you

[sebastianconcpt]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing this.