Radiation After Surgery

I am here on behalf of my dad who is 59 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer 7 months ago. By doing a biopsy the doctors originally classified his cancer as T2 which meant that it was confined to prostate gland itself and not the surrounding tissue. 4 months ago my dad elected to have surgery and after the surgery found out that the cancer was much more aggressive than originally thought and that the cancer had spread to the seminal tubes. Originally, after 2 months(he chose to do this electively) of having the surgery and then after 3 months he had his PSA level checked which came back normal and his urologist was pleased.

My dad's thought is that if the cancer was more aggressive than originally diagnosed then it is very likely that it can spread to other nearby organs, so based on the advise of one other person (which I have a big problem with) he is wanting to go ahead and electively receive general radiation to lower the risk of spread and re-occurrence. I was hoping to find people who may have had similar experiences or people who have had radiation to tell me about their experiences so that I can better guide him in his efforts. He turns to me because I am a med-student and usually I can seek the help of a Professor but this time I need to use real life examples to gauge what is the better step to take next. What I would like to know is mainly how well the radiation worked for you and what were the side effects you experienced?

If you have any questions I am all ears.

I thank you for reading this lengthy post and do hope that you can give me some helpful info.

Also good luck with your situation and God bless.

10 days ago my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer with a PSA of 2000, that is not a typo, and after xrays they are saying that it is in his bones. He being extremely anemic he was give a blood transfusion of 2 pints then a CT scan and bone scan. Tomorrow he will find out the results of the latest tests and also receive a transfusion of Zometin, (sp). Where do we go from here. I am so scared. He is unable to walk with out a walker and has fallen 2 times in the past 5 days. It feels like I am going around in circles.

Thanks for any support that you can give me.

My name is Ken and I will be having surgery to remove my prostate on April 9th.

I see that you had the radiation after surgery when your doctors discovered the

numbers.

Here's my question. I have asked for radiation (as extra guarantee) and my

doctors said that was not needed. My stage is T1.

Am I being ridiculous to ask for it at this stage?

I am going to have my surgery in Rochester but live in Chicago.

Any input would be much appreciated..... thanks.