Prostatectomy and HRT

[DuckCommander]

Sorry to make you wince when reading the title of this thread, but I would like to know if anyone on the forum has had a radical prostatectomy and followed it up with HRT?
Some of you older guys might want to read this.

My husband went through a stem cell transplant several years ago, which left him feeling sluggish and tired. He was 58 at the time and has been training for 20+ years. I suggested he look into HRT. Long story shortened, test levels were normal, his oncologist suggest he talk to an endocrinologist. The endo asked to have his PSA tested and it was high, so he had a biopsy.
Gleason score was 7. Endo sent him to a urologist who recommened a radical prostatectomy. A second test of his PSA three months later showed it had doubled - bad sign. His oncologist recommended he have the procedure.
Now, he has tremendous genetic load with cancer on both sides of his family. His grandfather died from prostate cancer.

He had the procedure in February and everything went fine. He has an excellent doctor, who actually wrote the book on the nerve sparing procedure. When the pathology report came back, it showed the cancer was more aggressive than they thought, but it had not escaped the capsule. All his lymphnodes, seminal vesicles, etc. were clean. We had dodged a bullet. Further delay may have resulted in the cancer spreading out of the organ.

However, this procedure is not without it's side effects. While the inconinence issues have resolved themselves, the ED remains. We are currently using injections to treat that but Ive got to believe he is goin to get tired of that eventually.

Now, my question: We all know that HRT does not cause prostate cancer. It can cause BPH, but not cancer. He will be getting his PSA tested every six months for probably the rest of his life. Why wouldn't he benefit from a low dose of test, to improve his libido and to help with the ED problem? No, the doctors have not tested his free test since the surgery, but as you all know, there in not a doctor in this universe that would recommend test for him now - instead they would chemically castrate him via Estrogen HRT.

Has anyone been through this and have any advice for us? We've been married for 25 years and I hate to see him struggle like this.

Thanks,
DC

[zaggahamma]

just a few questions so i can better understand...

didnt the prostate get removed? so what would the psa be needed for anymore?

and you mention taking injections to treat ed and then you ask if he would benefit from low dose of test....so are you talking about different injections?

[DuckCommander]

Yes, the prostate was removed, completely. However, they continue to check the PSA every six months in case ther are some cells floating around trying to make trouble.

The injections are to create an erection. The drug is injected directly into the penis shaft and within 5 to 20 minutes you have an erection (not for the faint of heart - but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do).

It's a tough recovery, but it cures the cancer. Radioactive seeds tend to cause impotence and incontinence later on, and they were not an option with a Gleason score as high as his. If you go the seed route you also lose the option for the prostate removal, since the radioactive source changes the tissue so much.

If you have a high PSA and don't know what Gleason scores are, I suggest you read up on it prior to getting a biopsy.

[DuckCommander]

And I forgot to add, if anyone knows of any peer reviewed research on the subject, which I can present to my husbands doctor, please provide a link or pm me with a link.

Thanks,
DC

[Testomaster]

Yes, the prostate was removed, completely. However, they continue to check the PSA every six months in case ther are some cells floating around trying to make trouble.

The injections are to create an erection. The drug is injected directly into the penis shaft and within 5 to 20 minutes you have an erection (not for the faint of heart - but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do).

It's a tough recovery, but it cures the cancer. Radioactive seeds tend to cause impotence and incontinence later on, and they were not an option with a Gleason score as high as his. If you go the seed route you also lose the option for the prostate removal, since the radioactive source changes the tissue so much.

If you have a high PSA and don't know what Gleason scores are, I suggest you read up on it prior to getting a biopsy.

Hi, I've carefully read your story as I got prostate issue (BPH with normal PSA) + my grandfather died with prostate cancer and my father had it too.

First of all , if your husband has removed the prostate there's no reason to worry about an HRT/TRT related to cancer ; about the ED issue, it's a very common thing after prostatectomy, this happens because cavernous nerves are partially or completely severed during the procedure ; in this case there's no TRT/HRT that can help . I don't understand why doctors want to give him an estrogen therapy ... If the problem is solved there's no reason to do that unless there is some other possible outbreak that doctor saw.