Metastatic Prostate Cancer spread to bones

I know nothing about it but I am very sorry to hear that.

I have no experience but I will say a prayer for this person & their family

Try not to read too much on the internet, it will just make you crazy
If you will be involved in treatment / care write down questions as they pop into your head, that way you won’t forget anything when you meet with doctors

Prostate cancer is usually slow to spread.
Any idea how long he’s had it?

My Mom was diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer in March. She takes oral chemo (it's an estrogen based cancer and thankfully not a really aggressive strain) along with about 11 other meds for various things, and had radiation for a couple of weeks for mets on her brain.

She really struggles with eating and has grown pretty weak. My Dad has to help her around the house, to the bathroom, etc. She's lost her hair and her skin has become paper thin so she has to be really careful to avoid infection since it cracks/splits easily. She is having some issues with neuropathy from the chemo. She developed a blood clot back in late July over the chemo, but is now on a blood thinner that she's tolerating well and working.

She was having paracentesis once a week in the beginning (to have fluid drained off her stomach) but as of late has only needed it once every 4-6 weeks depending on how she feels.

That all said her scans show significant progress, the brain mets are gone, and several areas in her body no longer have spots. The doctor keeps telling her that it's just going to take time. Unless you're looking up something to see if it needs to be reported to the doctor, avoid the internet. It'll drive you crazy and everyone's case is unique given a ton of other variables.

If this is a family member and someone you're helping take care of, consider counseling. You're probably going to see and experience some things that you'll need help processing.

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good day was when he wasn't in pain

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This is what terrifies me. I’m trying to be strong but it is really difficult. frick cancer.

Let me tell you guys something. There are still very limited prostate treatments available should you start having issues. Everything has potentially severe consequences. There is no magic pill you can take, that’s for sure.

The medical community spends billions of women’s cancers and practically nothing on men’s prostate issues.

"There are still very limited prostate treatments available should you start having issues."
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Treatment has come a long way. Many good options if the cancer is confined to the prostate.

Once it has gone other places the situation is much more difficult.

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It happened to my grandfather many years 30+ ago, I'm sure treatment it light years ahead of it now. But he was diagnosed late and survived another 6 years. But by the time it reached bones it became pretty painful for him. He went through some rough radiation treatments. That is all I really remember. Again, treatment is light years ahead of those days.

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Surprisingly for prostate cancer not so much. They pretend as if it is but there have been very few inroads made....still mainly a wait and see thing of surgery which is, generally speaking, more problematic with the side effects (incontinence, erectyle disfunction etc) and it usually comes back. On the upside even when it has spread it is still treatable usually. On the down side it is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the US for men so the third leading cause over all. This is mainly due to the high number of cases....if a man lives long enough odds are pretty good he will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point....and usually there is no real reason to treat it other than the fact that it is cancer and some folks find it difficult to live with the knowledge they have cancer. ALl prostate cancer treatments have roughly the same success rate, all extremely high even in late stages, all with roughly the same side effects and despite it being so treatable it still kills way too many men because it comes back. It can be treated again and again but with less effect each time.

The gold standard is of course removing the prostate but this is no guarantee it wont come back because it is almost impossible to completely remove all of the tissue which can be prostate cancer without causing irreparable damage to the urinary tract and causing incontinence.

There is no "cure" for prostate cancer as we would normally define the term.

Option 1: It kills you in the first round.

Option 2: They treat it, it goes away, then it comes back 6-10 years later and kills you.

Option 3: They treat it, it goes away, and you die of a heart attack or stroke a couple years before your cancer would have returned to kill you.

Preserving the lives and dignity of old men isn't the top concern of the medical research field, but I know there's been a lot of research with Vitamin E.