Hello and thank you for submitting your question.

Your question is a very good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations.

It is extremely difficult to provide an accurate overall prognosis or to suggest how long one might expect regarding survival in the setting of any cancer.

Regarding your father I want to make sure that you are aware of several new advances in the field of prostate cancer management. There have been new medications that have been approved within the last couple of years which may be considered for him. These medications are not chemotherapy and they are very well-tolerated.

I want to make sure that you have discussed the possibility of using a medication called Zytiga for him. This is a pill which is taken once a day and it has been shown to help improve overall survival.

If you are more inclined to prefer a palliative approach regarding your father this is completely understandable given the other medical conditions that he is dealing with. If you prefer to keep him in a comfort care only type of treatment plan this is not unreasonable.

If you were to only use medication to control anxiety and pain you might expect him to continue to live with his prostate cancer for up to one year. That would be my best estimate regarding a median survival and prognosis. Again there is no guarantee regarding the accuracy of this and it has to be taken into consideration depending on how ill he is otherwise.

Thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you have found my response to be helpful and informative. Please let me know if you have additional questions regarding this matter.

Dr. Robert

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