Good points made by both Peter and Dave.
For my husband choosing focal treatment in his 50’s following a G6 (3+3) diagnosis has definitely been about choosing Quality of Life in his 50’s . Clearly with a high risk diagnosis decisions would be different. Lyn makes a valuable point too about needing resources to see through your choices or being fully aware of impact of not going fully ‘NHS’.
For my husband the lack of side effects in these 2.5 years has been really important with no interruption to a career he loves, size and use of penis and no incontinence ( however mild) to impact on his life.
The side effects of a radical treatment being simply pushed back ( if indeed it comes to a radical treatment ) have allowed full enjoyment of life to continue; our sons weekend wedding in France last year, the road trip we took after, the joy of his career and lazy Sunday afternoons having sex . without these things ( or them being impacted by worry about incontinence pads and leaks, a libido but ED ) his mental health could be very different to how it is today.
He has a prostate, a history of prostate cancer in the family, a history of PCa tumours so I understand why some would think it crazy not to have it removed immediately.
However if we had gone for removal in 2017 life in the last 2.5 years could have been very different and things have already progressed ( ie NeuroSafe was not on the table in 2017 but it is now)
His PSA is down to 1.31 post January HIFU with zoom consult with his monitoring professor tomorrow. She is a full NHS employed professor of urology and doesn’t seem to think this path is crazy for a man in his 50s.
I have absolutely nothing to benefit from other people and their choices but when we first got a diagnosis this forum was the best source of information especially about the reality of ED for many and potential incontinence for some. The pioneers on this site ( especially Barry and Chris) have been invaluable in keeping people informed that it is OK to question and be involved in your own choice of path. The personal threads such as Lyns ‘ED’ thread added reality to the quoted stats given by our diagnostic surgeon.
Overall I don’t think people should be discouraged from telling their stories, or sharing their knowledge. For us it’s true we may have chosen an ‘under treatment’ but it has been a very well considered decision with full medical support.
Clare