I don't have all the data handy, but I had SBRT just over 4 years ago. My pre-treatment PSA was 5.69, and at 4 years out, it was 0.96. If you want the exact trajectory, including bounces, I'm sure I...
Glen, I would not worry too much about the warnings you've gotten about surgery after radiation treatment. The issues that occur after radiation refer to surgery after completion of a full radiation...
John, I think I would have that talk with Dr. Hirsch before I would start choosing next scans to have. As JNF suggested, she may want to get another PSA in a few months to see if there is a trend or...
Once again, I wish we had a "like" button!...
Actually, Djin, your caveats apply to virtually any PCa treatment being studied. Since the majority of patients are middle-aged to elderly, any study of long(er) term side effects will be difficult...
Congratulations, halbert! May the good results long continue. Also, thanks again for being here for the rest of us. Your calm, logical approach and warm advice were a welcome oasis for those of us...
Glen - Since I had SBRT, my experiences with PSA readings will be entirely different than yours. I did not note any increases in PSA until about 18-24 months after completing treatment. . . but we...
81 gy, I am so very sorry for your loss. I am, however, greatly enriched in the way in which you shared her passing. This was, I'm sure, a difficult thing to write, but I thank you for sharing your...
Vic - Congratulations on joining the Post Toasties! That's a name I "borrowed" from the CyberKnife bulletin board when I was researching SBRT for my treatment 4 years ago. If anyone wants another...
Well, Glen, if they are planning 4 to 6 treatments, it would definitely be SBRT. If it is 10 or more treatments, it is probably some variation of IMRT or IGRT. I think the difference between IMRT and...
I'm still of the opinion that the prior Standard of Care made good sense -- that with any form of EBRT, favorable intermediate risk cases could selectively exclude ADT, while it was recommended...
Glen, I am not sure how to equate T dosage, as you use injectable and I use a topical gel. My gel is the generic equivalent of Testim. One tube applied daily consists of 5 grams of gel, which...
ssmolent - I agree that you've seen some inconsistencies within the reported data. Relatively low PSA, combined with G3+4=7 rarely generates distant metastases. Are they really metastases? I am not...
Duck2 - ABSOLUTELY NOT! ! ! What Glen is doing with TRT is simply replacing the T that his body no longer produces internally. What difference does it make if he produces T or buys it? His body (and...
Todd - Do keep in mind that if you choose to use tamsulosin, you need to advise your eye doctor (ophthalmologist), if you see one. That is because use of tamsulosin at any time in your life could...
I’ll second the notion that those who had the most to do seemed to feel the least fatigue. True, I had SBRT, but I did manage to go to work every day, then to treatment, then to the gym after. I did...
Add me to the hernia club roster — except that mine was after open-heart surgery rather than prostate surgery. I, too, was one of those imbilical hernias that was in and out the same day. Back to...
Glen, I would question your doctor who claims that there is increased risk of side effects among patients using TRT during radiation. NONE of my consultations, direct (where I was present) and...
I also like that trend! Keep up the good work there, and thanks for being here for us....
Don't doubt that the doc will allow TRT during radiation until you bring it up. Both my uro and my RO were (and are) fully open to working a joint treatment plan under Dr. Morgentaler's initial...
Glen, I don't want to sound like a broken record, but have you spoken with Dr. Morgentaler abour your TRT? He could turn that issue into a non-issue, as he did in my case. Also, with respect to EBRT...
Hi, folks. Just thought I would pop back in and give the family an update, now that I am 4 years out from my SBRT treatment. Brief history - I was diagnosed with G3+4=7 PCa in July 2016. PSA at...
Bob, Congratulations! You are now officially a Post Toastie! That's a long-ago nickname early CyberKnife patients gave themselves. I've adopted it as well, since I finished my CyberKnife treatment...
Happy Birthday, Dan! May you have so many happy returns of the day that you tire of counting them! On a related note, I guess in your vernacular, I now have THREE birthdays. The first one, of course....
Vic, If you're thinking of progressing to treatment, and if you're considering radiation therapy (RT), then you owe it to yourself to investigate treatments like SBRT (one brand name is CyberKnife)....
Andrew, I hate to see any of my "favorite" members leave here, but I freely and sincerely admit that you have earned it. I have a similar situation with another board for a different condition, one...
Hi, Glen, We've already discussed my opinions and experience regarding supplemental T and PCa, so will not re-post that (unless you want to go there). What I did want to mention, though, is that...
You may have set yourself up for some disappointment, in hoping for this biopsy to be negative. This stuff (PCa) doesn't go away. It may hide, but it is still there. Nonetheless, this is a good...
In mine, as well. I'll play "The Tale of the Uneasy Rider" to remember his antics....
Great news, 19T! ! ! GO, POST TOASTIES!...
Glen, I am not advocating for any particular treatment, but I can share a couple of bits of my own experience. I am not "MRI-Compliant." I cannot have any sort of MRI because I have a cardiac...
garyi - For me, this one is not worth the effort to exaggerate. . . :-)) Jim Fixx, IIRC, was the running guru who died at a young age (46?) while out on his daily run. I think I remember reading that...
I was never into fitness. . . until Army Basic Training at Ft. Campbell, Ky., with the 101st Airborne Division. I was National Guard (Signal Corps), but all of our instructors were Airborne, so they...
JNF and Skypilot -- I fully agree with you both. Here in Illinois, they state's mantra has been testing, testing, testing, ad infinitum. They do not explain who they want to test and/or why. . . on...
We have quite a variety of masks at home -- simple disposable "surgical procedure" masks, KN95 masks, etc., but we almost always wear the ones my wife makes. She is a decent seamstress, and I found...
How did I miss this, John? I'd say these results look wonderful - right on track. I spoke with/saw Dr. Hirsch last week about my own slow and bumpy PSA decline, and we are happy, too. May you...
Hi, Bob. You've received a lot of excellent advice already, so I will not try to restate what you already know. I am an SBRT patient, with pre-treatment Gleason of 3+4, so similar but not the same...
Thanks, Jim -- we're covered. My wife sews our masks, so I have a few of different fabrics and prints. Today's mask is a "tacos and peppers" print. The previous one was the red, white and blue stars...
Jim - Can you start shipping masks up here? I'm in/near a big city and we still cannot buy masks anywhere. All have either been donated, or have been diverted to medical/first responder...
I went in to the lab for my regularly scheduled PSA and total-T blood draw a couple of weeks ago. The phlebotomist is down the hall from my RO, in a building across the street from the hospital. Upon...
Two more times when I wish we had a "like" button. . ....
Is that why it is said "Figures never lie, but liars often figure?"...
You can save your vitriol, Buddy. I neither need nor want anything from you. We can just agree to disagree....
I really can't take "credit" for the great T numbers -- better living through chemistry. I buy it at the mail-order pharmacy. I only mentioned it because I have, from time to time, remarked to others...
I was just wondering how she would perform one via computer. . . ...
Tudpock, I am with you in almost all of your points. The differences are simply my personal and local adjustments. There is, as you so eloquently demonstrate, some middle ground between all and none....
My most recent check-up, that is. . . A bit of history- 02/2016 PSA 5.69 07/2016 Biopsy, G3+4 11/2016 CyberKnife Treatment, 36.25 Gy in 5 fractions 01/2017 PSA 4.75 04/2017 PSA 3.03 07/2017 PSA 2.86...
Sorry, guys, I still take Doctor Radio with many, many grains of salt. Only a couple of years ago on their Men's Health show, they had Dr. Walsh on there crowing, without any qualification of the...
I disagree. Economies are like plants. You have to water them. If you leave them dry for a while, then water them, they will come back. If you leave them dry for too long. . . they don't come back....
Agreed - If I, personally, take a financial hit, so be it. But if we keep the state's economy locked down so long that a large number of businesses can no longer re-open, then it will affect the...