https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLRlbsBJhio ...
A few years ago I was on Degarelix full-time for a year and then I was able to go on break for over a year. That first double shot actually has 3 times the dose of the following monthly shots. What...
I don't have a vote in whether you in particular need statins. But I will offer that I've been on Lovastatin for quite a few years with no side effects that I've noticed....
Could it be from acid reflux? Just a guess. But if it's happening in the morning after laying down all night, it might have something to do with stomach acid in the esophagus. You'd better ask a...
Todd, You are my hero and I hope my role model. I am just closing in on the end of my first year on Zytiga. My MO at Dana-Farber tells me given my history he expects it to work a long time for me. My...
Best wishes for good results with the Pluvicto. Lupron and Zytiga are still working for me, but like some others here I expect to see Pluvicto further down this road. Jim...
I'm also in the Boston area. When my PSA rose a few years after RP I had SRT at UMass Medical Center. A few years after SRT when It rose to 0.2 I moved my care to Dana-Farber. In retrospect, given my...
We all have different ways of dealing with uncertainty. These days I'm back under treatment so I'll be on quarterly tests forever. But in the years after SRT before my PSA returned I was tested every...
One more thing. This being open enrollment time for Medicare Plans, I compared my present BC/BS plan with other plans in my area (central Massachusetts) using the Medicare.gov site:...
I posted this link from a Consumer Reports article about online pharmacy prices last spring. I'm among the lucky few who qualify for free prescriptions including Zytiga from the VA medical system. If...
I'm on a BC/BS Medicare Advantage plan, that covers my care at Dana-Farber, but when I went on Abiraterone I arranged to get that prescription filled for free by the VA. This being annual enrollment...
Mel, Have you had Zytiga or Xtandi yet? The reason I ask is because three years ago after I'd been on a year-long break from ADT I had an Axumin PET scan before resuming ADT. The scan showed an...
Michael, Here is a link that explains Gleason grades and scores and also a bit more about things you might see in a pathology report. I've had prostate cancer for 20 years. I now get most of my...
I had an upper rear molar - #2 - extracted two months ago. There is now a gap between #3 and the wisdom tooth. I have all of my other teeth. Since the site healed, the gap doesn't bother me. I won't...
Thanks Djin. Very helpful. I've added this to my archive for future reference. Jim...
In my previous post in June I said I had a molar that had to come out due to failure of the second crown on it with not enough left to accept a third crown. I had the tooth extracted 6 weeks ago It...
I was a teenager in the late 50s and early 60s when rock and roll was all over the radio. With a few high-voltage exceptions like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin...
I had it in May - woke up at 4 a.m. feeling like I was coming down with a cold. Tested positive and moved to the closed off living room with recliner and left a not for my wife on the kitchen table....
I've followed your story here. I'm so sorry for your loss of Jeff. You have done all and more that a partner can do. We would all be lucky to have someone like you when our time comes. Jim...
I needed a root canal two years ago because of bad pain when chewing. Had it done as urgent care at the VA at the height of COVID (before there were vaccines). I had an endodontist and a dentist...
I maintain a 62 acre conservation land plus 30 acre pond. When I mow trails all summer long and when I mow the fields in the fall I see lots of voles running below the cutting height of the brush...
In addition to suppressing testosterone Zytiga suppresses the adrenal gland's production of cortisol, which our bodies need to regulate our metabolism, among other things. So the small dose of...
There is a grand piano in Dana-Farber's lobby. There was often someone playing before COVID restrictions clamped everything down. The Boston Jamaica Plain VA hospital has an upright piano in the...
You have reminded me why I am happy to be retired....
I just took a look at clinicaltrials.gov and found this. It's a currently recruiting phase 3 trial of Lu-177 in patients who haven't yet had taxane chemo for progressing PCa...
Duck. Patients selected for participation in the trial had to have "Disease progression after the receipt of previous treatment both with one or more approved androgen-receptor–pathway inhibitors and...
When my MO wanted to start me on Zytiga he warned me it could be very expensive but that depended on my insurance plan and how successful the Dana-Farber team might be at negotiating a better price...
The May issue of Consumer Reports on page 27 has a table of online pharmacies that offer discounted prices for many prescriptions. I don't want to name those businesses here but you can find a copy...
Just want to thank you Todd for your comments here and over the years. You are our inspiration and our hero. And your wife if is clearly one fine woman. Jim...
I was at a UMass Medical Center eye clinic waiting room yesterday while my wife had an appointment. HGTV - mildly annoying because I was trying to read, but I understand a lot of patients probably...
No worries. In a more rational system no one would have to jump through hoops or turn over every stone to get medical care....
Many vets receiving VA care qualify because of service-connected disabilities, service in the Persian Gulf, Vietnam, or other combat area, receipt of a purple heart, or other qualifying events that...
I know the OP post is about how veterans under VA care can request care from non-VA providers. Another useful thing to know is veterans like me who have private health insurance can also get or...
Ask your wife if she was a mod or a rocker. It may bring back memories from her youth.[/quote] More of a deceptively hippie dressed artistic director then and now always wringing funding from stones...
1) Android / Windows - Agree with RobLee about Apple. It's like buying a car with a padlock on the hood. 2) Beatles - I note here that my wife is from Liverpool - but she was a Who fan in her youth....
Yes this is normal, especially for the first dose. The first dose is triple the amount of the following monthly doses and is administered as two shots in the abdomen. Mine were pretty painful the...
I've always wondered who malpractice attorneys go to when they need medical care, and do they wear disguises....
Melaine, My PCa history is somewhat parallel to your husband's, though I had more extensive involvement shown at biopsy and was also positive for SVI. But even with that somewhat more aggressive...
I had my follow-up labs today at Dana-Farber, a month after starting Abiraterone (Zytiga). Whoo-hoo - results are great. PSA is 0.05 - down from 0.55 a month ago. T is undetectable. Liver enzymes are...
I'm near the end of my first month on Zytiga. I should receive a refill from the VA tomorrow or Saturday. Then have labs and follow-up appointment with Dana-Farber on Thursday. So far I've not...
I've just started Zytiga in addition to Lupron. As much as I love a glass, or two, or three of chardonnay, I'm pretty much off alcohol for the moment until I see how my bloodwork looks after I've...
I've sorted out my business with the VA. My Dana-Farber oncologist wants me to start Zytiga. The VA will fill the prescription, saving me a hefty copay. I received my first month's supply of Zytiga...
Thanks I've added it to my Kindle list. Jim...
It's 20 years and counting since my diagnosis in 2001 and surgery in 2002. I've been back for other treatments. I still have cancer. I'm still living life as always - doing volunteer conservation...
I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee the Sunday New York Times and Boston Globe. Keep up the good work. Jim...
My situation is somewhat a mirror image of yours. I get my primary cancer care through Dana-Farber in Boston. Now that my D-F oncologist wants me to start Zytiga. I've arranged an appointment with a...
I've listened to and still attempt to play lots of blues. Blues lyrics are an encyclopedia of double entendre. "I'm your steady rollin' man, "tight like that," "let me be your salty dog", "keep...
Thank you all for the preview of coming attractions. My MO at Dana-Faber recommended a month ago that I start Zytiga plus Prednisone. I've played phone tag with the VA for a couple of weeks, but now...
0311, I was a navy coastal surveillance radioman. You marines had a much tougher gig. I once had to drop off one of our guys for a marine helicopter lift to fix a broken off-shore radar. The marines...
A few years ago I was in a shopping mall eyeglass store with my wife who was looking for new glasses. The only other customers in the store turned out to be my former urologist and his wife. We went...