Three years ago when I was diagnosed with PCa, my research and the majority of the posts here on HW seemed to imply that surgery/brachy/IMRT/proton/cryo (I know, there are others), as first line treatments, then SRT as backup to non radiation treatment. These were considered the curative treatments.
Then it was HT as a long term treatment, which was pallative, in that it kept PSA down, and the advance of mets, but did not cure the PC.
Finally, when all forms of HT were exhausted, the patient was given chemo of some sorts, that was viewed in my opinion as a last ditch effort.
It would appear to me that the plethora of chemo drugs now on the market, and those still coming, may indicate a shift in the traditional thinking.
I have seen some great results on here, and some not so great. But, I have begun to think that I may try chemo before HT, because it may have a chance ( have no idea what the stats would be) of being curative, and hopefully by the time I get there, may actually be considered so.
Maybe this is just hopeful thinking, but that is because I am hopeful. I realize there is a little blur between chemo and HT, in that some of the "chemo" treatments are actually another form of Hormone deprivation.
Just thinking out loud and looking for other opinions.
Goodlife
Good piece, Goodlife. But gee, when I expressed my own Oncologist's view on the possibility of using Chemo with me, vs. HT, I was labeled a fool, mis-guided, following the wrong path, etc. This is something my doctor suggested to me a full year ago. And to re-fresh memories, my oncologist only deals with advanced prostate cancer and advanced breast cancer.
He told me then (and still believes), that chemo can be used to strongly shock any remaining prostate cancer cells, he didn't use or insinuate the word "cured" per say, but said that even using something like Taxotere could shock the cancer into a very long remission, without the short and long term side effects of HT. He felt the use of the chemo was less damaging short term, then using HT long term.
When I see him again in about 10 days, I will engage the subject again, and see if he can provide me with any evidence of this thinking that can be shared openly. But he told me that he had seen great results by-passing HT altogether, and using Chemo instead, especially for those with difficult and aggressive strands of PC.
Just like other primary treatments are starting to take over surgery as the "gold standard", perhaps there will be other advanced treatments that will take over HT as the "standard" for advanced cancer, and this could include aggressive uses of early chemo.
David in SC
Age: 59, 56 dx, PSA: 10/08 16.3
3rd Biopsy: 9/08 7 of 7 Positive, 40-90%, Gleason 4+3
open RP: 11/08, original catheters 63 days
Path Rpt: Gleason 3+4, pT2c, 42g, 20% cancer, 1 pos margin
Incont & ED: None
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12, 4/10 .04, 8/10 .06, 2/11 1.24, 4/11 3.81, 6/11 5.8, 12/11 14.0, 4/12 37.0
Other: Spent total of 1 ½ years on 21 catheters, had Ileal Conduit Surgery 9/10
Member of Prostate Cancer & Chronic Pain HW Communities
He told me then (and still believes), that chemo can be used to strongly shock any remaining prostate cancer cells, he didn't use or insinuate the word "cured" per say, but said that even using something like Taxotere could shock the cancer into a very long remission, without the short and long term side effects of HT. He felt the use of the chemo was less damaging short term, then using HT long term.
When I see him again in about 10 days, I will engage the subject again, and see if he can provide me with any evidence of this thinking that can be shared openly. But he told me that he had seen great results by-passing HT altogether, and using Chemo instead, especially for those with difficult and aggressive strands of PC.
Just like other primary treatments are starting to take over surgery as the "gold standard", perhaps there will be other advanced treatments that will take over HT as the "standard" for advanced cancer, and this could include aggressive uses of early chemo.
David in SC
Age: 59, 56 dx, PSA: 10/08 16.3
3rd Biopsy: 9/08 7 of 7 Positive, 40-90%, Gleason 4+3
open RP: 11/08, original catheters 63 days
Path Rpt: Gleason 3+4, pT2c, 42g, 20% cancer, 1 pos margin
Incont & ED: None
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12, 4/10 .04, 8/10 .06, 2/11 1.24, 4/11 3.81, 6/11 5.8, 12/11 14.0, 4/12 37.0
Other: Spent total of 1 ½ years on 21 catheters, had Ileal Conduit Surgery 9/10
Member of Prostate Cancer & Chronic Pain HW Communities
David,
Sometimes old thinking or mindsets are hard to change. But things are changing in my view.
I was talking to a breast cancer survivor who had a mastectomy and Taxotere three years ago,and is still cancer free.
She also told me they gave her Lupron. Here I thought that was for males and testosterone.
Goodlife
Sometimes old thinking or mindsets are hard to change. But things are changing in my view.
I was talking to a breast cancer survivor who had a mastectomy and Taxotere three years ago,and is still cancer free.
She also told me they gave her Lupron. Here I thought that was for males and testosterone.
Goodlife
She also told me they gave her Lupron. Here I thought that was for males and testosterone.
nope. my guess is more women have taken lupron than men.
ed
age: 57
PSA on 12/09: 6.8
gleason 3+4 = 7
HT, BT and IGRT
received 3rd and last lupron shot 9/14/10
2/8/11 PSA <.1, T= 6 ng/dl
6/8/11 PSA .2, T = 540 ng/dl
8/19/11 PSA .3, T = 487 ng/dl
10/5/11 PSA .2, T = 530 ng/dl
3/1/12 PSA .3
One "advantage" of chemo is it attacks both androgen dependent and androgen indepedent cancer cells whereas HT only affects androgen dependent cells.
Dr. Lam made a convincing case for me to do chemo. He stated that it was only an incremental benefit, like in breast cancer treatment strategies, to be combined with other treatments such as HT, at least in my case.
Age 52; dx at 50, PSA 54.9
open RP, 2010; removed 14 lymph nodes
Pathology report: T3bN0MX, SVI, neg margin, Gleason 9
HT: ADT2, 36 months: 17 months left
Finished Adjuvant RT, 75.6 Gy, 9/11
Finished Adjuvant Taxotere (6 x 60 mg/m2), 6/12
Latest PSA <0.03, T=9
I have had this same discussion at great length with both uro and oncologist. There are pros & cons, but for me, because of insurance, I have to go refractory on HT (or prove to be unable to take HT at all - allergy, etc) before they wil pay for any chemo treatment.
We were hoping for the zytiga study to complete, but since it was stopped early, it won't be considered by insurance until Lupron is out of consideration.
My opinion was if the chemo works better, why not take the SE hit now, while I am in better general health, instead of dealing with HT for an indeterminate time, then piling on chemo. Uro agrees, Onco wants HT. Uro has a quality of life orientation, Onco has quantity of life orientation.
Moderator - Prostate Cancer
(Not a medical professional)
DaVinci 10/2009
My adjuvant IGRT journey (2010) -
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1756808
Moderator - Prostate Cancer
(Not a medical professional)
DaVinci 10/2009
My adjuvant IGRT journey (2010) -
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=1756808
Adjuvant Taxotere was recommended for my G9 situation, with a potential 10% chance of being curative, but after some research, I finally decided to forego chemo for now. I have not seen much to indicate that chemo is curative, although it may be for some types of prostate cancer.
Instead, I found that chemo, while possibly helpful in some cases, might make things worse. I was particularly dissuaded by some neo-adjuvant trials of taxotere for prostate cancer. One study in particular looked at metastasis pathways before and after chemo and found that taxotere-treated tumors had developed pathways consistent with potential metastasis versus untreated tumors. Also, none of the neo-adjuvant trials showed that taxotere could be curative.
I'm hoping some of pipeline treatments will be available should my HT/RT combo fail to stem the tide.
My 2 cents worth.
Nellie
Age 60 Gleason 9
1/10 PSA 14.7
5/10 Bx: Gleason 3+4
8/4/2010 RRP: Gleason 4+5; Positive Margins, PNI
Incontinence: N/A; ED: 70%
Until 4/11, PSA <.01; 4/11: .01; 6/11: .03
10/11 <.01; 02/12 <.02
ADT3 started 7/11; WPRT 39 sessions ended 10/11:
Pelvic lymph nodes: 45 Gy; Fossa 66 Gy; Prostate bed: 71.5 Gy.
Minor lymphadema as result of lymphadenectomy at time of RRP and whole-pelvic RT
Instead, I found that chemo, while possibly helpful in some cases, might make things worse. I was particularly dissuaded by some neo-adjuvant trials of taxotere for prostate cancer. One study in particular looked at metastasis pathways before and after chemo and found that taxotere-treated tumors had developed pathways consistent with potential metastasis versus untreated tumors. Also, none of the neo-adjuvant trials showed that taxotere could be curative.
I'm hoping some of pipeline treatments will be available should my HT/RT combo fail to stem the tide.
My 2 cents worth.
Nellie
Age 60 Gleason 9
1/10 PSA 14.7
5/10 Bx: Gleason 3+4
8/4/2010 RRP: Gleason 4+5; Positive Margins, PNI
Incontinence: N/A; ED: 70%
Until 4/11, PSA <.01; 4/11: .01; 6/11: .03
10/11 <.01; 02/12 <.02
ADT3 started 7/11; WPRT 39 sessions ended 10/11:
Pelvic lymph nodes: 45 Gy; Fossa 66 Gy; Prostate bed: 71.5 Gy.
Minor lymphadema as result of lymphadenectomy at time of RRP and whole-pelvic RT
I get frustrated with the seemingly outdated treatment strategies in prostate cancer, especially when one compares it to all the work that has been done in breast cancer. It seems like the medical community continues to reinforce the old "try this, wait for it for it to fail, then try this, wait for failure, etc." Even the new drugs require a man to go hormone refractory. The dream is for an expert prostate cancer medical oncologist to sit with a newly diagnosed patient and plan an integrated treatment strategy from the beginning. The integrated strategy can include AS, surgery, radiation, chemo, HT, diet, etc. Some day.
Age 52; dx at 50, PSA 54.9
open RP, 2010; removed 14 lymph nodes
Pathology report: T3bN0MX, SVI, neg margin, Gleason 9
HT: ADT2, 36 months: 17 months left
Finished Adjuvant RT, 75.6 Gy, 9/11
Finished Adjuvant Taxotere (6 x 60 mg/m2), 6/12
Latest PSA <0.03, T=9
Age 52; dx at 50, PSA 54.9
open RP, 2010; removed 14 lymph nodes
Pathology report: T3bN0MX, SVI, neg margin, Gleason 9
HT: ADT2, 36 months: 17 months left
Finished Adjuvant RT, 75.6 Gy, 9/11
Finished Adjuvant Taxotere (6 x 60 mg/m2), 6/12
Latest PSA <0.03, T=9
A few recent articles have suggested that cancer cells mutate such that they eventually ignore the cancer cell poisons. The analogy was to Darwin's survival of the fittest. There also was an article that a small percentage of cancer cells will be initially resistant to the first chemo drug and will live on and multiply.
There are some who believe that chemo type poisons may weaken the immune system by destroying T-cells which fight cancer.
The suggestion was that a combination of chemo type cell poisons would be more likely to be very effective. This is like the cocktail used in HIV/Aids.
Some of the future drug trials will be for such drug cocktails........Robert
There are some who believe that chemo type poisons may weaken the immune system by destroying T-cells which fight cancer.
The suggestion was that a combination of chemo type cell poisons would be more likely to be very effective. This is like the cocktail used in HIV/Aids.
Some of the future drug trials will be for such drug cocktails........Robert
Robert,
I must have been asleep when this Nature article appeared in late June, but it must be what you're referring to. Would that cocktail hour started this week.
www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11219.html
Nellie
I must have been asleep when this Nature article appeared in late June, but it must be what you're referring to. Would that cocktail hour started this week.
www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11219.html
Nellie
Nellie,
Here's another article of several I saw recently:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711150605.htm
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120621101905.htm
Here's another article of several I saw recently:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120711150605.htm
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120621101905.htm
Post Edited (robertcool) : 7/12/2012 1:40:22 PM (GMT-6)
good life just a couple of points...
It is my understanding...
1> Women and Lupron. Lupron has been long used to treat endometriosis and other gynecological conditions. You might recall seeing some stuff in the press that women were suing Abbott to put an end to Lupron. Of course this was not considering that folks with various forms of cancer needed the drug.
2> You gave us two options for Chemo ~ Pallitive or Curitive. But there's more options available:
a> Pallitive. Taxotere, Cabazitaxel, and Mitozantrone are all used in palliative care. They can bring pain relief and extend lives. Not so much for mitozantrone but it can be used in combinations to help relieve pain by shrinking tumors that have already become refractory to HT and other chemo options.
b>Curitive. Not typically for a metastatic prostate cancer survivor. In fact pretty much not curative in these cases at all. But investigation and trials have been conducted to see if early adjuvant taxotere have been and being conducted in patients that do not have metastatic conditions detected. It is not known at this time that it is effective in that way. The trials that resulted in the drugs release were in stage 4 terminal cases that showed refraction to hormonal ablation. The time frame of prostate cancer specific survival was 19 months compared to the control arm of placebo. But that was a median and not the law. Some patients responded and some did far better. Just a note that Taxotere and Jevtana are brand names of the drugs docetaxel and cabazetaxel respectively.
c> This may fall under palliative but there are many cases where a cure is not likely, and disease control is all that is needed. Such as outlined above in cases where conventional HT is not an option. In these cases a cure is not necessary, at least at the time of treatment, and the patient is likely to die of something else. This is still under investigation as to whom is the right patient for this.
Other drugs that qualify as chemotherapy options include Radium 223, cisplatin (very rarely useful in PCa), and others are available in compassionate care situations.
Hope this helps...
Tony
Advanced Prostate Cancer at age 44 (I am 50 now)
pT3b,N0,Mx (original PSA was 19.8) EPE, PM, SVI. Gleason 4+3=7
Treatments:
Da Vinci Surgery ~ 2/16/2007
Adjuvant Radiation Therapy ~ IMRT Completed 8/07
Adjuvant Hormone Therapy ~ 28 months on Casodex and Lupron.
Undetectable PSA.
Blog: www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonycrispino
It is my understanding...
1> Women and Lupron. Lupron has been long used to treat endometriosis and other gynecological conditions. You might recall seeing some stuff in the press that women were suing Abbott to put an end to Lupron. Of course this was not considering that folks with various forms of cancer needed the drug.
2> You gave us two options for Chemo ~ Pallitive or Curitive. But there's more options available:
a> Pallitive. Taxotere, Cabazitaxel, and Mitozantrone are all used in palliative care. They can bring pain relief and extend lives. Not so much for mitozantrone but it can be used in combinations to help relieve pain by shrinking tumors that have already become refractory to HT and other chemo options.
b>Curitive. Not typically for a metastatic prostate cancer survivor. In fact pretty much not curative in these cases at all. But investigation and trials have been conducted to see if early adjuvant taxotere have been and being conducted in patients that do not have metastatic conditions detected. It is not known at this time that it is effective in that way. The trials that resulted in the drugs release were in stage 4 terminal cases that showed refraction to hormonal ablation. The time frame of prostate cancer specific survival was 19 months compared to the control arm of placebo. But that was a median and not the law. Some patients responded and some did far better. Just a note that Taxotere and Jevtana are brand names of the drugs docetaxel and cabazetaxel respectively.
c> This may fall under palliative but there are many cases where a cure is not likely, and disease control is all that is needed. Such as outlined above in cases where conventional HT is not an option. In these cases a cure is not necessary, at least at the time of treatment, and the patient is likely to die of something else. This is still under investigation as to whom is the right patient for this.
Other drugs that qualify as chemotherapy options include Radium 223, cisplatin (very rarely useful in PCa), and others are available in compassionate care situations.
Hope this helps...
Tony
Advanced Prostate Cancer at age 44 (I am 50 now)
pT3b,N0,Mx (original PSA was 19.8) EPE, PM, SVI. Gleason 4+3=7
Treatments:
Da Vinci Surgery ~ 2/16/2007
Adjuvant Radiation Therapy ~ IMRT Completed 8/07
Adjuvant Hormone Therapy ~ 28 months on Casodex and Lupron.
Undetectable PSA.
Blog: www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonycrispino
I'm unsure of which it is but I am currently going through the chemo and HT process, maybe next week it will be radiation of the prostrate bed after consultation with Onco n Uro. Anyway my Nadir hasn't appeared yet and the PSA continues to drop...perhaps due to HT and/or chemo but I'm writing this to let yall know that it does happen it does seem to be beneficial. Ken
Age:55
VAMC Houston
Pre-op
6-24-11 PSA-36.7ng (-DRE)
10-06-11 PSA-38.23ng
12-09-11 Biopsy=11 of 12 cores +/Neuroendocrine pattern seen on 2 cores
32.13grams/+PNI/+DRE/-Bone scan/CT scan inconclusive (5.5mm spot in lung)
G9 4+5
2-13-2012 RALP
Prostrate weight:60grams
RP and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection
Adenocarcinoma and Neuroendocrine carcinoma
Tumor involves 90% of prostate
EPE: Present, nonfocal, extensive
SVI: Present, extensive
LVI: present
PNI: present
Margins uninvolved by invasive carcinoma including apical, bladder neck & multiple lateral margins
G9 4+5 pT3b
Post-op
3-29-12 PSA 5ng** 6.5wks post op
4-09-12 1st round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-200mg with a two day followup of pills (800mg total=400mg p/day)
4-09-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot (5.5mm inconclusive);Abdominal Lymph Node spot (1.6mm-inconclusive);MRI-spot on brain (inconclusive)
4-09-12 HT-Zoladex (3 month cycle started)
4-30-12 2d round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-200mg with a two day followup of pills (800mg total=400mg p/day)
4-30-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot (5.5mm to 8.5mm inconclusive/thought to be Neuroendocrine carcinoma);Abdominal Lymph Node spot (1.6mm-inconclusive);MRI-spot on brain inconclusive)
4-30-12 PSA 1.41ng**
5-23-12 3d round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-160mg with a two day followup of 160mg IV drip due to lack of pill availability...
5-23-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot show no growth;Abdominal Lymph Node spot growth (1.6mm to 2mm-inconclusive/thought to be Neuroendocrine carcinoma)
5-23-12 PSA 0.76ng**
6-11-12 PSA 0.55ng**
6-20-12 PSA 0.34ng**
6-20-12 4th round of Chemo
6-28-12 Started Linac radiation of the brain for spots found earlier
7-11-12 PSA 0.29ng**
7-11-12 HT-Zoladex (2nd 3month cycle started)
7-12-12 Whole Brain radiation completed (10 sessions) for spots
7-12-12 Audio test given (prime candidate for hearing aids)
Age:55
VAMC Houston
Pre-op
6-24-11 PSA-36.7ng (-DRE)
10-06-11 PSA-38.23ng
12-09-11 Biopsy=11 of 12 cores +/Neuroendocrine pattern seen on 2 cores
32.13grams/+PNI/+DRE/-Bone scan/CT scan inconclusive (5.5mm spot in lung)
G9 4+5
2-13-2012 RALP
Prostrate weight:60grams
RP and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection
Adenocarcinoma and Neuroendocrine carcinoma
Tumor involves 90% of prostate
EPE: Present, nonfocal, extensive
SVI: Present, extensive
LVI: present
PNI: present
Margins uninvolved by invasive carcinoma including apical, bladder neck & multiple lateral margins
G9 4+5 pT3b
Post-op
3-29-12 PSA 5ng** 6.5wks post op
4-09-12 1st round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-200mg with a two day followup of pills (800mg total=400mg p/day)
4-09-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot (5.5mm inconclusive);Abdominal Lymph Node spot (1.6mm-inconclusive);MRI-spot on brain (inconclusive)
4-09-12 HT-Zoladex (3 month cycle started)
4-30-12 2d round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-200mg with a two day followup of pills (800mg total=400mg p/day)
4-30-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot (5.5mm to 8.5mm inconclusive/thought to be Neuroendocrine carcinoma);Abdominal Lymph Node spot (1.6mm-inconclusive);MRI-spot on brain inconclusive)
4-30-12 PSA 1.41ng**
5-23-12 3d round of Chemo* with Cisplatin-160mg & Etoposide-160mg with a two day followup of 160mg IV drip due to lack of pill availability...
5-23-12 Onco brief=CT scans-Lung spot show no growth;Abdominal Lymph Node spot growth (1.6mm to 2mm-inconclusive/thought to be Neuroendocrine carcinoma)
5-23-12 PSA 0.76ng**
6-11-12 PSA 0.55ng**
6-20-12 PSA 0.34ng**
6-20-12 4th round of Chemo
6-28-12 Started Linac radiation of the brain for spots found earlier
7-11-12 PSA 0.29ng**
7-11-12 HT-Zoladex (2nd 3month cycle started)
7-12-12 Whole Brain radiation completed (10 sessions) for spots
7-12-12 Audio test given (prime candidate for hearing aids)
Tony,
Thanks. I guess several of your points mentioned metastatic or hormone refractory situations. As I said, introducing chemo at that point is a hail Mary pass.
Someone in this thread mentioned a 10 % curative possibility with chemo. I have not researched it yet, but I would assume that it is achieved by doing it prior to exhausting all other possibilities.
It is my belief that it may be more effective and possibly curative if we employ it sooner.
Goodlife
Thanks. I guess several of your points mentioned metastatic or hormone refractory situations. As I said, introducing chemo at that point is a hail Mary pass.
Someone in this thread mentioned a 10 % curative possibility with chemo. I have not researched it yet, but I would assume that it is achieved by doing it prior to exhausting all other possibilities.
It is my belief that it may be more effective and possibly curative if we employ it sooner.
Goodlife
I asked my onc about the word "palliative" used on my forms. He said that it is mainly "insurance jargon" to allow more "stuff" to be covered. Not sure why. Maybe "curative" has a shorter life, I mean, after all, if you are on something and it DOESN'T "cure" you, why should they pay for it? On the other hand, "palliative" means just trudging along alleviating the patients pain and symptoms...(?).
But yes, I had to go "refractory" to hormone deprivation before my insurance would cover Provenge or chemo. I have had Provenge (didn't take, apparently), and am currently almost done with a Taxotere regimen of six infusions (re-evaluation later to see if I need more).
GL,
The topic of and approach to curative chemotherapy is highly controversial. Chemo has some of the worse SE's and long term studies of effects on other soft cell organs are not available. In other words if a patient lives 19 months longer in the extreme advanced cases it's reasonable to undergo such aggressive therapy. But if the Chemo "cures" a small cancer that may have been addressable in other ways but causes issues ten to twenty years down the road the question remains ~ was it reasonable to have had it in the first place?
Sanofi-Aventis ~ the developer of both docetaxel and cabazetaxel ~ has run a series of adjuvant chemotherapy studies for guys like us that achieved a remission after initial therapy but had very high risk factors. The results of that study could take well over a decade since achieving a remission in the first place will lead to survival over ten years in 99% of cases. So it is an expensive process and it is an arduous task to see how well it works when used early. We've got study participants here such as Southern Comfort, whom are still on HT and we don't know if the reason he is stringing the undetectables is due to the HT or the adjuvant chemo. I believe it helps and in his case it was reasonable. But the controversy will be ever present for him...
Tony
The topic of and approach to curative chemotherapy is highly controversial. Chemo has some of the worse SE's and long term studies of effects on other soft cell organs are not available. In other words if a patient lives 19 months longer in the extreme advanced cases it's reasonable to undergo such aggressive therapy. But if the Chemo "cures" a small cancer that may have been addressable in other ways but causes issues ten to twenty years down the road the question remains ~ was it reasonable to have had it in the first place?
Sanofi-Aventis ~ the developer of both docetaxel and cabazetaxel ~ has run a series of adjuvant chemotherapy studies for guys like us that achieved a remission after initial therapy but had very high risk factors. The results of that study could take well over a decade since achieving a remission in the first place will lead to survival over ten years in 99% of cases. So it is an expensive process and it is an arduous task to see how well it works when used early. We've got study participants here such as Southern Comfort, whom are still on HT and we don't know if the reason he is stringing the undetectables is due to the HT or the adjuvant chemo. I believe it helps and in his case it was reasonable. But the controversy will be ever present for him...
Tony
Post Edited (TC-LasVegas) : 7/13/2012 12:10:30 AM (GMT-6)
Found this info on the use of Lupron when treating breast cancer:
Uses: Lupron typically is used to reduce the risk of early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back in pre-menopausal women after surgery and other treatments
How it's given: Lupron is given as an injection once a month for several months or every few months.
Additional information: Once you stop receiving Lupron, the ovaries begin functioning again. The time it takes for the ovaries to recover can vary from woman to woman.
Uses: Lupron typically is used to reduce the risk of early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer coming back in pre-menopausal women after surgery and other treatments
How it's given: Lupron is given as an injection once a month for several months or every few months.
Additional information: Once you stop receiving Lupron, the ovaries begin functioning again. The time it takes for the ovaries to recover can vary from woman to woman.
Found this on New Prostate Cancer site.
This is asking the same question I am.
prostatecancerinfolink.net/2010/06/08/the-conversation-behind-the-scenes-at-asco/
This is asking the same question I am.
prostatecancerinfolink.net/2010/06/08/the-conversation-behind-the-scenes-at-asco/
goodlife, that was a good summary of treatments in your last post, going to keep that one handy
Age: 59, 56 dx, PSA: 10/08 16.3
3rd Biopsy: 9/08 7 of 7 Positive, 40-90%, Gleason 4+3
open RP: 11/08, original catheters 63 days
Path Rpt: Gleason 3+4, pT2c, 42g, 20% cancer, 1 pos margin
Incont & ED: None
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12, 4/10 .04, 8/10 .06, 2/11 1.24, 4/11 3.81, 6/11 5.8, 12/11 14.0, 4/12 37.0
Other: Spent total of 1 ½ years on 21 catheters, had Ileal Conduit Surgery 9/10
Member of Prostate Cancer & Chronic Pain HW Communities
Age: 59, 56 dx, PSA: 10/08 16.3
3rd Biopsy: 9/08 7 of 7 Positive, 40-90%, Gleason 4+3
open RP: 11/08, original catheters 63 days
Path Rpt: Gleason 3+4, pT2c, 42g, 20% cancer, 1 pos margin
Incont & ED: None
Post Surgery PSA: 2/09 .05,5/09 .1, 6/09 .11. 8/09 .16
Post SRT PSA: 1/10 .12, 4/10 .04, 8/10 .06, 2/11 1.24, 4/11 3.81, 6/11 5.8, 12/11 14.0, 4/12 37.0
Other: Spent total of 1 ½ years on 21 catheters, had Ileal Conduit Surgery 9/10
Member of Prostate Cancer & Chronic Pain HW Communities