28th November 2007
[QUOTE=mrpkpatel;3325835]iam appx 18months after rp on a pc with postive bladder margin but not positive lymph node involvment- i have gone thru with radiation treatment there after and chemotherapy -6 treatments with taxotere and has gone thru with 18 months of lupron (hormone treatement ) iam also taking calutide(casodex 50 mg) for last 12 months -- i had a psa of 55 at 1st diagnosis and my biopsy showed 5 and 4 for a total of 9
what are my chances -- iam 48 year old asian male
I'm with daff in thinking you have a good shot at many good years of living ahead of you. :)
You have had aggressive treatment, as you no doubt know, for your challenging case. The two things you could add are a 5-alpha reductase drug, either finasteride or Avodart (probably the latter as it is better on paper but with a much shorter track record) and a bisphosphonate to protect bone density while on hormonal blockde and reduce the likelihood of bone metastases.
It appears you are aiming for intermittent hormonal blockade (or, if you are lucky in achieving great and long-lasting cancer control after just one cycle, then once cycle of blockade with Lupron and Casodex plus the 5-ARI drug continuously for maintenance). One study published in the prestigious Journal of Urology in May 1996 (major authors: Scholz, Lam, Strum) indicates that adding the 5-ARI drug doubles the "off-therapy" (that is, off the Lupron and Casodex) period. :)
I have not had surgery, radiation or chemo, but I have been on intermittent triple hormonal blockade (Lupron, Casodex and finasteride, plus Fosamax until a year ago when I switched to Boniva). My case is also challenging: baseline PSA 113.6, GS 4+3=7, stage 3, but no detectable metastases. I am nearly at my eight year anniversary as a survivor and am doing very well. :cool: I posted more details under the thread "My story" on 11/20.
Medical research also suggests that certain supplements, nutrition, diet, exercise and stress reduction also support superior outcomes. :) There are several good books on these tactics, but there is one recent book that links these with hormonal therapy: "Beating Prostate Cancer: Hormonal Therapy & Diet," by Dr. Charles Myers.
Are you monitoring PSA with an ultrasensitive PSA test? If you do, you can compare your results to the results discussed by the authors in the above study and in other publications. Basically, if you get the PSA below 0.05, especially if you maintain it below that level for a year, it is an excellent indication that you have no or minimal androgen independent prostate cancer. If you do not get it to 0.05, some doctors I consider leaders believe it is a signal to add additional therapy or shift therapy. I've been able to get my PSA to <0.01 toward the end of the two cycles of full blockade I've had.
If you don't mind sharing your experience, I'm sure many of us would like to know what your experience with chemo was like. A number of doctors are now using a fairly short course of chemo at the start of hormonal blockade, and that appears to be what you had.
Take care and good luck,
Jim
what are my chances -- iam 48 year old asian male
I'm with daff in thinking you have a good shot at many good years of living ahead of you. :)
You have had aggressive treatment, as you no doubt know, for your challenging case. The two things you could add are a 5-alpha reductase drug, either finasteride or Avodart (probably the latter as it is better on paper but with a much shorter track record) and a bisphosphonate to protect bone density while on hormonal blockde and reduce the likelihood of bone metastases.
It appears you are aiming for intermittent hormonal blockade (or, if you are lucky in achieving great and long-lasting cancer control after just one cycle, then once cycle of blockade with Lupron and Casodex plus the 5-ARI drug continuously for maintenance). One study published in the prestigious Journal of Urology in May 1996 (major authors: Scholz, Lam, Strum) indicates that adding the 5-ARI drug doubles the "off-therapy" (that is, off the Lupron and Casodex) period. :)
I have not had surgery, radiation or chemo, but I have been on intermittent triple hormonal blockade (Lupron, Casodex and finasteride, plus Fosamax until a year ago when I switched to Boniva). My case is also challenging: baseline PSA 113.6, GS 4+3=7, stage 3, but no detectable metastases. I am nearly at my eight year anniversary as a survivor and am doing very well. :cool: I posted more details under the thread "My story" on 11/20.
Medical research also suggests that certain supplements, nutrition, diet, exercise and stress reduction also support superior outcomes. :) There are several good books on these tactics, but there is one recent book that links these with hormonal therapy: "Beating Prostate Cancer: Hormonal Therapy & Diet," by Dr. Charles Myers.
Are you monitoring PSA with an ultrasensitive PSA test? If you do, you can compare your results to the results discussed by the authors in the above study and in other publications. Basically, if you get the PSA below 0.05, especially if you maintain it below that level for a year, it is an excellent indication that you have no or minimal androgen independent prostate cancer. If you do not get it to 0.05, some doctors I consider leaders believe it is a signal to add additional therapy or shift therapy. I've been able to get my PSA to <0.01 toward the end of the two cycles of full blockade I've had.
If you don't mind sharing your experience, I'm sure many of us would like to know what your experience with chemo was like. A number of doctors are now using a fairly short course of chemo at the start of hormonal blockade, and that appears to be what you had.
Take care and good luck,
Jim