PCa with Bone mets in femur - Advanced Prostate...

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PCa with Bone mets in femur

DFZ4835 profile image
30 Replies

Two months ago I had a PET scan that seemed to show a cracked femur neck on my left hip. I was told to see a orthopedic surgeon at Dreyer Clinic in Aurora Illinois. I saw Doctor Rabin head of orthopedic surgery at Dreyer. He did not see a cracked in the femur and ordered a CT scan and an xray. Those tests showed a large bone met 3/4 of the way through the femur making the femur weak. He said I had some choices. One was to do nothing and wait for the bone to break. Two was to try and support it with screws. Three was to put a metal brace on it and four was to put a rod into the femur with screws to do the best job of fixing it. I had the rod installed on the 11th. I spent the night in the hospital and went home the 13th.

I have bone mets to numerous to count. Mets are found on the skull, neck and shoulders, spine, ribs, the whole hip area, femur and jawbones. Has anyone else had problems like this with your bone mets.

DFZ4835

DENNIS

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Scruffybut1 profile image
Scruffybut1

Hi Dennis, at diagnosis 2 yrs ago had mets in both hips, all along spine, back ribs, scapulae, chest plus various in soft tissues but not mets as widespread as yours. Docetaxel knocked mine back and Zytiga great follow up. No new mets, no extension to existing mets and maybe 80% gone. The chemo doesn't differentiate between locations and acts on all areas. What treatment are you having?

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to Scruffybut1

I finished with doctaxtal am having zytiga, a Xgeva and lupron. We are discussing changes but they haven't given me what I feel are good enough reasons to change.

JoelT profile image
JoelT

Dennis,

Have you been taking the drug called Zometa? Long term use of Zometa (Zoldronic Acid) is known to cause weird and serious breaks in the femur.

Joel

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to JoelT

No the last time I used zometa was in 2012.

Alicat1 profile image
Alicat1 in reply to JoelT

Hi Joel,

That's an interesting thought. I've used Zometa a few times over 2 years with 3 month intervals between each infusion. As a close follower of this forum it's the first time I've heard that it does weird things/ cases problems in the femur. Not questioning your veracity simply wondering if there is anything you can point me to that supports your statement. Quite a few posts about how good a combination of celebrex and zometa is for metastatic PCa? I'm confused.

Gleason 8 - Psa 425 dx November 2017 ...on Lupron shots and using estradiol gel. Mets to left femur where the ball and socket arrangement of the hip is located. Psa down to 0.2 now.

Thanks to all the helpful people who post here. This forum has become a daily read for me.

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24

Mine are advancing. Oncologist team has tried chemo (Docetaxel)... radiation twice...Zytiga/bicalutimide/Xtandi and Lupron and am now back on chemo again. Yet...mets still grow. they have been able to contain it to pelvis for 2 yrs...but I have exhausted all of the current antihormone therapys...it has become chem castrate resistant. so..not sure how effective this second round of chemo will be. Cancer is so damned aggressive. I'm 57. This all started 2 years ago

JoelT profile image
JoelT in reply to Lombardi24

Lombardi,

Sorry to hear your story. I did not notice Xofigo on the list of drugs you have used. It is a really powerful treatment for bone mets. Also not on the list is Jevtana (cabaziltaxel), another possible type of chemotherapy.

Joel

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to JoelT

Hey Joel. They are treating me with Zometa for bone density. This will be my last treatment involving chemo. I go thru these treatmento and I gain a month or two before cancer reassert itself

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to JoelT

My PSA never gets higher than 16 and I end up with multiple lesions

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to JoelT

Thanks Joel. I will talk to Oncologist re: both.

chascri profile image
chascri

I have/had multiple mets in spine, ribs, sternum and femur. In October I finished six monthly intravenous injections with Xofigo (radium 223). After second injection, experienced great bone pain relief allowing me to get off Hydromorphone 4mg every 4 hours. Now controlling minor bone pain with Naproxen Sodium 220 mg morning and night. My oncologists says its reasonable to expect pain relief to last 6 to 9 months or until new mets develop. Had minimal side effects from the Xofigo, mainly increased fatigue, which seems to be improving now about 1 month after my last injection. My PSA is now down to .68.

Cancersucks profile image
Cancersucks

Ex has extensive mets as well and one which caused a fracture to his femoral head as well three months ago. He did radiation to left hip/femur as well as to lower spine due to impending spinal cord compression. He wasn't offered surgery as he had done lupron, docetaxel, xgeva, xtandi, zytiga, Provenge, xofigo and now jetvana for extension of life, all since diagnosis 18 months ago. Surgery seemed pointless due to aggressiveness of cancer. He is still ambulatory but pain is fairly widespread. Radiation helped a little with pain to left hip but caused constant GI issues.

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to Cancersucks

I felt the surgery to the femur with the 17 inch rod would save from having hip break and replacement surgery later. Hip replacement is a much bigger surgery than the 'placement of the rod. It would've broken soon. I am sure at a inopportune time.

Dennis

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to Cancersucks

I am so sorry. My cancer is also incredibly aggressive. How advanced was cancer when he was diagnosed?

Cancersucks profile image
Cancersucks in reply to Lombardi24

PSA 2740. Hundreds of bone and lymph node mets. The worst part was bone marrow metastases which caused severe pancytopenia. He almost bled out internally and externally until lupron and flutamide began to work. Nothing has worked well for long and prognosis now is grim. Widespread bone pain. After two rounds of jetvana, PSA now 480, up 200 points in 8 weeks..

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to Cancersucks

Oh my God. I cant' ever express how sorry I am. This cancer is so insidious and tenacious. My heart goes out to him. I hope he finds peace soon. Bill

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to Lombardi24

Gleason 9

JoelT profile image
JoelT in reply to Cancersucks

I believe that there is currently an ongoing trial using Xofigo A second time. This may be something to keep in mind if the bone Mets continue to progress.

Joel

Since you have serious bone mets, may I just suggest that you watch this trial of Burixafor (aka Plerixafor)? The concept is that the drug is used in leukapheresis to mobilize stem cells out of the bone, for collection, and the trial is to see to what extent it also mobilizes bone mets out of the bone.

It is not a new drug. Not sure why this has not been tried before. Maybe it has been. But I think it is quite interesting. I applied but I was "too healthy".

I understand that your hip is already seriously compromised, so this may be problematic.

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to

Where can I find this trials information. Sorry I not very good with my tablet yet.

in reply to DFZ4835

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...

i should have included the link.

its at johns hopkins in baltimore, dr michael pienta

JoelT profile image
JoelT in reply to

In general all the or I should say most of the listed travels are at: clinicaltrials.gov When the web page opens there is a search box in the upper right where you can put in things like prostate cancer, a drug name like Xofigo, etc

Did your femur hurt? I dont have any info on bone pain, so I am asking you. I imagine that a bone met, that is both growing and embedded inside the bone, would cause lots of pain due to the stress on the encapsulating bone. No?

DFZ4835 profile image
DFZ4835 in reply to

It is hard to tell because of all the painkillers I'm on. I take 80 mg er oxycontin in the morning and night. I also take 10/325 norcos for break through pain. Top that off with 50 mg of CBD everyday and the amount of arthritis I have its hard to tell. The bone met didn't give me any extra pain. The met was a little more than 3/4 through the bone on the top of the femur before the turn to the ball. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Bone pain from pc is the same as the pain from arthritis. I am sorry I can't help you with a definite answer to your question. My arthritis started when I was a junior in high school.

Dennis

in reply to DFZ4835

The "itis" illnesses are due to infection I am pretty sure, or maybe just swelling. I have never heard of arthritis being curable, but I wonder why not?

(hepatitis, appendicitis - actually that can be fixed by antibiotics)

Lombardi24 profile image
Lombardi24 in reply to

Hey. The "itis" indicates irritation due to whatever the physiological condition is. It is a symptom treated mostly by anti-inflammatory meds.

KidKotch profile image
KidKotch

Hi Dennis: I have been in this fight for 23+ years. My bone mets are exactly like yours and they have shown up and then not. Broke the femur last November and had the rod put in. I was having a problem healing. Switched Doctors and the second one prescribed an ultrasound device that has been healing the femur but still working on getting off the walker. I have been on a cane but then over do it and end up back on the walker. I see this was posted 10 months ago. What is your condition now?

in reply to KidKotch

So, Kid, you have had mets go away too? I had three id'd a year and a half ago. I was put on Xgeva in November/16, and now they're gone. Should I expect them to return? I'm just 8 years into this, almost, December 31 will be my anniversary, and I'm 58 years old. I want to live longer than my 10-15 year prognosis.

I wish you well in healing your femur, that hadda hurt bad. Good Luck.

Joe

KidKotch profile image
KidKotch

Hi Joe. My Doctor said they are still there but can't be seen. I'll take that. Haven't had a full scan in a couple of years. We will have to wait and see. My high PSA was 3,650 and Lupron with Casadex brought it down to 2. It is now up again. I was 58 when diagnosed and am 81 now

NPfisherman profile image
NPfisherman

Hi Dennis,

Have you had gene mapping? If so, your Oncologist should be able to find a clinical trial that would be an ideal match for you. Good luck, I am new here and know that this is what can happen to me. In the meantime, hang in there....so many clinical trials with many new different classes of drugs...there is still hope

Dave

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