Just finished Radiothereapy three weeks ago..

[Nuray]

Hi folks,just a quick update,I finished Radiothereapy about three weeks ago?and had my last hormone injection to?last week had a blood test to determine my current PSA reading?how long after I stop my hormone therapy folks?should be the pinochle point and reach my base line PSA measurements should be?

[AlanMeyer]

I had two Lupron injections, one was nominally good for 30 days, the other for 90 days. I think it took about 4.5 months after my last injection for the testosterone to be noticeable to me (no more hot flashes, some revival of libido) and I saw the PSA at 0.8 around six months after the last injection. According to what I've read, how quickly the testosterone comes back depends on your age and how long you've been on hormone therapy. Older men and men who have been on HT for a long time will take longer to get their T levels back. I've been told that PSA follows T. In other words, first your testosterone comes back. Then after a while, the prostate cells revive and the PSA comes back.

The PSA "nadir", i.e., the lowest point the PSA reaches after treatment, varies enormously. For some men it happens immediately. For others it happens in a year or so. For me, it took more than five years! Don't be alarmed if your PSA goes up after the Lupron is done. That's normal. Don't be alarmed if the PSA bounces around, that's fairly common too. My understanding is that about 1/3 of men have PSA bounces. The time to become alarmed is if the PSA goes up, then goes up again, then goes up again, three times with at least three months between readings. Even then, you may need a fourth PSA test to confirm that the cancer is really still there. The reason for this is that radiation does not kill the cancer right away. They balance the dose to give you enough to severely damage the cancer, but not enough to cause severe side effects in healthy tissue. The cancer cells can take many months or years to die off completely and during that time they may actually produce more PSA than they otherwise would.

Best of luck.

Alan

[Nuray in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you very much Alan,for your kind input👍I guess each and every one of us on this forum will all experience some sought of Bounce,the nest we can hope or achieve would be a stable borderline measurable PSA 🙏

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Nuray,

I'm guessing you had your "last" hormone shot, after a sequence of shots. Usually, 18 months on, and 18 off. Please don't think this is a vacation. When, and if, your PSA rises while on this routine, it will determine your future care. Mine began to rise (double), and I was put on ADT full time. It doubled again, 6 to 27, and I was put on Zytiga last November, which took it to 1, but eeked up .2 a month, and settled at 2.5 for two months currently. This is just me, Nuray, so don't go nuts, just be prepared. Early on, I was at my Uro's office, and was told I was going on vacation. I made a comment to another Uro, about maybe losing the hot flashes and he said, I quote, "Don't bet on it", so snarky like. Little did I know he was right, but, little does he know, I've been cursing him ever since. Be your best, bro.

Joe

[Nuray]

Thanks Kam,fingers crossed my PSA stay stable for a while mate?I feel ok at the moment?just hopeful I guess