DIC?

[JoeKatyT]

Has anyone here had DIC as a part of their prostate cancer? When diagnosed this August my husband was in DIC and ended up hospitalized for three weeks, ICU about a week of that time, and receiving continuous blood and plasma transfusions. He is incredibly fortunate to have survived thanks to an aggressive oncologist but I'm wondering about the lingering effects of this. I worry all the time he will relapse. He is 50 yo, diagnosed in August when admitted to the ER. Stage 4 with metastatic pc to lymph nodes and bone marrow. I have not met anyone who either has had metastatic cancer to not the bone but bone marrow- or who has survived DIC. I would love to hear from someone who has. Thank you....

[YostConner]

I had not heard of this, so I Googled and found an NIH article that suggests DIC tends to resolve when the PCa is managed. It sounds like your husband has a good oncologist. Is your husband now on hormone therapy? Good wishes to both of you.

[JoeKatyT in reply to YostConner]

Yes I wish I had never heard of it either. He was not expected to survive it but with an aggressive oncologist who was willing to give his first chemo round in between blood transfusions, he did. My husband is now on hormone therapy and next week has 6th round of taxatere....

[gusgold]

Looks like DIC can be resolved with Firmagon....the big problem is PCa spread to the bone marrow...usually can be controlled with chemo but long term prognosis is bad

Gus

hindawi.com/journals/crionm...

[JoeKatyT]

It is sounding like short term prognosis is bad. The chemo seems to be beating it back enough now for him to stay out of DIC but our oncologist- who saved his life in the hospital- seems to be increasingly suggesting we "do the things we want to do now" with our children and family. It's so frustrating bc I have yet to hear of anyone else experiencing this and I wish I could talk to someone about their experience. Thanks for responding...

[BigM62]

How are they able to tell its spread to marrow? MRI? What medical speak do they say that says that?

[JoeKatyT in reply to BigM62]

Honestly it's really confusing bc it's so rare with prostate cancer. The marrow lights up on a PET scan but the primary way they confirmed was bone marrow biopsy. They tried 3 times and all were "dry taps" . On the 4th they were able to get a sample from the core which was positive for prostate cells. However, in retrospect I think they knew he had marrow involvement because that is what caused his DIC- no marrow no red blood cell production. His blood counts were all critical lows and his clotting times were critical highs. Essentially we will always know how well the bone marrow spread is being controlled by how his labs look and if he starts bleeding again.

[fsiefert]

What is DIC?

[JoeKatyT in reply to fsiefert]

Essentially a secondary condition (always something underlying) where blood stops clotting and you just bleed uncontrollably. It does not go away until the underlying condition begins to be treated. In my husband's case, it was giving chemo in the hospital in between blood and plasma transfusions while in ICU. It was either going to kill him or save his life and thankfully it was the latter. But, chemo is really just keeping it at bay right now. It will come back when chemo stops being effective.

[Hidden]

"Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a pathological process characterized by the widespread activation of the clotting cascade that results in the formation of blood clots in the small blood vessels throughout the body. This leads to compromised tissue blood flow and can ultimately lead to multiple organ damage."

Yes, this acronym, for a rare condition, does need explanation. Thank you Google.

[JoeKatyT in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! I should have explained more.

[JoeKatyT in reply to JoeKatyT]

I also have a more "layman" explanation above.

[Sisira in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Peddie for your thoughtfulness.

Sisira