New to this site.

Hello everyone, I'm Bill. I was recently diagnosed at my place of employment with metastatic prostate cancer. For me anyways, thats the bad news. The good news is that I'm professionally employed at a hospital that specializes in prostate cancer treatment. At this point I'm trying to decide between beginning the drugs involved in the Latitude or the Chaarted trials.

[Hidden]

Hello Bill, I did a phase III study for hep c. Turned out my drugs worked okay but others being tested at the same time turned out to be better. I wish I had waited the 14 months to see all the results. If time is on your side you might want to wait and take your pick. My two cents. Ray

[ctarleton]

Welcome. Lots to think about. This article discusses the decision-making between the drugs used in the Latitude and Chaarted trials. Hope it might help in some way as you continue discussions with your doctor, and come to a decision, yourself.

Charles

blog.kantarhealth.com/blog/...

..."Cross-trial comparisons between LATITUDE and CHAARTED show nearly identical improvements in risk of death for patients receiving Zytiga versus docetaxel with ADT (HR of 0.62 versus 0.63, respectively). Physicians may prefer the improved toxicity profile of Zytiga over docetaxel, but may also consider cost in treatment choice. Notably, duration of therapy with Zytiga has a median of 33 months in LATITUDE, while docetaxel was given for 6 cycles, or 4.5 months, in CHAARTED, potentially impacting cost as well as convenience to the patient. Another concern is that if Zytiga is used in an earlier setting, what will be used for subsequent treatment if the patient becomes mCRPC. ..."

[Hidden in reply to ctarleton]

Thank you

[AlanMeyer]

Hello Bill,

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. If your photo is a recent one, you look young to have this disease.

Have your colleagues at the hospital recommended one treatment over the other? Choosing Zytiga is pretty straightforward. They give you the pills and you take them. Chemotherapy is more complicated. I think you want an oncologist that you trust to do a good job of administering the drug and protecting you from the side effects? Ask about how the docetaxel would be administered (e.g., small dose once a week, large dose every three weeks.) Ask about the number of treatments the doctor would recommend. Ask about what steps would be taken to protect you from peripheral neuropathy and nausea. Ask how sick the chemo might make you and what would constitute being too sick, and what would they do if you got too sick. Look up the answers to see if they make sense for you.

Finally, I have read that African Americans are thought to have worse cases of PCa on average than Caucasians. One theory that has some evidence for it is that men with African ancestry are genetically more inclined to inflammation and that in turn makes their cancer more aggressive. Those holding this theory recommend treatment with anti-inflammatories (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.) in addition to other treatments. I would ask your oncologist about that.

I wish you the best of luck in your treatment.

Alan

[Hidden in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you Alan. I'm 41.

[Don1157 in reply to Hidden]

Damn young 41, keep up the good work!

[JamesAtlanta]

Hi Bill! Welcome to our group you received excellent advice from the earlier posts.

I was diagnosed with PCa at 53, PSS 227, bone met in spine and Gleason 4+4=8. In addition to Lupron and radiation, I elected to have early chemo (docetaxyl) due to the results of the Stampede study. My PSA was undetectable within 4-months. I think the chemo helped a lot. I know you see patients in your profession who undergo chemo. As I’m sure you are aware, it is well tolerated if you are in generally good health. So I just wanted you to know that it is not to be feared if your doctor advises you to take it. Just get good advice as Alan suggests. Many of us have had it and we are very glad we did.

Best of luck with your treatment! Please keep us posted and let us know how we can help.

James

[Hidden in reply to JamesAtlanta]

Thank you.

[drsridhar53 in reply to Hidden]

I am sure you will be well at least till 2050 Bill, most probably much longer. The only problem you face now is which course of treatment is best for you. I am sure your colleagues will help you. Please keep posting. Best of luck!!

[Don1157]

Welcome Bill, lots of knowledge here good luck with your treatment!

[BigRich]

As you know this disease is complicated. Consult with your oncologist and research all the outcome studies and drug side effects. Also, if you have hypertension, kidney disease, diabetic, A-Fib, or cardio vascular issues see what drug interactions there maybe, and how will the medication affect your other health issues.

Rich

[Tonyland]

Hi there,

This is a wonderful site for knowledge and overall support. My dad was diagnosed with late stage in Apr 2016 at the age of 86.

Being at older age, we opted against early chemo but as an African American, we've found that he has a more aggressive form from genetic testing. He tested Brca2 positive along with another genetic mutation. Maybe early chemo might not have been a bad idea.

On the other side, there are treatment options as well for those that test positive for genetic mutations.

If you can, please try to push for genetic mapping early on. This could give a better determination as far as better front line treatment options.

[Hidden in reply to Tonyland]

Thank you.

[j-o-h-n]

NICE HAT...

j-o-h-n Monday (Cyber) 11/27/2017 6:20 PM EST