Father with prostate cancer and liver... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Father with prostate cancer and liver metastases

sam1011 profile image
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I joined this group for information and support. My 81 year old father has prostate cancer and diagnosed with liver metastases in November 2017.

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sam1011
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So difficult to see those we love suffer in any way. I’m sorry for this status. Stay close and loving to dad. That’s about all that I can say. Except that he had you That’s a blessing. I pray for mercy for you and your father.. best wishes to you both .

sam1011 profile image
sam1011 in reply to

Thanks for your kind sentiments. The irony is that my father works in a cancer hospital as a physicist and know exactly what is to come in his case. I have a lot of anger as to how his missed out on symptoms and/or neglected his own well being until my brother, who is a doctor raveled home and forced him to go and see his physician.

Right now my dad is mentally active and working full-time and refuses to slow down..even though his health is gradually declining. He is getting treatment but saying he won't go for chemotherapy and wants to go in dignity as he has led a happy, healthy and prosperous life.

I wish to be geographically close to him to knock some sense into him. Both him and my mother are so calm and collective about this whole scenario and asking all of us to accept what is going on. I will be travelling there in late June but right now have this terrible guilt for not there to ease the burden and pain.

in reply to sam1011

To sam1011, just the fact that YOU are here searching for pops tells me that you love this man more than anything. Your folks don’t want to,worry or burden you with the drudgery to come. You obviously have respect for him. As you stated , he knows the score.. My family has been scattered and I didn’t see my father while he fought bladder C then Pc dieing of asthma a yr after Prostatectomy. Now 20 yrs later I almost died of pcmyself. I was supposed to check myself by 40 because of my dads history.I blundered thru symptoms for years a very macho being.. Spend time with him if you can. Last time I saw dad he told me That he loved me for the first time in my life. That was big time..He knew he was ready to go. About 3 months after he passed he appeared in a dream cloaked in white and he told me. “” I am O.K. .. this gave me such peace. eaI’m now one of his reps on earth. We carry their legacy in our DNA. Your description of dad tells me he’s a great man and your compassion shows that hr reared a great son.. I,hope that your father lives long and that he’s following his out path. Respect them love them . Our parents are our foundation.. Take care and don’t ignore symptoms which I hope for you never arise. Pc caught early is much simpler that late stage.. Because my dad and uncle both had PC it’s herditary. They say doctors are the worst patients. I believe it .. Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things. with pc it’s the male ego that permits us to tell ourselves “I’m ok , I’m o k , .. don’t do like I did. Watch yourself. Peace to you and your family.. If I had a son like you I’d love it. Take care of Dad and yourself...

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to

GEEZ I'm for a lost of words...

me Monday 05/07/2018 2:11 PM EDT

sam1011 profile image
sam1011 in reply to

Thanks for sharing your own experience here. This is an emotional read but it makes so much sense to me as I am going through a lot of different feelings.

Btw, I am a daughter not a son but reading your post about self-care and male ego makes so much sense....lol. I think this is how men/boys are raised to be "strong" and play this role of the provider to their families. I see this in my dad....I will share this post with my brother now and hope he is more vigilant about his health :)

Thanks once again for sharing.

in reply to sam1011

I’m adjusting better now to having no male hormones. That is what takes us into frustration zone as men. I was always the strong one the provider and taking care of everyone. Now diminished cognitive and physically I get mad at self .Frustration and feeling worthlessness . Sorry about the son thing. Never fails to amaze me. It is always the Good daughter caring for dad. Make him

Lawgiver if possible cheer him up daily .He needs you. It’s a blessing to have such a caring daughter. He is blessed. Take care .

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Hey sam1011, I could not say it any better than Lulu700 did. The only thing I would add is that he's 81 and he knows himself better than anyone else...so cut him some slack. I know you love him and he must love you so hug him and then "knock some sense into him". 😉

Good Luck and Good Health.

j-o-h-n Monday 05/07/2018 2:18 PM EDT

in reply to j-o-h-n

To j-o-h-n ,, To have raised a fine human being like Sam1011,{ the good daughter} tells me Sam 1011 the Dad has done good in this world. These “Good daughters” are the salt of the earth.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to

Let's drink to the hard working people

Let's drink to the lowly of birth

Raise your glass to the good and the evil

Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Good Luck and Good Health.

j-o-h-n Monday 05/07/2018 9:38 PM EDT

in reply to j-o-h-n

Eat drink and be merry ! For tomorrow. Who knows?

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74

Hi Sam1011

My reply will not offer insight into a traditional, successful treatment protocol I have experienced. Instead, I will lay out the essentials of a natural supplement approach that may or may not appeal to your father in light of his age and past experiences with natural supplements. If he has never taken them, he may immediately reject my suggestions. That's OK.

Sam,

I am a 76 year old stage IV patient, G8, PSA was then 19, with two pelvic bone mets imaged. No organ mets as with your father's in his liver. For the first 3 1/2 years of treatment my wife and I resided in AZ where my urologist had me on Casodex pills and Lupron 6-month shots. Since arriving here in FL, my urologist has used only Lupron and stopped the Casodex. My PSA has been trending lower, probably because of my use of natural supplements: 0.06. I now believe in complementary medicine compatible with whatever traditional oncology is being used.

In 2015 I found the cancer research of AKM Shamsuddin, MD, PHD, at the U. of MD Medical School. (Incidentally, I have since learned Dr. Shamsuddin has experience consulting in China on liver cancer.) I had experienced changes in my attitude toward being a stage 4 PCa patient. My wife told me I needed to start doing something about this death sentence. Start doing research, she said ("you're good at research, why aren't you finding something that can stop this cancer")! I laughed and started researching the medical literature which led to Dr. Shamsuddin.

I have used Dr. AKM Shamsuddin's 2014 book (go to Amazon) and the IP6 powder he reports on in his text. There are two suppliers of this powder. Both are excellent quality, however, Enzymatic Therapy's Cell Forte is significantly less expensive (allstarhealth.com) I take 12 scoops a day in divided doses on an empty stomach mixed in cold water (never mix with a protein like milk as the IP6 molecules will bind to the protein molecules).

I also use Dr. Vaclav Vetvicka's book (Beta Glucan: Nature's Secret") and the Transfer Point company's Beta 1,3-D Glucan (#300) based on Dr. Vetvicka's reseaarch into beta glucan efficacy across brands. Three capsules a day on an empty stomach with resveratrol and vitamin C. (I take 2 capsules of Nature's Answer resveratrol/vitamin C.) Go to vitawithimmunity.com for a short course in beta glucan.

These are my two major supplements. Not long after starting this combined regimen my Lupron side effects lessened and I have hardly noticed anything since 2016.

I now also take capsaicin (cayenne pepper) and lycopene together. I get lycopene from a natural source like V8 juice, tomato juice or pasta sauce. I take turmeric/curcumin, berberine, grape seed extract, and, very importantly, European milk thistle with Isosylybin A and Isosylybin B. These have been added incrementally and may in part account for the downward trending of the PSA. Of course, these are too many variables here to sort out causality, so I can't tell you Sam which are absolutely essential. I do know that I took IP6 by itself and in two months my PSA dropped enough to surprise my AZ urologist (I had not told him what I was doing.)

I hope this stimulates some thinking. You can find cancer research on all these supplements at pubmed.gov

Be advised IP6 is also know as inositol hexaphosphate, phytate, or phytic acid.

These links will help you study this option:

AKM Shamsuddin, MD, Ph.D this link takes you to a book you must read: amazon.com/IP6-Inositol-Med... 708X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521659789&sr=8-1&keywords=shamsuddin+ip6

Vaclav Vetvicka, amazon.com/Beta-Glucan-Natu... f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521659883&sr=8-1&keywords=vaclav+vetvicka

nutritionfacts.org/video/tr... t-part-1/

And this one: nutritionfacts.org/video/tr... t-part-2/

nutritionfacts.org/video/ph...

Though this comes from a biased source, it is compelling reading:lifeextensionvitamins.com/n...

Sam,

I should have mentioned that if your Dad happens to be taking Metformin, a prescription drug for type 2 diabetics, please DO NOT have him take berberine. It is the natural equivalent of the Metformin molecule. He should take two capsules before a meal, all 3 meals. Many men who post at this site are using Metformin which has been included as adjuvant therapy in cancer clinical trials.

I also take red yeast rice, the natural equivalent to Lovastatin. Research in recent years has pointed to statin drug users who are also experiencing prostate cancers (Taiwanese researchers focused on Lovastatin and Simvastatin users), and fighting hyperlipidemia live longer by about 2 years than nonstatin drug users. If you start using red yeast rice take co-q-10 with it. I have been using it for more than 20 years with no side effects. Several men who have tried it in years past have experienced negative side effects. There was a post on this site about the Taiwanese study in the past two months.

As of two weeks ago, I added a baby aspirin to my beta glucan dose because of recent research on aspirin and its positive effects on longevity of prostate cancer patients.

Your happy vegan, CalBear74

sam1011 profile image
sam1011 in reply to CalBear74

Thank you for the above information. I really appreciate it.

in reply to CalBear74

Awesome info and attitude .. Inspirational ! Thanks Calbear74!

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74 in reply to

Thank you for the compliment Lulu700. I just read your post of 3 mos. ago and your reference to the "horror story" of cancer tumors feeding on themselves, etc. Please review Dr. Shamsuddin's text (link above provided for Sam). In it you will note his discussions of cell normalization by IP6.

He was not initially seeking necrosis as chemo agents do, but normalizing the cells. I personally experienced this. After my first seven weeks of 12 scoops of IP6 powder daily (divided doses) I had my PSA blood draw (summer of 2015). Two weeks later, I met with my urologist who found my 0.1 disconcerting. It did not fit with the profile of "normal" disease progression. He asked for a DRE and said in a startled voice "I can not feel any nodules in your prostate". I only replied "that's a good thing?" I did not tell him about IP6 in this meeting. He had discouraged me from considering natural supplements, so I wasn't in a positive frame of mind for sharing an apparent success.

I wrote Dr. Shamsuddin an email (he is a supremely gracious gentleman; we have communicated periodically since 2015.) He said this is logical; this is evidence of the cell normalization that is one effect of IP6. A heavy dose will trigger apoptosis (i.e., programmed cell death).

Don't miss reading his book.

Your happy vegan, CalBear74

in reply to CalBear74

Very good , thank you.. I grew up in Marin and consider my self one of those liberal Northern California hippies . Although I’m bald. I believe food is medicine and that we need to address the spiritual side of APC . As well as the nutrients . Especially since it’s a sexually driven “C” .. Go o o o CalBear74 ! My birthday 12:28 I am 57 , and happy to be alive... Take care ...

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74 in reply to

Lulu700,

The word "Marin" brings back memories of Mill Valley where I lived while attending SF State as an undergrad (moved to the Haight in my sophomore year - oh, for the sixties, a time when the word prostate was never on my lips!).

Here are links that will demonstrate the truth of your statement that "food is medicine":

nutritionfacts.org/video/tr...

nutritionfacts.org/video/tr...

here is info on IP6 (aka "phytate", "inositol hexaphosphate", etc)

nutritionfacts.org/video/ph...

A tour de force lecture on this subject,

nutritionfacts.org/video/ho...

Here is the author of "Eat to Live" in a marvelous presentation:

youtube.com/watch?v=uXMzWkz...

CalBear74

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74 in reply to CalBear74

The youtube presentation by Joel Fuhrman was apparently blocked by Youtube. Go to YouTube and with his name and book title the lecture, 90 minutes, will come up. Not to be missed!

CalBear74

in reply to CalBear74

Dam u tube

in reply to CalBear74

You’re amazing. Thank you..

in reply to CalBear74

My buddie of 40yrs grew up in mill valley. The haight in the 60’s.. oh yah..those were different times. . I didn’t even know what a prostate was really until a few years ago.

CalBear74 profile image
CalBear74

Sam,

Sorry about those broken links in my post. Here are the replacements.

amazon.com/IP6-Inositol-Med...

nutritionfacts.org/video/tr...

lifeextensionvitamins.com/n...

I never mentioned in my post vitamin D3. I guess I assume everyone is taking it who has prostate cancer as it is such a widely respected nutrient. If he isn't taking it, Costco has an excellent price on D3 capsules. Two in the morning and two in the evening for a total of 8,000 IU's daily.

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