Why its called palliative chemo in my report. Got a reliable update.

[Haniff]

"But now after completing my 6 cycles of palliative Chemo (Taxotere), I am a bit calmer and more apprehensive to my condition."

According to the good doctor seeing to my health recovery, the word palliative is used to indicate that my cancer being treated had metastasized. And I was advised to just ignore the term and keep thinking positively towards my healing.

Haniff

[Hidden]

Stage#4 , it’s all palliative... doesn’t mean that we can’t eek out a few years with some luck.

[alephnull]

Because Stage 4 is incurable. Treatment keeps it at bay for awhile longer.

[Hidden]

There are many, if fact, almost all in this group who will disagree with me. I can only related my experiences after over 14 years of entering a six month chemotherapy-hormone therapy trial. Upshot. I hav3 been undetectable ever since, able to stop Lupron in 2010 and all medicine to treat metastatic prostate cancer. I am one of several with the same result. In 2011, in an effort to bring back testosterone, I started a very low rise of Androgel, 4mg twice aweek. I remain undetectable with a T that ranges from 450 to 750.

Not once was my treatment ever considered palliative. Either it worked or it did not. The common denominator for those with success. Early intervention of two chemo drugs via infusion with two orals alternating with the infusion drug and 30 mg Prednisone daily through the term of the trial. All while my body was strong and not ravished by this bastard of a disease and the tumor burden minimal. Although I did not, my Research Medical Oncologist started using the cure word eight years ago. I waited until the confirming scans in November 2016.

I have always been a realist who preferred to take the proverbial sunrise scenario........ I will be 72 in four months. ...... Reactions? While undergoing a knee replacement with a compromised immune system, the hospital sent one of their staff Medical Oncologist to see me. As he started to question me, I asked a question similar to, once you have had chemotherapy, will not your white cell count be out of whack. The response was a quick yes and when did you have chemo. I explained my situation and the drugs which I had, first was Adriamycin; before I mentioned Taxotere he interrupted saying that will never work....... the second, was my new Urologist who remarked, do you know what your guy is saying. I am only aware of a handful cases like yours, you are truly fortunate. Congratulations.

I admit that I am very biased, but palliative treatment for my disease was unacceptable. As my guy told me in 2004, we knew how to kill cancer in 1978, however, the trick is to kill the cancer and not kill the patient with the treatment. He further said that he thought that he was there. My attitude back then when the numbers told me that I had 2 to 4 years, maybe 5 years to live, was to try ... I am your guinea pig. Under the right circumstances, he is correct.

Google Gourd Dancer Advanced Prostate Cancer or search this group. I have written extensively on my treatment with abstracts of the research. Full publications are available, but I am too cheap to purchase...

I have taken the time to write not to brag, but rather to encourage you to have hope. I’ll close with the words of one of my Radiation Oncologist. There two types of doctors out there. Most are like me, graduate and go into the business world to make a profit treating our patients with the best available medical tecniques available. Then there are the special guys who never left academia and spend their time in research and lecture training new doctors and holding clinic to evaluate their research. By and large these guys are at the fore front on how we all practice medicine. They are rare, but they are there. Both treatment paths are good. Which ever you chose is a personal matter where the path is never wrong. Hopefully the path which I chose, will someday become standard of care, but just like in 1978, the path is long, very long, and may not help you today. All that we know of medical science was gained by trying to prove a hypotheses wrong. Empirical evidence may show that a hypothesis is correct and as a result infer new treatments, but there will be no prof or absolutes truth arising out of the original hypothesis. Proof can never be wrong because there remains another test, however, advances are gained by inference and that my friend is what modern medicine is today. Inferences where all treatment results are not the same.

Keep kicking the bastard.

Gourd Dancer

[Haniff in reply to Hidden]

Hi Gourd_dancer,

First off, well done. You got your act together very well.

Second, "my experiences after over 14 years of entering a six month chemotherapy-hormone therapy trial.", this alone has encouraged me tremendously and everyone else reading. I have also done 6 cycles of chemo and now on adt shots every 3 months. My PSA has dropped from the initial of 192 at diagnosis to 1.7 as of end September. I was 57+ years of age when diagnosed in October, 2017. Did my Chemo in January, 2018. I have just crossed my first year since I was diagnosed.

Third, yes I was a little taken aback when i saw my medical report stating that I underwent palliative chemo treatment. I checked with several doctors and was told that that is how they refer to it when the pc has metastasized and was told not to worry about the medical term.

But I am definitely going to beat this challenge of a condition and stay on top of things and achieve great positive results like yours. If I am not troubling you too much, may I know if besides the medical treatment, were you on any diet plan, exercise or what I am basically asking is what else did you do to achieve such good status. I want to stretch my years and beat this.

Thank you for your love and support. My very best to you.

Haniff

[Hidden]

Thank you. I was lucky and most fortunate with a lot of support. I did not nor I take any supplements. I was forbidden on the trial. Well, I started two months ago take an eye supplement for dry eyes and pre-cataract. I did not work out and tried to walk but failed.... as a result, well, I started treatment weighing 187 and immediately gained 80 pounds due to the steroids. My bad.... anyway when I got to 298, I hired a personal trainer three times a week and go down to 225. Today I am at 230. Work out or you will gain weight. It is a hard battle.

Beyond that, I did everything that my Medical Oncologist to do.... note, that during the trial some patients stopped an oral because it made them too sick. They did not do well. I managed with Zofran for nausea and stayed away from negative people. Lol. Even my wife left me alone. Lol..... as I was irritable. Not because I felt sorry for myself, depression or whatever, I just did not feel good. I retired at 63 to get out of the rat race and simply spent my time with my Labs, family and close friends.

Make no mark, this bastard is a game changer and but any side effects are short lived, except for my weight, and I helped to contribute to that. One other thing is that I knew exactly where I stood as I has about 24 nuclear bone scans and soft tissue scans most during the first 5 or 6 years and months PSA draws, then went to quarterly. Just recently I have gone to semi, but frankly, when I go back in January, I am going to go to every 120 days as I want to continue to stay on top of the numbers. To most this would seem abnormally high, but I have never forgotten the primary care physician that let me go from a PSA of 3.5 to 4.0 and never told me ..... my Cardiologist just happened to ask for a PSA and the result came back 6.8 and I knew that I was screwed. Immediately fired my family doctor......

I really don’t care what a bunch of non Urologists that make up the US Preventative Task Force has to say, get annual PSAs every year after age 40. For grins read this group of people professional qualifications...l suspect that as a result of their recommendations, more men are finding out at initial diagnosis that they are metastatic. But that is another story....

You can do this.

Gourd Dancer

[Haniff in reply to Hidden]

Hi Gourd_dancer,

Thanks for the clarity, appreciate it. Yes I am going to do all I can to stay on top of this condition and will always remind myself of your fantastic results. And most importantly, we can do it!

Take care and my very best to you and your loved ones.

Haniff