What's next?

[Alvin735]

Had radiation to several mets back in 2012. Arm has been tingling and aching for a couple of months. Dr. Sartor did a MRI on Tuesday - he read it yesterday and immediately sent it to a radiology onocologist at Tulane and scheduled me for an appointment this morning. He texted that the problem with my arm/neck is the cancer, so I'm assuming a met is pressing on a nerve. I thought you could only do radiation once, am I wrong or is there something else a radiology onocologist will suggest?

[Alvin735]

Reviewed the MRI and there is indeed a tumor on C6 in my spine. It was radiated back in 2012, so not positive if they can re-radiate. Getting another MRI to pinpoint it and make sure it is an "active" tumor on Tuesday. If it is .... 3 options, one maybe do another round of radiation there (not likely) ... surgery to see if they can remove it ...or some other "whole body" possibilities for shrinking the tumor. Not sure what that means, but probably some form of chemo. So ... nothing decided until Tuesday afternoon. This disease sure does suck.

[Shooter1 in reply to Alvin735]

Got that right, it surely sucks.

[Longterm101 in reply to Alvin735]

Have you had a psma scan ??

[Alvin735 in reply to Longterm101]

I don't know for sure. I've had an axium, pet scans, bone scans, mri's, genetic testing that show I am BRAC2, etc. But, not sure if a PSMA scan has been in the mix.

[JimVanHorn]

I had 42 radiations for PCa in 2007 and then in 2911 they found bone metastases. I then had 30 more radiations on my hip area. It is 2019 and I no longer have PCa. So I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

[Alvin735 in reply to JimVanHorn]

I think my problem is that the C6 was radiated back in 2012 for a met ... so, they will have to re-radiate and they really, really don't like to do that. But, the alternative of becoming paralized is not a good thing either. I maybe screwed ....

[Longterm101]

Did Zytiga only work 6 months for you?

[Alvin735 in reply to Longterm101]

Yes, unfortunately.

[Longterm101]

Hang in there

Lots of options

[j-o-h-n]

Wishing you a great outcome...

Happy Mother's Day.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 05/12/2019 12:36 AM DST

[Alvin735]

Well, very active tumor in C5 region plus a few other places, PSA went up to 12.2. Starting Docetaxel next week .... not a happy camper. Will need to start reading up on side effects and best way to prevent them. Looked up the cold cap and that really looks like a major pain in the a ... so, guess I will just lose my hair. Again, this condition sure does suck. Off BAT ....

[nobaday]

Hi Alvin

Read my posts. I have low PSA on Zytiga and active 2cm neck tumour at C3. A REAL PAIN IN THE NECK!

My MO and RO suggested chemo to shrink it, then we found that the mets in rest of spine remain stable which was a surprise. The tumour by CT scans did not grow significantly between Feb and march 2019 on CT scans.

So I am choosing to do stereotactic radiation, 5 fractions at 7Gy. I had palliative radiation in May 2018 same area 8Gy. There is maximum lifetime radiation in an area so this is my last radiation in the C3 area. Hopefully this tumour will be KILLED! My RO is still concerned doing radiation in the critical neck area.

I am trying to delay chemo...if u go ahead I heard putting your feet and fingers in ice during the treatment can help with extremity issues. Maybe a bag of ice strategically on the head too!!

If I zap this tumour and stay low PSA I was hoping to do an option including BAT, switch from prednisone to dexametasone, indomethacin or anything else to resensitise to Zytiga. When I mentioned BAT my MO said he was not a fan, and concerned about lack of trial data and fuelling growth of any mets. My friend only lasted on Zytiga a month and then switched to Enzalutamide which has worked for over a year...typically it looks like if you have been on Zytiga for a while, only about a 20% chance Enzalutamide will work.

If you stop BAT please do a PSA before chemo. As a couple of people have mentioned doing a PSA in the first month after BAT will often give a high result.

[Alvin735 in reply to nobaday]

Thanks Nobaday. Unfortunately I have had the max radiation one can get in the spine already (2012). Yes, I was only on Zytiga for about 6 months and then PSA started rising rapidly. BAT didn't do anything for me other than give a bit of fuel for the fire (my words). Yes, my PSA is doubling in about a week ... so it's unfortunately time to pull out some of the bigger guns.

[nobaday in reply to Alvin735]

Ok good luck. I recommend to Dip your hands and feet in ice water during the docetaxel IV. Keep posting!