Hyperthermia Follow Up

[jerigroves]

Guy had hyperthermia in Germany in Nov/Dec 2018. Came back to the US and continued IV Vit C (50 gms) weekly as well as artesunate. Lupron shot monthly for 6 months (last will be 6/5) plus Finesteride and Proscar. We're now in Ft. Langley, British Columbia getting local hyperthermia, mistletoe therapy, and cholera vaccine as well as two whole body hyperthermia treatments. PSA dropped to 0.1. Oncologist in Colorado has approved an ADT holiday until his PSA rises for 3 consecutive tests. Then, he'll probably opt for more hyperthermia vs additional ADT because the side effects are so awful for him. Just another approach. Not saying it's superior or inferior, just what Guy's opted to do to try to preserve the most optimal QOL.

[NPfisherman]

Can you tell us what was his PSA prior to hyperthermia in November/December and then after--before he had his Lupron shot? I am most curious on the effects of the hyperthermia alone......Congratulations on the low PSA...The ADT is hard on everyone... I can tolerate the hot flashes, it is the "brain fog" that I mind...good luck....

Fish

[jerigroves in reply to NPfisherman]

It was 35.8 in Germany and dropped to 3.1 with hyperthermia alone. After the first Lupron shot on 1/11, it dropped to 1.7, then 0.6 then 0.3, one blip up to 0.7 then 0.2, now 0.1.

[Hidden in reply to NPfisherman]

Whats brain fog ? 🤪

[NPfisherman in reply to Hidden]

I can't remember....LOL....

Fish

[Seasid in reply to NPfisherman]

That is why I am on degalelix ADT. It suppose to contribute less to brain fog. I still have it at some degree. István

[jerigroves]

He has never had a rise. The ADT "holiday" should end when he has 3 consecutive rises. He's only gone down since hyperthermia and ADT, but it is brutal. Terrible hot flashes day and night. Can't wait to go off it and see how he fares.

[GeorgeGlass in reply to jerigroves]

has he tried exercising for about an hour a day? that reduces my hot flashes hugely.

[Rsdutcher7]

We are currently at Klinik Marinus in Germany for 3 weeks. Receiving Hyperthermia and many other treatments as well. We have had good success in the past with the ADT/Hyperthermia combo here. Little to no side effects. It sounds like your husband is responding well. Keep it up!

[jerigroves in reply to Rsdutcher7]

We looked at Klinik Marinus. Our prayers are with you.

[GeorgeGlass in reply to Rsdutcher7]

how often do people usually do the hyperthermia treatments? How long do they usually keep the psa at the lowered leve before doing them againl? How risky are they with that elevated body temp?

[pakb]

ADT holiday sounds heavenly. Has he had scans? Before and after?

[jerigroves in reply to pakb]

Absolutely. PET, CAT, MRI...you name it! Just never a prostate biopsy.

[Advo__cate]

Obviously it has hit your husband's cancer genetic makeup...why it works for some and not for others, just like ADT or whatever else is thrown at us.

Congratulations! Rejoicing with you!

[jerigroves in reply to Advo__cate]

Yep. That's why we are so resistant to the "standard of care". Everyone is unique...

[arete1105]

Usually German Alternative clinics combine hyperthermia with low dose chemo or low dose radiation. It seems you have used hyperthermia just to reduce the PSA. Why didn't you opt for the combo treatment? That is considered a cancer killer while just reducing the PSA is not.

If you are currently getting hyperthermia treatments is BC, why did you go to Germany? Seems if you can get hyperthermia in BC, you could also get those same other treatments in BC also.

Why were you getting monthly Lupron shots- usually it is either 3 mos or 6 months. Mine is every 3 mos.

Your PSA numbers now look good, but it seems to be from the Lupron shot.

I am using a FIR heating pad in place of Flomax. How it works is I have a 20"X20" pad that I place over my pelvic area each night, adjust it as you turn keeping it over the hips area. The FIR heating pad I run at 55 C. I haven't used Flomax in a week with no problems peeing. The main benefit is anti inflammatory. I put that pad on about 3:30 when I get up to pee.

[jerigroves in reply to arete1105]

Guy was originally diagnosed with colon cancer, Stage IV, with metastasis to his liver. He did 12 rounds of Folfox with Avastin, then the spot on his liver lit up again a year after those 12 rounds of chemo. All the while, his urologist was saying not to worry about his rising PSA, because he was going to.die from the colon cancer, anyway (I'm paraphrasing, but we no longer see that urologist for obvious reasons). After 6 more rounds of folfieri chemo Guy opted for surgical removal of the spot on his liver. A month later we were in Germany (Nov/Dec 2018). They definitely did low dose (insulin-potentiated) chemo and sent us home with instructions for six months of ADT. I outlined it all in a previous post.

We didn't know that hyperthermia was offered in Canada until we met with an integrative oncologist at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center who referred us to a naturopathic oncologist, Jacob Schor, who told us about Dr. Gurdev Parmar in Ft. Langley, BC. He had studied in Germany with Dr. Douwes at Klinik St. Georg and uses similar equipment (the only site in North America), so we opted for follow-up in Canada as we could drive here and stay in a motel vs. 3 weeks in hospital (plus the cost of air travel to Germany). With the favorable US/Canada exchange rate, it's much less expensive. Since all of the alternative treatments are out of pocket, it just made more financial sense.

Dr. Douwes recommended monthly shots vs. 3 or 6 months, so that's what we did. Possibly less intense side effects?

As I had said in another reply, the hyperthermia alone dropped his PSA from high 30s to 3.0 before he had his first Lupron shot on 1/11/19. He also had tremendous urinary symptom relief before the first Lupron shot.

We've never been opposed to conventional treatments, except that 18 rounds of chemo and 3 surgeries (colostomy, colostomy reversal, liver resection) felt like "enough" already(!) and we wanted to pursue alternatives. They've been very effective (even our wonderful oncologist is impressed with Guy's response), and we're looking forward to seeing how long Guy can sustain a low PSA so we can have some fun in the sack! We're going on 45 years of marriage and consummating it's still one of our favorite pastimes!

Guy and I also follow a strict keto diet, drink purified water, he gets weekly IV Vit C infusions (50 gms), artesunate infusions (still available in Canada), and he got curcumin infusions before that was nixed in the US. Also, we have a FIR sauna in our house and use it almost daily. He takes numerous supplements as recommended by our naturopathic oncologist (mushrooms, Vit D, was taking calcium but his numbers shot up so he stopped that, also Tagamet to combat a recurrence of the colon cancer, alpha-lipoic acid, vit k, metformin, melatonin, baby aspirin, and Pecta-Sol C with an exogenous ketone shake in the mornings). Guy's still here more than 3 years plus after the colon cancer diagnosis, and they gave him 6 months to 2 years, not even considering prostate cancer. So, whatever we're doing seems to be working for Guy!

[arete1105 in reply to jerigroves]

Thanks for all the info. It clears up a lot. I was under the impression he had prostate cancer. So is prostate cancer his main cancer or is it colon cancer or does he have several cancers? I understand "sack time", I just have fond memories.

I see you do take several supplements, but are you aware of the "naturals" that claim anti cancer properties such as: Black Seed Oil, Pau D'Arco, Graviola and Ojubwa. And there are others.

Also are you aware of a book by a Catholic Priest, Father Zago called Cancer Can Be Cured. If you want to order his product, the cheapest place I found is Life Extension. So you seem to be in good hands, good luck.

[jerigroves in reply to arete1105]

Prostate cancer was suspected when his PSA rose to 6. He was scheduled for a needle biopsy 2/2/16 but fell when walking the dog in a local dog park and developed a bad case of cellulitis on his elbow. He didn't know what it was and went downhill skiing the next day, so they didn't start treating it until 1/26/16. That mixed the biopsy b/c he was on massive oral antibiotics. That's when his "constipation" developed and on 2/7/16 he went to the emergency room. It took them 4 days to get him into surgery, and he almost died. The surgeon said if he hadn't had surgery 2/11, he would have been dead by 2/12. Then he started on 12 rounds of Avastin and Folfox. We did see the urologist about a month after his first surgery and for all intents and purposes he said not to worry about a biopsy or any prostate treatment b/c he had a bigger fight to fight. So...once Guy finally DID get the go ahead for a biopsy, he just didn't want to risk it. He had an MRI that showed a lump in his prostate and possible spread into one semin as l vesicle and a lymph node. Having been through so much, we just wanted to see if there was ANY possible treatment NOT involving knives or radiation--not to mention that he's close to his rad limit just from all the PET and CAT and x-rays he's had. So, that's how we landed here. Last CAT showed prostate tumor had shrunk and did not look like the seminal vesicle or lymph node was involved. So...he's in 100% remission from the Stage IV colon cancer, his liver is clear, and his prostate is improving.

[jerigroves]

Yep. Lots and lots and lots of prayers. I swear he has angels watching over him and guiding and directing us to the right people and places. It's pretty mind-blowing. No coincidences!

[j-o-h-n]

Guy is quite a guy.... Full and God speed ahead....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 05/16/2019 5:33 PM DST

[jerigroves in reply to j-o-h-n]

I agree but I'm prejudiced having loved him since high school. Thanks for your kind words.

[Hidden]

Keep on rolling..

[GeorgeGlass]

whats the significance of 3 psa rises in 3 months while on an ADT break? Isn't it more important what the PSA is in relation to where the PSA was when you started ADT? For example, if Guy started with a 35.8 PSA and showed no cancer on scans, and started ADT, which lowered his psa near 0 then he took a holiday, why cant he wait until the PSA goes to an arbitrary number of 10-15 before he starts ADT again. If he gets a PSA test every month, his PSA might be something like 0.08 after 3 months on the break with the PSA rising from 0.01 to .02 to .04 to .08 etc. There shouldn't be any need to start ADT with a PSA level that low.

[jerigroves in reply to GeorgeGlass]

Hi, George. Well, we never got to that point. Guy finished the 3 months of ADT with a PSA of less than 0.1, we traveled to Langley (in British Columbia, Canada) for additional hyperthermia and local-regional hyperthermia, and when we got back to the US, our oncologist ordered a PET scan and found metastasis of the colon cancer to Guy's liver (again--third time), lungs, and a lymph node in his pelvis. Soooo...he went back on FOLFIRI and Avastin chemo. The PSA is totally irrelevant at this point, but Guy has NO prostate symptoms, the hot flashes have subsided, and now we are just fighting these recurrences and metastases. He just finished chemo round #3 (which was delayed due to a family vacation...our oncologist said to "LIVE LIFE", and we're taking his suggestion seriously. Later this month, we are going on a cruise with my two sisters and their husbands to Bermuda--if it's still there after the hurricane!). Guy feels good (except for fatigue post-chemo), and we really, honestly do believe the prostate cancer is licked, but it's not the big dog in the room, so to speak. We live every day with gratitude and plenty of love. Just celebrated 45 years of marriage. Oh, and we're enjoying sex, again!

[GeorgeGlass in reply to jerigroves]

Thanks Jeri, Keep on truckin. As Robert California said, "don't let fear guide your life" I'm planning on staying home during hurricane dorian so I can fly out to a high school reunion a half day after the storm goes by. That's optimism. I dont want to miss the reunion only to realize the storm didn't do any damage and the flight went out as scheduled. I find that matcha green tea brings me alive and gets me motivated, without destroying my stomach like coffee does these days.

[hyperthermiaxpert]

There is hyperthermia in the U.S. in Santa Monica, CA. The Hyperthermia Cancer Institute.

[jerigroves in reply to hyperthermiaxpert]

Interesting. We bought a hyperthermia dome from TrulyHeal.com and have been doing hyperthermia at home weekly. PSA dropped from 45 to 21. It's the colon cancer (now in his lungs) that's the bigger issue. He starts chemo again on Wednesday. Guy was given 20 months in 2/16, so he's outlived everyone's expectations. We enjoy every day. As long as he still feels and looks good, what else can we do?