Strategy : take all possible supplements and off-label drugs or keep some for later because of resistance?

I am between 2 thoughts: taking lots of off-label (metformin, docycycline, artovastatin, mebendazole (or fenbendazole), melatonin) + supplements trying to block all possible pathways OR

waiting for taking some later for example to inverse possible AR-V7 resistance.

Already read here of MO saying to keep some options for later.

My fear is that if taking now later it won't work.

What do you think?

[pjoshea13]

When I was diagnosed, the choices were very limited. Start Lupron when the PSA had drifted beyond my comfort zone & start Docetaxel when Lupron failed. & then get my affairs in order.

Dr. Myers has pointed out several times in his vlog posts, that no cancer has ever been controlled by a single agent. It might take 3 or more diverse agents for durable control. The mathematics do not favor a sequential approach, & yet doctors & patients like to have something in their back pockets, for when the current treatment fails.

The current obsession with the androgen receptor [AR] axis means that sequential use of Abiraterone & Enzalutamide is not even viable for many men.

I am of the 'take everthing' opinion, because current AR axis therapies are not durable for most men.

I feel that restoring insulin sensitivity should be high on the list. & Metformin may have anti-cancer properties too. Control over cholesterol uptake by PCa cells, & de novo generation within those cells is prudent. i.e. via statins. & so on.

-Patrick

[tom67inMA]

Several thoughts (not scientific facts, just thoughts): longer survival and better quality of life seem to come from having lower amounts of less active cancer, so the more you can get rid of up front the better. This would imply take everything you can as soon as you can.

But... side effects add up, and some off-label drugs have their own issues if you take them long term, so you don't want to go to the pharmacy and say "give me one of each".

So where I've personally ended up is focusing on overall health. My cholesterol is high so definitely a statin, and I specifically requested atorvastatin because that's the one that's been studied in the context of prostate cancer. On the other hand, after discussing metformin with my MO, we decided it would be a poor choice for me because my blood sugar is already quite low (sometimes bordering on too low) and I'm not overweight.

In other words, if there's the slightest reason to take a drug or supplement other than PCa, take it.

And of course, get your exercise, eat a clean diet, and maintain a healthy weight. I don't think anybody here has ever suggested binge eating ice cream and saving the broccoli until exercise fails.

[middlejoel in reply to tom67inMA]

Yeah, I tend to sway as well. Read up on this supplement, good for you so I take it A while later the process is repeated and I add, yet another pill to my daily consumption. After some time I even forget why I am taking them but I continue to do so because, in spite of battling PCa for 13 years, I feel good.

[Magnus1964]

I always had the mindset that Pca becomes resistant to supplements just like conventional drugs. I have always used them one or two at a time

[CalBear74 in reply to Magnus1964]

No evidence as yet that PCa becomes resistant to IP-6. Read Dr. Shamsuddin's 2011 text and you will understand why ( I am not enough of a biochemist to reproduce the rationale.)

amazon.com/IP6-Inositol-Nat...

[Magnus1964 in reply to CalBear74]

I will have to do some research on this.

[NPfisherman]

I save some for later and take some now....I was already on a statin, and because of Z+P, my HgbA1C started to rise, so I am on Berberine for now--approved by my PharmD at Cleveland Clinic. If it goes higher, I will push my PCP for Metformin....my diet is good...

I hold on to things like Itraconazole and hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline and Vitamin C, dog worm medicines, oestrogel, for later down the road...or if I ever get an ADT vacation....always keep throwing something at the beast......

All the best,

Fish

[jdm3 in reply to NPfisherman]

I'm in the save some for later category too... but hard to know what to save. There are so many different possibilities it's hard to know what to try first and when. I wonder if it makes more sense to take some of these off-label supplements while on ADT with the "kick it while it's weak" hypothesis, as long as there is no interference or increased toxicity with the ADT, which nobody knows... at least I don't know.

Interesting about Berberine. I asked my MO about Metformin and he just rolled his eyes. I asked my ND about Berberine and he said doesn't make any difference with PCa, but useful if you have a metabolic need. It sounds like with the HgbA1C you have a need and hopefully there is some collateral effect against the PCa.

In the meantime my files keep expanding and while I get a little overwhelmed sometimes, I am also optimistic about the different possibilities and the good science.

[NPfisherman in reply to jdm3]

Absolutely jdm3....I take curcumin and D3....a few others....soon, I will take the Dukoral vaccine based on the epidemiological study done in Sweden....as well as info from others...it can't hurt and based on the study....could help....there have been studies showing it may help prevent colorectal cancer also...

Hoping you are feeling well, my brother....

Fish