In 2018, PET scan and lymph node biopsy confirmed metastasis of my prostate cancer to many lymph nodes, originally diagnosed as low volume Gleason 3 + 3 in 2011 and treated with brachytherapy in 2011 followed by Cyberknife and ADT for an extra-capsular recurrence in 2016-2017.
In 2018, my PSA increased from undetectable to 4.48 with a PSADT of 6 weeks. I started treatment with Lupron + Bicalutamide in November 2018. Since then my PSA has dropped sharply: February 28, 2019: 0.17, May 31, 2019: 0.10, and September 5, 2019: 0.07.
When I saw my oncologist in June 2019, he mentioned holiday from ADT. I am going to get my next Lupron shot on September 9. Would a brief or long holiday from Lupron after that be advisable? Or, with metastatic prostate cancer, I should continue with Lupron indefinitely?
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dac500
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Holiday length depends on how fast PSA increases. My strategy was to wait until it reached around 2.0 , get a ctpet scan , zap the met(s) with SBRT, and go back on ADT. Later I switched to estradiol patches and dropped standard ADT. Fewer side effects and easier on your skeletal system.
I fear to take a break . We are all different ..Also I had orchiectomy . If I want t ,I’ll have to inject it .. scared that too ,could back fire for me .. Personally I’d let that dammed Psa drop as far as it can . You’re heading in the right direction . I fear APC going rampant more than adt . Good Luck..
rite on brother ... if it ain't broke as the saying goes. for me it's , if you've got your foot on it's neck ( for now ) don't give that sapsucker a change to breathe or get up off the floor. thats just me of course .... what anyone decides should include close consultation with your group of medical care providers.
of course all the SEs can hammer you into jello .... but as my wife - caregiver says ... it's way better than the alternative. gotta keep the misses happy too if you know what I mean. y aahay ahay ah ay aha
I am jello... I’m a newlywed in search of the holey grail of how to keep the wife happy . Part of the frustration associated with castration sweeping the nation .We live like this . Ain’t no fix .. pluck the day or it will pluck you ..
Myhubby58 is on lupron indefinitely.He was diagnosed in July 2017,stage4 prostate and metesis,lymph nodes.it had spread to lungs and liver,and always in pain on left side of his back and legs.He is about to do second round of taxotere on Monday.His Psa is 98.9
Hi, it looks like you all have experience with Taxotere, but if you think some tips on avoiding side effects might be helpful, search this site. There's an extensive list. Wishing you and hubby the best.
I have a question. Myhubby58 was diagnosed in 2017,and it was stage4 at the time and spread all throughout his bones and body..yet lm reading that there is only a life expectancy of 5years..Myhubby58 asked the oncologist,if he didn’t take the taxotere chemotherapy how long did he have. And he said less than a year?This is frightening, I don’t want to loose Myhubby58,yet I don’t want to be selfish either..he is now still in pain every day and taking morphine,flexerill,OxyContin,oxycoden,and Psa is 92.and he is about treatment #4 of taxotere..
I was diagnosed in Jan 14, surgery in Mar 14, T2CNoMx, 10% prostate involvement, margins, ECE and SV negative, GS8. BCR in Sep 15, did SRT in Mar 16 which failed, when PSADT and PSAV were less then three months we went to Mayo in Jan 17 and had the C11 Choline scan, four pelvic lymph nodes. We did 18 months of Lupron, six cycles of taxotere and 25 more radiation treatments. PSA dropped to <.1 from 4.8 in the first month and T to <3, both stayed there.
Last Lupron was May 18. Since then:
Aug <.1 T <7
Oct <.1 T 135
Feb .36 T 482
.24
Apr .05
Jun. .12
Aug. .06
I definitely feel better with T climbing back to the 400s.
If you decide to take a break, have an active monitoring plan, we have labs every 6-8 weeks. Have decision points for when and with what you will image and when you go back on treatment.
Those decision points for us are:
Image between PSA 1-2 if using Aximun scan, less if able to use PMSA scan now in CTs here in the US.
Go back on treatment when PSA is between 2-4, likely systemic therapy though results of imaging may serve to guide treatment modalities.
Part of my decision to take a break is data showing that rapid responses in PSA and T <20 May indicate more durable responses and longer PFS period.
Yayahahaha.... yea those out in the hall ... the one’s here on our couches have a black robe with hood and bones sticking out ..... mine impatiently reads the newspaper... not much of a talker either yayahahaha Hope mine brought its lunch pail .... I’m not going I going anywhere for a while.
My husband's post RP PSA was 5 with mets to multiple lymph nodes, lung and 1 in the sacrum He started ADT + Zytiga and PSA dropped to <0.006 and stayed there for a year. Testosterone was <3. Side effects were so bad for my husband he was basically non-functional that year, so we took a break. He has been off all meds for over a year and PSA is just starting to show at 0.051. Our oncologist advised us to not take a break as there is no data with IADT and zytiga, but he recognized the QOL issue and supported the ADT/Zytiga holiday for that reason. PSA of 1 is when he wants my husband to start androgen deprivation again.
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Advanced Metastatic Prostate Cancer
