I truly appreciate any thoughts on my current situation: I had a prostatectomy seven years ago followed by radiation leading to an undetectable PSA for two years. Then, PSA came back and I went on Lupron, Zytiga and Prednisone for 9 months along with ($2800) PSMA scans at UCLA and in Phoenix and radiation which resulted in my PSA decreasing to .03. Hoping for a two year vacation, unfortunately, I only got a two month reprieve until my PSA reappeared at 0.24...and two months later the PSA was 1.87.
My MO now says that maybe Lupron (and I suppose other meds) should be given again when the PSA is 5.0 or to give me off-label Luekine to increase my white blood cell count.
I am in a quandary and to be honest, scared. Would someone have thoughts regarding my situation? Thank you!!!
My WBC is 6.4 (on a 4.1-10.9 scale); in the previous months it was 5.5, 6.1, 6.4 and 7.5. The PSMA scan had showed lymph and bone mets both of which were radiated.
Not sure what you mean by "but intermittent ADT may not be a good choice with low metastatic burden".
I'm not getting it yet; it was only considered by my MO Turner-possibly to keep me from going through Lupron, expensive scan, etc. maybe until my PSA was 5. I'm just not sure what he was thinking...I'll have to wait until my next visit in a few weeks. I thank you for your thoughts; wish I could be more sure of what he was thinking.
It's important to know because whether intermittent ADT is a good idea dependss on it. You have to get and keep copies of all your reports - you are in charge.
Combining metastasis directed therapy with ADT will usually provide better results than radiation only. I understood that Michael wanted to extend the pause of his intermittent ADT. Adding six months of ADT to the radiation is what I would recommend. Then e.g. wait until you get to a PSA value of 5 ng/ml to continue with the intermittent ADT.
Your PSA is still low. Fluctuations that you have been experiencing may be due to other causes, i.e. inflammation. Don't panic. Watch your trends in PSA not small changes. When and if the time comes there are other ADT drugs.
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