Radiation to ease pain

[Jack02]

My dad as advanced prostrate cancer diagnosed june last yr he is suffering with pain in his lower back he does have mets though out his hole skeleton as at diagnosis his psa was 525 he is doing well on treatment, have any of you had radiation for pain? As they are given my dad 1 session as they believe this will be enough to ease the pain from the mets in his lower spine, if so did you feel the radiation worked and help ease the pain? Thank you and hope your all doing well x

[HB1966]

I had radiation treatments on hip / pelvis. I had severe pain before. I already felt a significant improvement after the 2nd radiation session.

I think this is different for everyone. In any case, I responded well to this treatment.

I wish you all the best. Greetings Theo

[Jack02 in reply to HB1966]

Great to hear, dad’s specialist said he will only need one session but if he needs another one they will give him one a little later, dads pain is in his pelvis buttocks also and hip but it is coming from spine as he has wide spread mets in his spine, hope you are doing well in your treatment,thank you for reply thank you x

[Magnus1964 in reply to Jack02]

Was his radiation specific to the spine or general to the pelvic area? If specific then the radiation is palliative. The doctor is saving more radiation for the next site of pain.

[Jack02 in reply to Magnus1964]

Hi there I’m guessing it would be to spine only as it is nerves, yes they only want to give him one session to relieve his pain, X

[RyderLake2]

Hello, I too had a very high PSA at diagnosis. It was a little below 1700 with extensive metastasis from my neck to my knees. My radiation oncologist suggested radiation to my back and neck. The back was a big success and certainly relieved the pain in my lower back. The radiation on my neck was not as successful. I couldn’t swallow for nearly two weeks. Every thing I ate went through a blender. Anyway, that was nearly eight years ago. My PSA is now almost undetectable. I was given Zoladex (goserelin) in 2013 and other than a year when I was on Firmagon (degarelix) have been on it ever since. I have also been on a maintenance dose of Prolia for bone strength from the beginning. I receive an injection every six months. You might want to look into this. My medical oncologist added Xtandi (enzalutamide) three and a half years ago. My advice is to have the radiation. Hope my story inspires you to battle on.

[Jack02 in reply to RyderLake2]

Oh wow that really does give me so so much hope, my pa is on xtandi also as been from the day of diagnosis, as due to the pandemic they wouldn’t give him chemotherapy and feel blessed to been given this treatment, he also has hormone injections every 3 months, and is also on bone strengthening mediation, what injection do you receive? Iv done so much research in to advanced prostrate cancer. And now that if treatment is successful and you are a responder that you can live years, it’s been so incredibly hard for us as a family as pa had no problems other then a pain in his hip. What is firmogon? Your story is amazing truly I pray that my pa is this successful,is treatment is going very well so far and I would live his psa to become undetectable it would be the best news for us, it is early days, he is taking the radiation and hope it makes him more Moblie, thank you for giving me such positive news thank you x

[RyderLake2 in reply to Jack02]

Hello, Firmagon (degarelix) is an antagonist. It is the only one approved in Canada to treat advanced prostate cancer. All the other Lupron type drugs are agonists which means Firmagon has a whole different mechanism of action. I switched back to Zoladex because Firmagon requires injections in your belly every month as opposed to Zoladex (goserelin) which is an injection given four times a year or once every three months.

The bone strengthening medication I take is Prolia (denosumab). If you remember your high school biology, bones are continually rebuilding themselves. Osteoblasts build bone whereas osteoclasts tear down old bone. They work in harmony. Prolia encourages your osteoblasts which makes your bones thicker and less prone to a skeletal related event or SRE (i.e. a fracture). Glad I could provide some help to your Dad. Good luck!

[AlanMeyer in reply to RyderLake2]

Hello RyderLake2,

When I read that someone had a PSA near 1700 with extensive metastasis EIGHT YEARS AGO(!) I want to stand up and cheer.

Life sometimes kicks us in the butt. It's great to hear that, with help from modern science, we can sometimes get up again and go on.

I wish you another eight years, and if you get that, then eight more!

Best of luck.

Alan

[RyderLake2 in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you so much! I realize that I am the exception. Eight years ago I thought I would be very lucky to get eight months and here it is eight years! I have been blessed to have a supportive wife, family, friends and two excellent oncologists (radiation and medical). They have helped me make good decisions along the way. For that I am truly grateful.

[AlanMeyer]

Hello Jack,

I haven't had palliative radiation myself but I've read many postings here from men who have benefited from it.

I like that your Dad's radiation oncologist is starting with just one dose. If nothing else, it shows that he's trying to maximize the benefit and minimize side effects to your Dad, definitely not trying to maximize his doctor's fees.

Best wishes to you and your Dad.

Alan

[Jack02 in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you alun, yes I’m hoping it will give him some relief but the word palliative radiation scares me why is it called this may I ask? Hope your doing well x

[AlanMeyer in reply to Jack02]

"Palliative" means that the intent of the treatment is to reduce pain and improve the quality of a patient's life. It is not being give in order to increase lifespan. Sometimes a palliative treatment can actually extend life - if it turns out that the specific spot with cancer that is treated was actually life threatening. For example, Xofigo was developed as a palliative treatment for pain due to cancer in the bones. However experience showed that, for many patients, the cancer in the bones was the biggest threat to their lives, suppressing that cancer in the bones resulted in life extension as well as reduction of pain. But for other people, the only effect was pain reduction because the life threatening cancer was not in the bones but in "soft tissue" (lungs, stomach, brain, etc.)

Palliative treatment does not mean that no other treatment is possible. There may be other treatments that your Dad is receiving that will repress the cancer and give him additional life extension. Palliative treatment may be given alongside these other treatments. If your Dad's greatest danger is the cancer in his bones, then Xofigo may be a good treatment for him. Otherwise the various hormone and chemotherapy treatments may be best.

Ultimately, of course, none of us will live forever. I think that we should do our best for as long as we can but not give in to fear of the inevitable. Life can be very good even though it is limited. I think we should try to enjoy what we have and do the best we can for those around us.

Best of luck.

Alan

[Jack02 in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you for your reply Alan my pa is on enzaplumide and also hormone injection every three months, he been from the day of diagnosis so as no other treatment other then what he is on today, but he as pain witch is from the mets in his spine I’m guessing they try to kill some cancer cells to ease the nerves, do you know how this is given? Will it be injected or pin pointed? Thank you again it really helps me and my pa to always get positive news x

[j-o-h-n]

So Jack02 would you be kind enough to:

Please tell us his bio. Age? Location? When diagnosed? Treatment(s)? Treatment center(s)? Scores Psa/Gleason? Medications? Doctor's name(s)?

All info is voluntary, but it helps us help him/you and helps us too. When you respond, copy and paste it in his/your home page for your use and for other members’ reference.

THANK YOU AND KEEP POSTING!!!

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 03/30/2021 9:49 PM DST

[Jack02 in reply to j-o-h-n]

Hi John I would but I don’t know how to do it on this site, if you could kindly respond nd tell me I will give the information many thanks x

[j-o-h-n]

Just logon and on your home page and add the necessary data to the end of your current description which I printed below. If you do not wish to add the data then you don't have to but it does save time when you wish to describe your Dad's bio to other members. Tell you Dad he has a wonderful offspring!!! Keep posting...

It’s my father that has advanced prostrate cancer and I’m on the journey with him, I want to share positive stories with him to help his mental health and know of any up and coming treatments in

the future

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 04/29/2021 5:38 PM DST