Wanted to give an update on my Lutetium-177 therapy at Fortis Medical Research Center with Dr. Ishita Sen. My partner Jim and I flew back to New Delhi for my second LU-177 treatment last week. Dr. Sen ordered another PSMA scan to check the results of the first treatment that I had in March. The newest PSMA scan showed that there was no longer any cancer in the prostate as well as in the lymph nodes when compared to the earlier scans from March. Also, my PSA has fallen from 17 to 3.5 in the 6 week period between treatments.
I also had my second LU177 treatment. Dr. Sen lowered the dose to try to avoid side effects since there weren't any visible tumors for the LU-177 to attach to. I'm scheduled to return in July for a third treatment.
It was explained to me that it takes millions of cancer cells to become visible tumors on a PSMA scan, so it is always necessary to over-treat for what might not be visible on a scan. This therapy may have worked well for me because I haven't had any other treatments yet, other than LU177 and my tumors produced a lot of PSMA.
I am very grateful to the folks who posted their travel and LU-177 treatment stories on Health Unlocked. It made it very easy to decide to come to India for this treatment. Will post more after my third treatment in July.
Namaste,
Greg
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GregHouston
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Great report! You may want to forgo the third dose. I've read reports of high toxicity when there aren't significant metastases to attach to - it wastes money anyway. You can always go back later.
Good results, congratulations. It is interesting to me that they treat even when there are not metastases in the PSMA PET/CT. In Germany they do not treat if the patient does not have visible mets in the PET/CT. If there are not visible mets the tumor load could be very low and most of the Lu 17 7PSMA and radiation could go the salivary glands, the kidneys and the small intestine.
PSMA Lutetium is a fantastic treatment. I have had 10 cycles myself and is scheduled for no 11 in a couple of weeks. Why is there so many weeks between each of your treatments? In Europe you will typically have 6 weeks between each treatment, sometimes even just 4 weeks.Be very careful with covid19 - India is a dangerous place to be in that regard.
Thankyou Greg for including all the details for making contact. I will look at going down this route myself. Been holding off because of the Covid tavel restrictions in the UK and India and was told that Indian hospitals were closed to foreign patients for now. Looking forward to your next report.
Hi there, I believe you can still get a medical travel visa to India now. Dr. Sen’s colleagues can help with the proper letters necessary to present to the Indian Consulate in your area. In Texas, this was done through a website, email and Federal Express documents because the consultant was closed due to COVID. Fortis Research Hospital is open for cancer treatment still. I am here today getting a scan.
Hi Greg, Wanted to tell you thoroughly read your post and I just emailed Dr Sen about 12 hours ago with my case and medical history. Any idea how fast she gets back to people?
I also have not taken Lupron and have early Metastatic Prostate cancer. (HIFU in Germany, last year, didn't cure me unfortunately) I'm also in Texas. Right now I'm on the cusp of getting that first Lupron shot but maybe that is not a great idea, if I can get to India and get a PET-PSMA scan and Lu177 treatment in a month.
I am not certain but I think it may have been separate. In order to have LU-177, the doctor would need to make sure the cancer expresses enough PSMA to be a viable treatment for the patient.
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