Has once again got a bad report from his ct scans..He was diagnosed in July of 2017 with stage 4 Prostate Cancer..since 2017, he has had 2 oral chemotherapy treatments casodex and standing with prednisone,in chair he has had cabotaxel,taxotere and 2 clinical trials. All of these treatments did not work for him, every time he was sent for ct scans, the cancer had spread more..now he has mass on his liver that has gotten 3 times the size they were before, mass on both lungs, mass on trachea and lymph nodes.. and the Dr said that it is now time to call in comfort care..My Hubby still don’t want to give up so he told the Dr try the cabotaxel again, even though it was to strong for the first time, it put him in the hospital..The Dr told him they can try this one last thing and add espitode with it.. My opinion is, I think My Hubby should just leave it alone live out the rest of his days in peace and comfort…No More Chemotherapy..Your thoughts please..
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I am sending you positive thoughts in this difficult time. With the history you mentioned, I would not be doing more treatment, just hug and love your people, tremendously.
Has he had a biopsy recently? A biopsy with genetic testing would provide vital information about what your are dealing with. There are several possibilities:
1) If it's normal prostate cancer, then a second generation hormonal (abiraterone, etc.) or docetaxel or cabazitaxel might work. Let me stress I am not a doctor and so this should be taken as a "for example" and not an actual medical recommendation.
2) If it's neuroendocrine, then carboplatin+etoposide might work (it worked for me, but the cancer came right back after stopping). Another option for neuroendocrine is folofiri which is an old colon cancer treatment. It's not as harsh as platinum chemotherapy, and has been working for me. Again, I'm not prescribing, just sharing my personal experience for your reference.
3) Certain genetic mutations may indicate that some of the newer immunotherapies may work, and may be less harsh than chemo. I have little experience with these, and they haven't worked for me.
4) Some prostate cancers seem to be slow growing but resist most if not all forms of therapy. IMHO, the worst thing in the world is to suffer treatment side effects while the cancer continues to grow. That happened to me last fall, and it's the closest I've been to having the cancer kill me. It's the most personal of decisions when to give up the fight but in some cases it can results in a longer, happier life because of the lack of harsh treatment side effects.
As I've said several times, none of this is medical advice, it's just a long winded example of how finding more information about the cancer can steer treatment decisions. And of course, your husband's general health will also need to be taken into account.
Thanks for the advice..Yes he has had mutation test done and he has Idh2 mutation..
Stay strong to your faith. I tend to agree to not suffering more than needed. But if he wants to fight . No one should stop him. At the same time we all will reach a point to want mercy and peace over suffering and pain . Love will save the day . I’m sorry his situation is such. He has you and is not alone. Thank God.🙏
I’m so sorry for your husband, chemo is rough. I did etoposide and cisplatin in 2016 and taxotere in 2019, clinical trial, and taken many other arrows via SOC in this fight. I think this becomes a personal decision. for me - I don’t know yet. Chemo helped me in 2016, but didn’t work in 2019. I don’t think I would want to do chemo again unless there was a larger strategy that would help me improve my quality of life, as all of this is considered ‘palliative’. Stay strong!
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