Hoping for the best

Last year I was diagnosed with advanced Stage 3 prostate cancer. The cancer had spread to the seminal vesicles but there was no further invasion that could be detected. Surgery failed because the prostate was to closely adhered to the rectum, so I underwent 45 sessions of IMRT. I am now on Abiraterone and prednisone for two years. I recently read a post that said that if my PSA was undetectable it meant that the cancer cell had died or were in the process of dying. Is this correct?

[Tall_Allen]

It means the cancer cells are not putting PSA into the serum.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks

[GP24]

It does not mean all cancer cells have died now. ADT will stop cancer cells from growing and this will result in a low PSA value. I do not know how long you shall take Abiraterone as recommended by your doctor. When you are allowed to stop, you can observe how long you will have a low PSA value. Hopefully a very long time.

[Hidden in reply to GP24]

Thanks, the info really helps!

[HopingForTheBest1]

There are also times when dying cells will give off, and raise, PSA.

[Hidden in reply to HopingForTheBest1]

Wow I didn’t know that!

[DaveBSD]

Related to this...

Chicago62 mentioned staying on that treatment regimen for two years, but if there's no PSA rise at the end of that time then it seems the treatment is working and could or should continue, yes? And of course if the PSA starts to rise during that regimen then that means it's time to move on to something else because the cancer has become castration resistant, correct?

[chefjlu in reply to DaveBSD]

health.harvard.edu/blog/tre...

This may help in some explanation and connects you to more information

[DaveBSD in reply to chefjlu]

Thanks!

[Hidden in reply to DaveBSD]

how long would I need to continue with abiraterone? I mean when is a person considered cured?

[DaveBSD in reply to Hidden]

For metastatic prostate cancer, where the cancer cells have escaped the prostate and migrated to other areas of the body, there really isn't a cure, just a hopefully much prolonged life, hopefully prolonged enough so that a cure is developed. Medical science is advancing quickly.

The only cure I'm aware of is when the cancer is only in the prostate and the prostate is removed before it's had a chance to spread.

As for how long abiraterone works, it varies from patient to patient - the patient's immune system and overall health, how far the cancer has progressed by the time it was found, etc.. So it could be two years, five years, maybe longer with some people. Eventually PSA starts to rise as the cancer cells wake up (unless you get hit by a bus first), and then it's on to the next treatment.

[Hidden in reply to DaveBSD]

My doctors tell me that they didn’t see any cancer in the lymph nodes or spots outside in the body. They did radiation IMRT and swept the lymph nodes and pelvic area. After radiation and using Abiraterone for two years they tell me that they are aiming for a cure for the Localized High Risk Cancer.

[DaveBSD in reply to Hidden]

Excellent! They caught it early, it appears.