April 2023 Update

[TottenhamMan]

My Oncologist stopped my Eligard injections in October 2022 at the end of 24 months of treatment. My PSA was <0.01 and my T was <0.02 in October 2022. I had blood tests in April 2023 (after 6 months) and my PSA was <0.01 and my T had risen to 4. My Oncologist wants PSA tests every six months and will only intervene if the PSA rises to 2.0.

She has told me to expect my PSA to rise as the Testosterone level increases. She’s is not expecting my testosterone to rise significantly given my age (70) and the effects of the 24 months on Eligard. Since stopping the Eligard my joint pain has vanished and my muscle pain has also significantly reduced. I still have hot flashes but by no means as frequent.

I had a full body MRI in Scottsdale in January and the Radiologist’s comments were that my irradiated prostate was small, showed no evidence of local growth, seminal vesicles looked normal, and there was an “artifact” which may be a result of radiation (not sure what that means). In Canada they didn’t offer any scans as part of the follow up so I paid for the MRI in the USA myself. The scan showed no enlarged lymph nodes, and no obvious metastasis. It did however pick up a very significant & solid growth on my thyroid. I can’t get a needle biopsy until late August 2023. I’m not worried about that at this point.

At the moment I feel like I am walking down a road on a sunny day, happy but fully aware that I’m being stalked by a very big black bear that could jump out at me at any point in the road. I know the bear is there. I know that it can jump me at any time, and I’m aware of it, but at the moment I’m happy. The only other thing that I don’t know is where the road is leading me. At my age I’m just thankful that God is walking with me.

[treedown]

The slow T return can be a blessing. I am sure if mine hadn't returned so quickly I would have had longer time reaching PSA of 2.Enjoy! Hopefully your walking down that road on a sunny day for a very, very long time.

[SierraSix]

congrats and enjoy the sunshine

[Nusch]

You are doing great, physically and mentally. I like your picture of a stalking bear. Comfort him so he has no reason to attack you. You can walk a long way together!

[OldVTGuy]

Sounds to me like you are the bear. Fight on! 💪

[London441]

Glad you are doing well.

You say your doctor is not expecting significant T rise going forward because of your age. That’s a little simplistic. Your biological age matters as much or more. How is your health overall? Do you have any co morbidities? Body composition? Stress? Fitness and strength level? These things make an important difference. Do you know what your T was at baseline? That is obviously a major predictor also.

[j-o-h-n]

Be careful....don't walk around with a Bear behind............

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 05/02/2023 9:56 PM DST

[Doseydoe]

You will continue to feel stronger as your T rises. It has been 24 months since my last Eligard shot and my T has been back to normal levels for about a year now. However my PSA is beginning to climb and now it's likely that I'll have a needle in the coming months. It's been good. We've done some travelling and life has been relatively normal. Enjoy the return of testosterone and make the most of life. All the best, cheers DD 😎.

[cancerfox]

When you have your T checked you may want to also check your free T percentage (the usable part of T). My T recently doubled in 3 months, but I felt worse, because my free T had tanked. 🦊