Am I high risk?: Im now getting... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

21,026 members26,206 posts

Am I high risk?

32 Replies

Im now getting confused with all these terms.

See my bio.

So 1 week into my EBRT, my RO stopped in and asked why Im still on abi+pred.

He said when scheduling EBRT I could stop it. I told him my MO said not to stop.

In the beginning, my RO intended for me to do Lupron, and only 6 months

abi+pred., do radiation, then see if maybe stop Lupron.

He feels if the hot lymph node and the prostate fascia (he considers the invisible source) are radiated,

I might be free of ADT etc for a few years.

Read more about...
32 Replies
Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

RT to the entire pelvic LN area (not just positive LNs)+ years of ADT+2 years of abi are now SOC if there are positive lymph nodes. Email this to your RO:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

The RT dimensions have expanded, so make sure you are getting them all:

prostatecancer.news/2021/05...

Stopping early might select for resistant strains.

in reply to Tall_Allen

Yes, the whole lymph node area all the way to the commons

in reply to Tall_Allen

And yes, my MO quoted to me the STAMPEDE protocol she will follow.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

Sounds good! Your RO is a little behind, but your MO has got you covered.

in reply to Tall_Allen

to give my RO credit he did send me to MO, and mentioned abi in his notes.

dhccpa profile image
dhccpa in reply to Tall_Allen

Not sure I understood your last sentence. Stopping early is bad in his case? Sorry, the terminology threw me a curve.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to dhccpa

Maybe. The most vulnerable strains are killed earlier, the most resistant strains, later.

in reply to Tall_Allen

I understand PCa cells only get killed with RT and Chemo.

Not ADT as in abi and Lupron

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

No, it gets killed by ADT.

in reply to Tall_Allen

I keep hearing "stops, or slows PCa growth".

Also as an old Russian saying goes, trust but verify. I walked into the control room before walking into the "reactor" room. Asked to see my contours, she responded, you already asked, I responded, I would like to see the pretty picture on the computer screen!!! She obliged "see all the way to the common iliacs"

Now I owe her some baked goods!!!

Thats gonna do a number on my iliac arteries!!

One week, so far no SEs, Im waiting.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

You are trying to come up with a black and white statement, which won't work. ADT kills cancer cells, but maybe not all of them, depending on the situation. ADT+radiation is usually curative if localized. ADT controls distant metastases, but there are always some metastatic cells that are not killed. N1 is somewhere in between.

in reply to Tall_Allen

Im hoping its curative, my MO says "it in a lymph note, its in the blood"

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

Lymph isn't blood. Blood circulates quickly, so I agree that if metastases have traveled to distant sites, it got there via blood. But when it is confined to pelvic lymph nodes, it may not be systemic yet. Lymph doesn't circulate like blood. It is a sluggish fluid that hangs out in lymph vessel networks in the drainage area for a while. If it hasn't gotten into systemic circulation yet, there may still be an opportunity to kill the buggers.

in reply to Tall_Allen

🤞

dhccpa profile image
dhccpa in reply to Tall_Allen

Ahhh got it now thanks!

aloha_spaceman profile image
aloha_spaceman

To your question, yes, you are high risk. But with the revised standard of care described, your odds are much improved. At least that’s what my team is telling me (in a similar situation). The data on long-term outcomes is not in yet (for obvious reasons) but judging by the early returns on the “kitchen sink” approach, it seems to work pretty well.

reichel profile image
reichel in reply to aloha_spaceman

I am on the same path. My MO took this approach and spoke of a cure. Just went off the drugs and hope that this works. Good luck but seems that you are being well advised

GP24 profile image
GP24

You have a Gleason 3+4. Conventional CT/bone scan will not detect the affected lymph node so this should not put you into high risk. Therefore I would just get six months of ADT plus Abi+Pred.

aloha_spaceman profile image
aloha_spaceman in reply to GP24

PSMA scan could/would detect affected nodes.

in reply to GP24

CT did not detect lymph node.

Bone scan clean.

PSMA found lymph node, yes.

GP24 profile image
GP24 in reply to

All of the existing guidelines and studies are based on CT/bone scan, not on PSMA. You and your doctor should keep this in mind when planning the therapy. One affected lymph node on a PSMA scan does not put you into the high risk category. US cancer statistics show that you live just as long with or without affected lymph nodes in the pelvis, detected with a CT. Avoid overtreatment .

in reply to GP24

All of those studied are not based on PSMA, as PSMA is still young.

in reply to GP24

That was my ROs thinking, my MO says for life.

GP24 profile image
GP24 in reply to

Google for the ProtecT trial by Hamdy. This will convince you that this is overtreatment

in reply to GP24

Doesnt

maggiedrum profile image
maggiedrum

I may well be misinformed but my understanding is that the use of a CT scan with a PSMA-PET scan is to definitely locate which lymph nodes (or organs or parts of organs) the cancer is located. The PSMA scan only shows a glob of radiation that is very undefined but shows where to look anatomically.

in reply to maggiedrum

Yes, the CT scan is done first, without moving the PSMA PET follows, the PSMA is overlaid on the CT image.

maggiedrum profile image
maggiedrum in reply to

I'm not sure what procedures others might have had but mine involved a PSMA-PET scan in a specialized scanner at Seattle Cancer Care Association (now Fred Hutchinson Cancer) followed by a CT scan just before I left the building. I had to drink a solution for the hour before the CT scan.

in reply to maggiedrum

You might have had 2 different scans.

The CT scan is done the moment before the PSMA scan is done in the same machine, that CT scan is not diagnostic, its only to be used as an overlay to the PSMA scan.

The CT scan with tracer (the drink) was for diagnostic, did you get an injection also, the moment the CT started?

maggiedrum profile image
maggiedrum in reply to

I might have remembered wrong. I did get an injection as I recall. I could ask the clinic if it's important here.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Sorry I can't answer that Term......cause I'm Not A Lawyer....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 05/22/2023 6:32 PM DST

inter100 profile image
inter100

practiceupdate.com/journals...

Not sure if this has any relevance to yourself but perhaps it does .....

You may also like...

Seeking Post-RP Advice for Very High Risk, G9, Low PSA

positive lymph node, stage T3bN1. Based on my 3mth PSA of <0.03, my urologist is taking a wait and...

What category of Intermediate Risk Am I?

urologist said T2a because of only a tiny amount of PCa on the right side. I think Tall_ Allen...

Zytiga for high-risk non-metastatic PCa?

recent months with EBRT and brachytherapy. I'm on Casodex & Lupron, and the Lupron will continue...

I'm 84 and diagnosed with PC 5 months ago. I was told I had High Risk Localized PC with a Gleason score of 8.

Firmagon because Lupron caused a short-term rise in testosterone. My concern is that Lupron might...

Treatment of High Risk Advanced and M1 Disease: Is There a Role for Treatment of the Primary?

Uro's I've met with said they couldn't justify and RP in my case, 1 out of 3 said he thought it was...