Update: I took what I hope will be my last Lupron shot which will work until March 5 /24. I will have had 31 months of Lupron with mostly undetectable PSA. I will have had 29 months of Abiraterone at that point. Had IMRT radiation 24 months ago
Both my MO and RO are interested in whether they have " CURED" me of Oligometastatic stage IV, Gleason 9. f-18 axumin PET scan showed only spread was to 2 adjacent Lymph nodes.
(Their definition of CURE is that cancer does not return for 5 years)
So we will stop all drugs and see what happens.
Wishing you all a positive journey through ‘24.
Written by
Scout4answers
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
First, CONGRATS! I am looking forward to the day I am able to stop adt. It's a wrecking ball of metabolic health for sure and any break would probably be nice.
You state that you have had "mostly" undetectable PSA over the 31 months. Have you used standardized .X or an usPSA of a .XX or .XXX?
I have been on Lupron since July 2022 and have a 4th adt shot for the 15th of this month. I also have been on abiraterone too since January 2023 but my MO did cut it down to 1 pill daily. I have had one usPSA and it was < .006 which I like but I am anxiously excited to hopefully stop the adt/ abiraterone in July 2024. I would be about 24 months adt and 18 months abiraterone.
Scout, pease clarify. What hiked your PSA? The SARMS RAD140? Please expand on those thoughts. What you wrote in your initial post is too abbreviated for me to get a grasp what happened over time. With SARM, how do you know you're getting a quality product? Last thing I read was this old information:
Thanks but didn't answer my question and seems like a less than caring reply to a fellow member. If you don't want to help, that's fine too. Your profile says you started SARMS 10/22 and quit after a month because PSA rose, then again you note that you restarted it 7/23. No mention if you still take it and nothing that addresses my question. about quality, whether the SARMs was the culprit to your PSA rise in 2022.
Sorry you feel slighted, I can not answer your question about quality I have no frame of reference. I stopped after second rise in PSA as it seemed clear to me that RAD 140 was the only variable that had changed.
Note:
Went back and looked at profile ...on 3/7 23 it does say that I stopped for the second time. I decided SARMS were not working for me and have not taken them again.
I don't consider myself in remission or cured. I am still on ADT therapy + abiraterone and prednisone. Therapies will end in March and then I will find out what my status is.
Thank you and I hope you will be in remission. You did feel taking SARMS at one point made your PSA go up right? My son has given some thought to taking it and he’s on ADT too.
Thanks. I read up on it and the RAD140 I guess it is the most powerful. Maybe that’s why your PSA went up.It’s hard to say.But I’m happy you had a happy ending when you stopped talking it. I hope that this is your last injection of Lupron and that you’ll be in remission. Best of luck to you for a remission.That word is music to our ears!
Congrats on making it through these treatments. Just looking at your labs, your cholesterol is very low with a statin. I would .suggest reducing the dose or getting off a statin completely, for several reasons— one is very low cholesterol is associated with early onset dementia. You do enough exercise to have good lipid numbers it appears, as well as a good diet. CV risk is more about APO-B and lp(a) than raw LDL numbers, read the studies and form your own opinion about it rather than blindly taking a statin. Hate to see someone doing well with everything else and needlessly being on a statin.
great photo brother. Coco looks lovely as usual. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you being in remission. Where’s there hope for you, there is hope for all of us.
Darolutamide (Nubeqa), Apalutamide(Erleada) Enzalutamide(Xtandi), bicalutamide(Casodex) basically work my attaching to the Androgen Receptors thereby preventing T from attaching to the AR. So if one is not taking ADT ie lupron, Eligard, firmagon, etc, T is not suppressed and floats around the blood stream with little to do.
The prostate cancer is Androgen driven (T). By blocking the AR Receptors, the T cannot bind depriving the prostate cancer of necessary fuel to grow. Simple explanation since the mechanism is complicated.
Correct. And if a man is on Abiraterone Acetate (zytiga), that works differently. It blocks an enzyme that is required for the conversion of lipids to T. The patient gets a deeper level of T suppression.
All good info but I would worry about all that T floating around which I would think would funnel more down the aromatase pathway to create extra estrogens. I would definitely measure my E2 on a regular basis and the phase 1 estrogens and make sure they are being metabolized through the kidneys (urine test).
My estrogens just one month from PCa diagnosis in 2013.
Scout4answers, I read through your bio, appreciating the care and detail used to chronicle your PCa progression and experiences. I’m stage IVa myself, diagnosed 8/2/23. Still fighting denial, but am scheduled to start something in February. My great concern is loss of quality of life just at a time when world travel and long hikes are my and my wife’s primary activities. Your recoveries of sexual function and zest for life are very important to hear and give me hope that recovery from ADT is possible. I have to be optimistic that the IMRT won’t overly damage my GI and urinary tracts. Anyway, you’ve inspired me to chronicle my own journey on this road for others to read, once it begins. Thank you!
Happy my profile was of help to you . I did it also so that I could remember the stops on my journey, as memory issues have been a side effect that hardly gets mentioned but for me is real. Fortunately my GF has been involved in every step and all discussions so she is able to tell me how I appear to the world as I have found it is much different from the inside.
I am willing to answer any questions you have. I would emphasize resistance training and all exercise as one of the best ways to overcome the side effects of ADT and radiation.
Do not stop having sex, It may not be great every time, but every now and then it can be awesome.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Update after a year on vacation
Update (Almost 8 years on)
Hopeful for the new year!
Eleven Years Updates. Starting EstroGel. 
