I'm happy to have advanced prostate cancer.

[Spinel_Cutter]

...well, rather than having brain cancer, or lung cancer or pancreatic cancer... In contrast, CaP is the one to choose. Oh.... we didn't choose?

Most likely it was Dow Chemical (or one of the other 9 entities that produced 2-4-5-T (Agent Orange) that gave this to me. Nope, no military. I was drafted during VietNam and called and then *poof,* the draft ended.

Instead, in 1970, as a college kid, I took a summer job spraying defoliant under power lines. The defoliant = Agent Orange. I'd come home soaked to the skin, every day. "No need to worry, you're not a plant." Ok.

I'm happy because (at least via PSMA-pet) there are no distant mets. (~80% specific, so maybe a 20% chance of microscopic distant mets). Micro-mets to lymp nodes? Well, there is a formula where you plug in Gleason Score and other parameters such as PSA and my "chance for micro-mets to lymph nodes are about 140%. So, IMRT to those lymph nodes.

I'm happy that I have a cancer that really has no overt symptoms.

I'm happy that I'm 74 and have a job that I love (I'm an RN working for US DOL, I'm a field nurse that oversees and trouble-shoots Federal injured workers, USPS; Homeland Security; VA, Dept of Navy (civ).

I got a lot to be happy about.

I'm happy to be here, looking about there are lots of answers!

A question: Can I change my icon? Tomatoes?

Spinel_Cutter, what's that mean? The most significant ruby on the planet is the "Black Prince's Ruby." It's red, 170 carats (1.2 ounces) and is set on the United Kingdom's Imerial State Crown. It's set just above the Cullinan II Diamond. But, get this>>>It's not a ruby, it's a Spinel.

What's a Spinel Cutter? That's a person that facets gemstones and in particular enjoys faceting Spinels.

So, I'd like to "can" the tomatoes on my profile and replace it with a faceted spinel, can I do that?

[Dadyrabbit]

I am right there with you....If you are a male and you have to have cancer then prostate cancer is the one you want it to be. That's how I feel. Now I know that it can spread to bone, lung, etc but that is a different battle for another day. I am almost 73 and was diagnosed about 18 months ago. Mine was likely caught early as I have had PSA test for several years and it only started going up recently. My last PSA was 12. Of my three biopsies the first two only showed 3+3=6 for all cores. My last showed one core of 4+3=7 and has some nerve involvement. I get my PSMA-Pet Scan next week. The only reason I asked for it was I have quite a bit of pain in both hips, shoulders and spine but I think most likely from arthritis but just want to be sure. Regardless of outcome I still have not decided what treatment course I will have or I may not treat at all. No one if my family tree has ever lived to be 90 years old. Already cheated death twice with two heart attacks and quadruple bypass. In relatively good health at 5'11" and 170 lbs. I did stop consuming alcohol about 6 months ago and haven't missed it. Most likely without treatment I assume my cancer will eventually spread perhaps to bone, brain, lung, etc. But it would likely take 10 years or longer so by then I will be in my early 80's. I am not afraid of dying but I dread the potential side effects of treatments ... incontinence, loss of sexual function, with surgery and/or radiation , hormone therapy etc. Maybe save that misery for end of life but not while I am still enjoying it all. Anyway good luck to you and keep that positive attitude.

[Mascouche]

While our condition might indeed be preferable to brain cancer, or lung cancer or pancreatic cancer, its elusiveness and mutational abilities made me wonder if we are so lucky. At stage 1, I would probably agree but at stage four...

So I've asked the Co-Pilot AI the following

Q: which advanced cancers are the most curable?

A:When it comes to advanced cancers, some types have higher curability rates due to advancements in detection and treatment. Here are a few that are considered more curable:

Thyroid Cancer: Often detected early and highly treatable with surgery and radioactive iodine therapy

Prostate Cancer: Many cases are slow-growing and can be effectively treated with surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy

Testicular Cancer: Has a high cure rate, especially when caught early, and responds well to chemotherapy

Hodgkin Lymphoma: Modern treatments have significantly improved survival rates

Melanoma: Early-stage melanoma is highly treatable with surgery

*

Then I asked the following to narrow this down to stage 4.

Q: Which ones are the most curable once you reach stage 4?

A: Stage 4 cancer, also known as metastatic cancer, is generally more challenging to treat. However, some types of cancer still have relatively better outcomes even at this advanced stage:

Testicular Cancer: Even at stage 4, testicular cancer has a high cure rate with aggressive chemotherapy and surgery.

Thyroid Cancer: Certain types, like papillary or follicular thyroid cancer, can still respond well to treatments like radioactive iodine therapy.

Hodgkin Lymphoma: Advanced Hodgkin lymphoma can be treated effectively with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.

Melanoma: Newer treatments, such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy, have improved outcomes for stage 4 melanoma.

*

As shown above, Prostate cancer is a top 5 cancer to have if caught early on but once you reach stage 4, it is no longer in the list.

Doesn't mean we should stop the fight and not find happiness but we might have been "luckier" to have caught testicular cancer

[Spinel_Cutter in reply to Mascouche]

I so agree.

Winning the Megabucks is definitively better than any cancer. My post was a bit, "tongue in cheek." It's turned my world upside down, although I can find positives, that would otherwise be negatives.

I'm sorry but I really don't think that Co-pilot is a true AI, rather it's a more sophisticated search engine. As such I do not think it can synthesize the way our brains can.

That will change in the future, when, how much, how fast, who knows but for us, who have CaP, there will be benefits.

Finding happiness is #1 and therein lays a quandary. Doctors POV = Cure cancer, regardless of QOL, cure it.

My POV is: Do I want to suffer for a 2nd or third year on ART, perhaps at age 74 to never, ever have my Testosterone come back, with horrid issues from changes it blood glucose, blood pressure, weight, cognitive issues, loose teeth and so much more...... so that (by doing a 2nd year on Lupron or equivalent) one out of 20 men will be pushed into that 5-10 year survival period? In other words, do I want to suffer one more year to have a 5% (1:20) chance in increased survival?

Of course, there is an answer, but it is entirely personal, and each of us who travel that route, will, make their choice.

At least we do have choices, compared to 20, or 40 or 80 years ago.

[Leigh2350 in reply to Spinel_Cutter]

Greetings from a fellow Dow casualty. I worked for a Dow subsidiary in New Zealand about 1965 and was heavily exposed to 2-4 D. My mother commented that that the lawn had dead footsteps where I walked .

Do you have a link to any research on 2-4 D and 2-4-5 T ?

[Spinel_Cutter in reply to Leigh2350]

I don't. In America the government ordered 9 chemical entities to create the defoliants. Therefore, I am unlikely to ever know if it was Dow, or one of the other 8 who manufactured it. What is intresting is the 2-4-5-d/t is not a carcinogen, it is another contaminant that is incidentally created.

[cfhny in reply to Spinel_Cutter]

Exactly

[Trivista]

Nice post SC!

I'm one of the guys that was drafted and served in Nam. Not sure if my PC was a rresult of my tour in 1970-71 in I Corps with the 101st but its a good thing I am a veteran as VA is picking up the tab for my Nubequa.

I'm 75, sober 30 years (anybody need help stopping drinking?). I'm retired, living free in the mountains of NC and deeply in love withmy wife.

I have joy in my life that this cancer cant take from me.

I believe the happiness and the joy are cancer fighters.

This is year 10 since diagnosis.

Theruby looks good on you.

[Lrv44221 in reply to Trivista]

First i want to thank you for your service in viet nam. Were you in airborne? I’m the wife of a PCa man and i also love him (my spouse ) and feel happy. I too think happiness joy and belief are cancer fighters.

I believe too that where the mind goes the body follows——-belief shifts biology——-

Thank you for your wonderful post 💜💜💜

[Ghostrider71]

Respectfully, I disagree. My husband was only 52 years old when he was diagnosed with de novo metastatic prostate cancer. He’s had many lines of treatment and is now in a clinical trial. We have lost friends to this disease, as well. Not all men have an indolent form of this disease.

[Spinel_Cutter in reply to Ghostrider71]

I do agree with your disagreement, really. My cancer is not very indolent either, and ultimately I may be one of the 4% who die from it, rather than from other causes. CaP at age 52, especially being in the past, is brutal, and I'm sorry for you.

[Cramlingtonboy in reply to Spinel_Cutter]

Can I disagree with your agreeing to disagree? Looking on the bright side is probably a good thing

[Ghostrider71 in reply to Cramlingtonboy]

Of course! We are as optimistic as we can be, but we also have to be realistic. We still have hope that we will have more time

[CAMPSOUPS in reply to Ghostrider71]

I love the forum but sometimes often these 4 years I have been here posts and replies make me wonder if this is the advanced forum as it is stated to be.

I am extremely lucky to have responded to Pluvicto. If I hadn't and actually when I start progressing again its cabitaxal, trial drug or hospice. However the question of if I can repeat Pluvicto is out there too.

[GranPaSmurf]

I'm 84, and I concur. I was diagnosed in 2019 with high Gleason scores. In 2020 I had metastatic leasions on a rib and a vertabrae. Radiation and chemo pills since ,now have me with no discernable cancer.. The worst ongoing issue is the type 2 diabetes caused by the treatment. Diabetic treatment with pills and monitor with CGM. Also, I'm left with a strong appreciation and gratitude for every new day.

[Yank66]

Feeling thankful, but not so lucky.

[Hawk56]

You are not wrong...yet as Ghostrider71 says, there are some 30k each year here in the US along with their families and friends who would disagree. When friends say "isn't prostate cancer the "good" cancer to have because you just die with it much later...I say:

That's an oxymoron, there is no good cancer.

Tell that to the 30k or so each year who die of it.

The side effects of treatment, slash, poison and burn impacts our lives in many ways.

I've been dealing with treatment on and off for 10+ years, each and every time I have hated it, the hot flashes, the fatigue, the muscle and joint stiffness, the genitalia shrinkage, fighting weight gain, the loss of hair (ok, it came back..). I miss spontaneous erections, ejaculation...

Am I grateful for my medical team, health insurance and the plethora of treatment options brought on my medical research, yes, Would I rather not have PCa, not go through treatment, hell yes.

The glass if half full...but let's not forget, it's not full

[Spinel_Cutter in reply to Hawk56]

Indeed, I am "lucky," but not "totally lucky," that would be no cancer at all.

[SeattleDan]

Both my brother and I have prostate cancer beyond the prostate, with no known genetic variances. We grew up on an apple orchard sprayed regularly with Alar and before that, with DDT (both now banned for causing cancer). Back in the 1950’s we played in the dirt all the time. Will we ever know if we’d be cancer-free now were it not for pesticide exposure? (Though I wonder about this, most days I feel ‘happy’ too.)

[anonymoose2]

Yes it could be worse than PC for sure

[Max24]

Dear Spinel_Cutter: your text is the most optimistic and helpful I have read on this site (and really,, on any other 'help' ones...) I have almost the same story as yours (and the same age) and I was this close to unsubscribe from this site as most stories depress the s### out of me... Anytime I go for follow up at the hospital, being on a clinical trial which means every 2 weeks, I always respond to my doctors that the only time I feel 'sick' is when the ask me how I feel...I always end my emails to friends with NDY...not dead yet...

So dear SC, in Toronto, NDY...

[Hidden]

You have a point…at the proton center where im receiving 25 treatments to put out my bone met fires I ran into a guy (and his wife ) who are starting 30 proton treatments ….He is just 53 and has an inoperable malignant brain tumor that he’s hoping proton can help….Just 53 yrs old .

[j-o-h-n]

So, I'd like to "can" the tomatoes on my profile and replace it with a faceted spinel, can I do that?

We contacted all of the Giant Supermarket chains, and the big box establishments and all the bodegas in the hood but unfortunately none of them have faceted spinels in cans.....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n