ADT Eligard

[Delfino7x9]

taking 6 months of Eligard. Taking 28 radiation treatments in first 3 months.

if ADT Eligard starves prostrate cancer cells and reduces testosterone, what is rationale for continued use if radiation killed all cancer cells?

Just wondering Thanks

[wink46]

The additional benefit for Eligard is basically for those with a Gleason score of 8 or above. Although cancer cells are killed by radiation the process of dying cells takes a while. Eligard will keep the PSA basically zero . Although you didn't ask the side effects were terrible and I stopped after 5 3 mos shots. So far so good.

[MrFireworks]

The big question there being, "IF radiation killed all cancer cells" (emphasis mine). Did they miss the tumor at all? Did it start to metastasize?

There's no (practical, useful) way to tell that I know about, other than waiting and monitoring your PSA. And a PSMA PET scan, which only detects PCa once it grows to a certain size (1mm?) which means a LOT of cells.

The doctors have the imaging, test results, studies, and whatever previous experience with other patients (who are not you).

If they treat too much, you get hit with unnecessary side-effects.

If they treat too little, the cancer comes back (perhaps metastatic), and if metastatic it's likely to kill you.

Making decisions for big stakes with limited, uncertain, statistical information kind of sucks, however it remains a huge improvement (and continuing to get better) over what used to happen to patients. Go back enough years and they found out about the cancer at the autopsy, or when things started hurting a few weeks before you died. Yay for PSA screening, imaging, ...