Just introducing myself

First, please don't let my username put you off. It simply reflects two of my hobbies, clay target shooting and billiards. I'm 69 and have stage 3 prostate cancer. My Gleason score is 9 (4+5). I am slated to start external beam radiation in about 3 months and am just gathering information. Getting that from my doctor is like pulling teeth lol. I have several years worth of info on "alternative cures" info I would like to share with everyone as well.

[Gpinkk]

I would love to know more about your experience with alternative therapy/treatments. I am 47 with a Gleason 6 early stage. I really don’t want this in my body and want a prostatectomy. I’ve been reading about alternative therapy places in Germany which do hyperthermia etc...I became vegan and have changed my life which should have some positive change in me.

[Hidden in reply to Gpinkk]

I would suggest that you Google TTAC or Bill Henderson as a good starting point for information that you may find interesting.

[MelbourneDavid in reply to Gpinkk]

Removing a small, slow changing Gleason 6 does a lot more harm than good. A multiparametric prostate MRI is a good way to confirm its sizeand indolence - many small Gleason 6's don't even show up as different from normal on MRI but big or aggressive ones do.

I met a man last night who has hada small Gleason 6 for the last 15 years with no change or problem. Active Surveillance is the only appropriate response. Big ones, on the other hand, usually need treatment.

[Gpinkk in reply to MelbourneDavid]

How do you think removing a Gleason 6 will be more harmful than good? If I were 80 or even 70, I’d put off the surgery or never consider it. I am 47 years old and Although it only showed up as a lesion 2 on MRI..the biopsy confirmed it as a Gleason 6. I am not disagreeing with you...in fact, I’m listening to all points of view.

[MelbourneDavid in reply to Gpinkk]

Small Gleason 6 ones rarely grow. With the best of outcomes the surgery has irreversible harmful effects on urinary control (the internal urinary sphincter is always destroyed by radical prostatectomy) and your sex life (dry orgasm, changed sensations). With poor luck you may need further surgery to implant a device to give urinary control and may never recover a sex life. (Despite trying everything including an implant my sex life is gone - the implant is painful in intercourse for me. Just my bad luck.)

We have learned that there are small, slow growing cancers that are self limited and never cause a health issue. An important part of cancer screening is to recognise and not do damage treating them.

E.g. South Korea has screened, found, and treated a lot of small thyroid cancers but sadly not reduced their thyroid cancer death rate at all.

Here's a discussion of active surveillance for younger men

prostatecancerinfolink.net/...

[407ca in reply to Gpinkk]

I have to agree with the response that removal of small Gleason 6 might do more harm than good. At 47 you might lose your sex life, continence etc., a big price to pay for little gain. If you are so fearful of cancer that you MUST do something you might look into focal therapy. You have plenty of time, educate yourself. Get second opinions and then decide....don't rush into anything. Think of it this way:

If you had a tiny cancer on your finger would you cut off the whole arm?

All the best to you and good luck.

J

[Hidden in reply to Gpinkk]

There are many here who would be envious of a Gleason 6 diagnosis. I was gleason 8. 6 is considered non-aggressive and prostate cancer by its nature is slow growing. Relax, take a deep breath. You have many options. Rushing into radical (there's a reason they call it that) surgery shouldn't be your first option. There are many vitamins and supplements that could be helpful, and wouldn't hurt: melatonin, vit D3, Vit K with nattokinase, MCP, turmeric, green tea extract, bitter melon, DIM etc. The treatment option I chose was HIFU, at age 66. The jury is still out but there were no extreme quality of life consequences like impotence or incontinence. You have plenty of time to research options and get 2nd opinions. Being here on this site is a good start. Be mindful that specialists will steer you in the direction of their competence: urologists - surgery; radiation oncologists - radiation (external or brachy), etc, etc.

[Gpinkk in reply to Hidden]

I have a hope or fantasy that with exercise, plant-based diet, fasting and broccoli sprouts (sulforaphane) that I can reverse this.

[Tall_Allen]

You can leave the "alternative cures" in the garbage can where it belongs. It apparently did not help you.

Here's what happens to people with cancer who use alternative cures - they were 2.5x more likely to die:

pcnrv.blogspot.com/2018/07/...

As for the best standard-of-care cure for men in your situation, you may want to read this:

pcnrv.blogspot.com/2017/03/...

Of course, if you want to pass up on a therapy that has a cure rate of 83% for high-risk men like yourself just because it has been used for more than 30 years, that's your funeral.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

At no point in my introduction did I state that I had used alternative cures myself. I simply stated that I have several years worth of info on them. I read extensively as I went through my "watchful waiting period" about what the alternative practitioners promote. I did alter my diet to promote better overall health and to boost my immune system but never bought into what most of us realize to be scams. What I have come to believe is that diet alone can not cure cancer but it MAY help prevent it or help to keep it from returning once it has been treated by allopathic methods. The field of integrative oncology is staffed by those holding both a medical degree and a naturopathic degree and they concur with this opinion. I strictly followed the guidance of my urologist including regular PSA testing, biopsies, bone scans, 3T MRI's and PET scans. I did not come to this site expecting to be beat up for making "poor decisions" based on what you or anyone else may assume about me from my brief introduction.

[ewhite999 in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree. I think Tall_Allen’s facts are on the mark but the delivery was a bit harsh. I’d suggest any and all treatments that are proven effective along with adjusted diet meaning as close to vegan as I can get. I’ve had chemo and provenge treatments and I’m using Lupron, Xgeva and Zytiga.

[dentaltwin in reply to Tall_Allen]

I saw that paper, I think on Medpage Today. I doubt it will have little impact on what seems to me a faith-based orientation. And it's so easy to mislead--eg. there was no significant difference in 5-year survival for prostate cancer, for reasons that will be obvious to you. (Not so obvious is the finding that 5-year survival for lung ca was not significant. As I've done far more reading about NSCLC recently than for PC, I was actually shocked).

[Tall_Allen in reply to dentaltwin]

Yes, as you suggest, the 5-year results are too short for survival of the mostly low and intermediate risk patients. As for lung cancer, there were only 15 men who used complementary therapy, so not enough to show statistical significance.

[Jeff85705 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall_Allen, you always have reasoned responses. Thanks for this one. Snake oil has always been around. It may offer somewhat of a placebo effect for a time, and that is why they are successful in hawking such junk.

[jackcop]

Welcome to our little corner of the internet. One must remember that prostate cancer is serious and any therapies that don't hold water, so to speak, we cannot afford to indulge. However, I admire Tall_Allen's parsimonious way of speaking: no bs there. Also, I'm fairly sure he is not being rude but letting you know his opinion of alternative therapies. In here, we can let down our hair and speak freely. Some don't like this while others do. Your choice. But welcome!

[Jeff85705 in reply to jackcop]

It's best to be frank and honest with people, and Tall_Allen does just that. "Harsh"? No, direct and to the point. And accurate.

[Fox2018]

Guns2pool,

I just started to shoot billiards in a local community league and discovered i need a lot of help and practice. Can you give me some advice on how to aim and shoot a "straight" shot that is half a table length away? I am very inconsistent when I try this shot and it seems to present itself often in the games I play.

P.S. - I also think some of the replies you received were harsh and a little rude, particularly for a newcomer to this site...

[Hidden in reply to Fox2018]

sure. It seems that the best way (according to some) to shoot straight in shots is to not aim at the object ball but at the exact, mininsule spot where it contacts the cloth. Easier said than done, but it has helped my aim considerably. Good luck!

[lillyofthevalley37]

I think it's best to think in terms of complementary rather than alternative ?

Traditional treatment saves lives but diet can play a part in prevention for example the amino acid inositol has been proven to inhibit prostate cancer, iodine is very important for prostate health and most people don't get enough organic sea kelp is a good source of iodine that can be sprinkled on food, another important thing is keeping the body alkaline because cancer can't thrive in an alkaline environment and bicarbonate of soda is a good way to get alkaline even if you just brush your teeth with it

My husband has just had da vinci robotic prostatectomy so I have done lots of research

[Hidden in reply to lillyofthevalley37]

Agreed

[Jeff85705]

I would be very wary of so-called "alternative therapy/treatments." Stick with medical science, not fantasy cures. You certainly might be wise to improve your diet, but don't think that will cure stage 3 (or any other stage) prostate cancer. You need to be ready to ask questions of your urologist while he/she is in the room with you. If you have no questions, that urologist is out of there and on to the next of hundreds of other patients s/he has. If you haven't already, get second opinions from clinical oncologists specializing in prostate including urologic surgeons. If you can't get information from your doctor, consider changing doctors. However, often when patients say they can't get anything out of their doctor, they often don't know what questions to ask and may have not done their own research (legitimate websites, not snake-oil sales sites).