Both my Femurs had extensive bone marrow metastases.
Not much info online and from the little info I've picked up prognosis is normally not good if you're unfortunate enough to have bone marrow metastases, so I'm considering myself lucky that I responded well to treatment.
Is this bone marrow problem common in prostrate cancer and anyone here have any knowledge in this area.
I have this. You may want to have an orthopedic oncologist monitor you. He/she may be able to give you tips to avoid fracture. I had pain on the right side and had five radiation treatments. It helped. No left side pain so far.
It is very common for prostate cancer to metastasize to the bones and bone marrow. If the cancer is going to spread, it seems it nearly always goes to the bones first. It is almost as if your bones roll out the "red carpet" and your PCa cells walk right in. Don't be too alarmed by poor prognosis projections. I have metastatic prostate cancer and I have been battling this damn disease for nearly six years. I still have lots of fight and I hope to be around for another six. There are people on this forum with metastatic cancer who are still alive after fifteen years or longer.
I was diagnosed with metastatic PC cancer in July 2010. With treatment my cancer in my bones has not advanced further. I have had chemo, clinical trial, on Zoladex, and now Zytiga. My psa fluctuates and is currently 32.
My husband was diagnosed at stage 4. It metastasized to his entire left femur and a couple of spots on his vertebrate initially. He responded very well to treatment (except Zytiga which did not work at all). Unfortunately his cancer was VERY aggressive and his treatments didn't last too long before He was on a new treatment plan. He had a 21 month battle before he passed. At the end his cancer spread to every none in his body - his bone scan lit up like a Christmas tree. The cancer even metastasized to his lungs. He's probably the exception to the usual prostate cancer journey, but you just never know. I was worried and upset to find out that only 28% of men live 5 years when at stage 4. I remember thinking "5 years, I need to make the best of it". We didn't even get 2 years. I tell you this not to scare you but to inform you. Everyone's cancer journey is different. I know it's hard, but try and enjoy every moment you're here with us. Celebrate the small things- life in general is short. Worrying robbed me of joy and precious time with my husband. Know that I pray for all you men. God bless you my friend!
Sorry for your loss.
My scan is the same, lit up like an xmas tree from ribs to knees, in Nov the Oncologist said from his experience he estimated 44 months. I have responded well to the ADT and Chemo (got my PSA from 1386 to 0.4 in 5 months) so right now I'm feeling I can breeze past that 44 month marker.
I get my follow-up bone scan tomorrow. I've been joking that it will be bad news if the MO is humming "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree..." when I walk in 
At diagnosis I had many bone mets but no mention was made of them being in the marrow. My PSA and Alk Phos have both plummeted since then, and my symptoms are improving, so hoping the scan will be more good news.
The problem I see with any survival estimate is that some men don't respond to or can't tolerate treatment and fall far short of the median, and others get an exceptional response and far exceed the median. Me thinks your oncologist should have said "44 months plus or minus a decade".
My youngest Son is 10 years old tomorrow, another 7 to 10 years would be a blessing, my dream to see them both grow into fine young Men, it's the main driving force that keeps me fighting this cancer.
You have grand reasons to live . 🙏
Happy double digits birthday to you son.... You'll be dancing at his kid's weddings....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Tuesday 04/30/2019 7:14 PM DST
Hi Zetabow, got a question for you: when you had your "xmas tree" result, did they use the term "super scan"? I saw my November scan for the first time yesterday, and the oncologist called it a "super scan", which apparently means the metastases are so bright you can't see other details such as the kidneys and bladder, and can barely see the unaffected bones. It didn't look like a xmas tree to me, more like a demonically glowing rib cage, spine, hips, and not much else.
Yesterday's scan was completely different. It looked like a normal skeleton with only a handful of brighter areas, particularly the rib and sacro-iliac areas where I still have a bit of pain. The kidneys (which are filtering out the tracer) were easily visible, and the brightest spot on the scan was my bladder full of tracer. To say the oncologist was extremely pleased would be an understatement.
You and I have had similar PSA responses, I expect if you get a follow up scan you will see similar improvement.
That term never came up in the conversation. I had my last Chemo today so he showed me my scan again (will have another in 6 weeks), I must say first time I saw it I was still a little shocked and couldn't take it all in, he went through a bit slower this time. he basically said nearly every bone in my body has Mets, from skull to feet. I'm kinda glad it only hurts in Ribs and thighs. He also gave me different pain meds to try out and booked an appointment for me to see a pain specialist.
What was your treatment. My husband has failed all treatments and was hoping for a trial but blood counts are low and plaelets are falling
So sorry to hear about your husband. I'm relatively new at this, and my doctors have been following the "throw everything at it" approach.
I started with lupron, radiation to a spot on the spine, docetaxel, and now Zytiga, all in 8 months. I've been extraordinarily lucky in that each treatment has made some measurable improvement. Treatment continues with Lupron and Zytiga.
I'm also on Xgeva, Celebrex, and Lipitor, lost 10 lbs, and eat more fruits and less red meat.
That's awesome- sounds like you are responding really well. My husband's PSA never fell below 14. Zytiga had zero effect on him and his PSA rose to 688 on it. Wishing you many years of health!
😢
May God bless you with peace Godschild62! I see this happen more often than not ? Glad the he had you . Your love and his for you is eternal . 🙏
Thank you! God bless you too.
Bone vs. bone marrow is very different. Bone marrow spread is much rarer. We are thinking we may have bone marrow to content with as well, just based on labs and my husband's transfusion dependency, but without a marrow biopsy, we don't know for sure. Scary stuff. 
He suffers no more🙏
I was told that the PCa cells have affinity for the bone tissue and lymph nodes. I've never heard of it in the marrow. You might want to see a specialist for this. I had metastases in the hip area and they gave me 30 radiations. I also started Lupron injections every 3 months for 6 1/2 years. Now I was told that the cancer is gone. I was told that when a PCa cell attaches to the bone, it sinks in leaving a pock mark, and goes into the bone. If there is no Testosterone it can not multiply, so it is stuck there. Like in a little coffin until it dies of old age. The process weakens the bone and they gave me shots of Xgeva every 6 months which is an osteoporosis drug. It hardens the bone. I had dull pain 24 hours a day and took Tylenol 8 hour timed release 650 mg generic tabs and could sleep all night. Other pain relievers caused interactions with my drugs. Tylenol does not remove ALL pain, just makes it not as important. I hope the cancer is not in your bone marrow, so let us know what you find out, and remember to just keep truckin'.
Detection of bone marrow metastases in prostate cancer: Role of trephine biopsy and Immunohistochemistry
I've been taking Zometa (zoledronic acid) regularly to counteract possibility of fracture due to my bone mets. So far it's seemed to work. If you do take Zometa, be sure to let your dentist know as it can cause jaw problems.
"Keep your sunnyside up!"
I had a met in femur. Radiated it with SBRT and started Xgeva and trelstar. See my profile for successive bone mets and tx.
I haven't had appointment with Oncologist yet but I had my PET scan last week and my GP said the report says a reduction in Mets, I don't know by how much but it's still great news.
I still have a LOT of pain (even Morphine not working), I will see a pain specialist on Tue, I really hope he can help.
Hi Zetabow,
My dad has this as well. MO said there is bone marrow infiltration and thus it’s aggressive kind.
What I’v learnt so far is that the Haemoglobin levels and Platelets are on the lower end due to this because the marrow is not healthy enough to generate the required amount .
Please do let me know if you have collected any more information?
Goodluck with your on going treatments
Best,
Cher
Yes I was the same with Hemoglobin and Platelets, I needed injections to promote white blood cell growth and regular blood transfusions with Chemo, Oncologist did a great job of turning things around for me, blood numbers are good and my GP told me my PET scan reported reduction in Mets, I don't know how much yet as I wont see the MO until next week.
I'm now on Morphine for the Femur and Rib pain, a little disappointed that the Chemo didn't get a significant pain reduction but I now have a cancer pain specialist on the job and the new cocktail of drugs she prescribed is helping.
Quite a ride since last Nov lol
Indeed a ride. Stay strong!!
I’m glad there’s improvement on the PET and I’m hoping there will be more with respect to the pain soon.
What are your Haemoglobin levels and platelets count now? (Assuming you no longer need blood transfusions as of now).
cannot remember Platelet but Hemoglobin was 59 g\l and it's now 110 g\l, still slightly low but I can really tell the difference in energy levels
Bone Marrow Transplant Failed
Lytic bone metastases?
Advanced Prostate Cancer Bone METASTASES 
Bone marrow infiltration 
