My husband gets occasional Procrit injections to keep his hemoglobin from getting too low. But am starting to hear that this may not be the best route. Would love your feedback.
UPDATE:
His DR has said that he will pull back on the frequency of Procrit . . . due to these concerns.
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I haven't had the chance to research this yet but at the onco this a.m. I overheard someone say they didn't want another Procrit shot, they were going to opt to let their hemoglobin drop enough to be at the threshold for a blood transfusion because they had heard this. Wasn't comfortable asking them for a proof source and the DR at that point wasn't available - but figured we should research just in case.
You have to be careful about studies of association between Procrit and PC mortality. Men who get Procrit often do so because the cancer has moved into the bone marrow or because of bone marrow damage from Chemo or radiation. So more advanced cases are more likely to get the therapy. In that case, it is associated with mortality, but does not cause mortality.
After looking at information, I could not find a reason to not use it. Of course, one should also be sure they have adequate iron and folate, B12, and VitaminC, although Vitamin C is rarely an issue....
My thoughts, if it effects the QOL, then one should take epogen injections....my anemia is mild and not where it limits me much...it seems to take longer for recovery post exercise....not uncommon for older folks.....
The last year of my PCa therapy (2018) I used Procrit, because of kidney disease. My hemoglobin was 9.6 and then 9.4 and after several Procrit shots my hemoglobin was 10.6 to 11.3 . I have a test for anemia (hemoglobin) every 6 weeks and sometimes I need a shot and sometimes not. A shot is $63.00 with my health insurance, but I no longer feel tired all the time. I did not notice any changes in my PSA on Procrit and I am currently on "Active Surveillance" since I stopped my cancer therapy. On Procrit it is important to not have a hemoglobin level of over 3.6 due to possible strokes.
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