Advanced Prostate Cancer - Treatment choice

Hi Mothman,

I was diagnosed in May 18 with T3b P\C and a Gleason of 5+5 PSA 6.4, went on Zoladex then had 7 1/2 weeks of Radiotherapy,  Psa went down eventually to less than 0.03. Psa Started going up again at the beginning of 2020, so I went on Bicalutamide as well as Zoladex, that doesn't seem to have helped much. I have now had MRI, Bone Scan and CT Scan, Psa has now climbed to 35 and P/C has spread to Vertebrae and L3. I was given the choice between Chemo or Abiraterone and Zoladex, been on Abiraterone and Prednisolone for just over 3 months and  about to start my 4th cycle of Abiraterone, have had no problems with Abiraterone just the normal hot flashes. CT scan tomorrow to check what is happening  so that could be interesting. I take each day as it comes and try to stay fit and eat an healthy diet although i must admit i do lapse from time to time and have cakes and dairy and red meat, but you have to live life. I also take several supplements to see if that does any good and am always looking for alternatives to see if there is anything out there that might help.

Hi Cnsmer

I’am a little like you, except had mine for nearly five years now, my PSA is going up tried Xtandi to many side effects going to try arbiraterone see if that helps, have had it in my bones since I was diagnosed, 

You mentioned supplements, I take pomi-T supposed to help keep PSA down, for bones I take Alca D 3 calcium supplement helps strengthen bones but you need this from the doctor. Also pomegranate juice just some things that may or may not help, google them all, to check them out.

keep safe

Joe

Hi Cnsmer

Thanks for your information. Hope all goes well with your treatment. I have decided to go with hormone treatment and will start on Enzalutamide + Prostap (leuprorelin acetate) in the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed it will give me a few more years.

Pete

Hi mothman

Hope you do better than I did on those two treatments, I’am going to ask for arbiraturone and prednisone, hopefully they may not affect me in the same way, as they say different strokes different folks.

keep safe

Joe

Hello I have been diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer after a prostectomy my PSA never went down my base PSA before ADT was 28 with a very fast doubling time .I had my prostectomy in February 2020 restaged to Gleason 4 3 with some 5 after a PET scan it was known that there was some local Lymph node involvement and suspicious pelvic nodes.I was immediately put on Hormone therapy with ADT and given the miracle drug ENZALUTIMDE  because of  COVID the hospital didn't want patients going there for treatment .Enzalutimide is a wonder drug it's very expensive £36000 a year and was only given to men with castrate resistant PC however it has now been authorised for use as a first line treatment along with a tetesterone reducing injection .Within 3 weeks my PSA had become undetectable after 6 months on Enzalutimide  I completed a course of RT 66  gys over 6 weeks I finished two weeks ago and today had my first review my PSA still completely undetectable and they are very pleased with me .Enzalutimide has some nasty side effects hot flashes being the main one these have diminished somewhat over the 8 months I have been taking it ,headaches not too much of a problem .The consultant is hopeful.of a cure but some little cancer cells may have migrated and are waiting to make themselves known but at the moment all is well. .Enzalutimide is an anti androgen and is very effective at stopping the androgen process in the cancer cells they have discovered it's effective against those cancer cells that are hormone sensitive and even some of the cancer cells that are not that eventually become castration resistant .Trials are still ongoing as to its use with other drugs and situations  but it's a wonder drug as far as I'm concerned .Chemotherapy is harsh and Enzalutimide is much easier to take and has been proven to be as effective as chemo in certain situations .If you have been offered it I would take it, if it doesn't work you can always have Chemo after .Not everyone will have such a good result as I appear to have had but the information is out there read up on the trials, the results and make up your mind .As far as I'm concerned it's been a life saver .I wish you well .

Just wondering does the Enzalutimide make you sleepy or has it caused a seizure with you ? My Daddy has advanced P/C and is on the same med, he stays sleepy a lot and has never had a seizure but had one about a month ago and I have read that is can cause seizures.

Thanks and Good Luck,

Rhonda

Hi Scorpio6.

I read your post with interest. I have already decided on going with Enzalutimide hormone treatment but your information is great. I had no idea it was so expensive. My consultant reckons that it is about as effective as chemo and as you say chemo is there when it stops working. He said it would not cure me as it has spread to other areas of my body but has a median effectiveness of 3 years. Hope your treatment continues to give good results.

All the best.

Hi Rhonda ,

Yes it does make me sleepy but as I take it at night it doesnt affect me too much during the day .I have not had a seizure and assume if I did I would be taken off the medication completely as seizures are a known nasty side effect . My medical team make sure I have access to help at any time, they also contact me every 8 weeks to check on my PSA liver function etc if I have any problems they are sorted out then .I have been very impressed with the level of care afforded me and feel lucky to live in an area that has a large university teaching hospital with extensive facilities as I know this is not the case in all areas of the UK .I hope your dad receives another treatment that doesnt cause him too many nasty side effects. 

I’m glad you said that about PSA my husbands was 3500. I’m not googling anything but I know it’s very high. He has started degarelix injections but the spread is to the bone and pelvic lymph nodes.  There is a lot of power in positivity and stay away from google is the way forward. I’m new to this unwanted group but can see there is a lot of information and support. I want to be fed everything gently so I can get used to information and have time to move from one step to the next. 

Jessie732 said:

stay away from google

If you're reporting on your choice, that's absolutely fine; but as general advice I disagree quite strongly.

Although you do have to be careful out there, there's lots of very useful information, and of course, reports on the latest research. I can't even imagine having cancer in the days before google, when you had no way to know if you were being told the truth, and no way to know what might lie ahead - good or bad.

Of course if it's a 'google thing', then you've still got Pubmed, which gives you access to the abstracts (and often the full text) of every single piece of published research.