Chemotherapy for advanced metastatic prostate cancer

Hi Shar. Just two or three weeks. They ewere following the findings of the Stampede trial as to the order of treatments for advance pc 

stanley

Hi Jane 

Like your husband,  I have recently been taken off enzalutamide after 30 ish months & started chemo ( Cabazitaxel). 10 sessions are planed but will be reviewed after 3rd session normally to assess effectiveness ( review this Thursday for me).

Previously had chemo in 2015 ( Docetaxel)chemo can be. given more than once depending on effectiveness & time between completion of treatment & psa rising..

Chemo effects everyone differently,  I was fortunate & sailed through first chemo with very little in the way if side effects.  So far after 3 sessions this one going very well also as in no major effects. 

Best advice I can give is monitor temperature twice daily for infection,  your husband should do what he feels able to do. Eat plenty fruit for the natural sugars, good for energy boost. 

Others have mentioned olaparib, this drug can be accessed if carrying a specific gene ( BRCA'S). Getting tested can be a lottery sometimes as you have to have evidence of family history of cancer at young age.or you are diagnosed particularly young. The gen is hereditary & can be passed on to children ( been tested myself but no gene present).

There is another treatment in the pipeline (lutetium 177) which is currently undergoing consideration with NICE & Scottish drug consortium  (20/10/23 in Scotland) this drug if approved could take a year to be up & running according to oncol. 

Wish you & husband well with the treatment 

Steve

Thanks so much Steve. My husband has been tested for the gene and doesn’t have it unfortunately. I looked up lutetium177 and it is only available privately at the moment. Hopefully it will be available on the NHS at some point. Our worry is that once chemo has finished what will his options be? Will there be any other treatment options available? Or is that it? We are afraid to ask. 
Good luck with your treatment and good luck for Thursday 

Jane

Just confirm it is Cabazitaxel chemo your husband will be receiving? 

If this is the case then the only currently available treatment option after would be Radium 223 but this treatment is mostly for the Mets to the bones as far as I am aware.

We can only hope that Lutetium is available for him when the time comes, hopefully we will know if it to be approved shortly.

Steve

Hi Steve,

he is going to have Docetaxel. Is that different from the one you mentioned?

Hello Jane.

Docetaxel is the first line chemotherapy. Cabazitaxel is the second line if docetaxel is no longer effective or if the body cannot tolerate it.. I think that you can have more than one lot of docetaxel. 

Thanks for all the info Steve 

You are welcome. I know the voice deepens as you get older but I didn't think it had gone that low.

Yes, Docetaxel if successful can be given more than once if a minimum of 12 months before additional treatments required,  then further down the line your husband can have Cabazitaxel chemo. This could make a massive difference to the amount & quality of life.

That’s really good to know. As long as there are further options, it gives you more hope. Thanks for the info