Long term treatment after chemo

I finished Docetaxel in December and am now on 3 monthly Triptorelin injections so I am following this thread.
My PSA went down from 383 to 0.26 so the treatment seems to be working at the moment but I am also interested in hearing from people that have been on it for years

Good luck with your treatment.
Docetaxel can be rough but some people dont have a problem
I was OK apart from my 5th session - never felt so ill in my life after that one ;-)

I’m  over 5 years docetaxil, radiotherapy and 3 monthly Prostap.  Gleason 10 and spread to one rib. PSA still low at 1.11. I will add enzolutide tablets to Prostap soon. My oncologist is very positive and so am I. There are many lines of treatment coming along as well so view cancer as treatable, exercise and move forward.  Stanley

Thank you Stanly for your positive reply to my post. Can I ask how many cycles of Docetaxel did you have.

Hi Ash.

You have asked the 64000 dollar question as there are so many variables. For your particular treatment Darolutamide was only officially approved in the USA in 2019 so there is going to be limited data on 5 year survival. Other drugs have been on the market for longer and there is evidence being built up that these drugs are improving the 5 year survival data but this will take time to feed into the prognosis data. How long you remain on a particular drug regime will be determined by how the cancer reacts to both it and the additional treatments you are having such as radiotherapy and/ or chemotherapy at a particular time. There are ongoing trials to try and determine how effective halting drugs like the second generation antiandrogens for a while, then restarting them to try and find if this 'restarts' them to try and prolong time to resistance. Other trials are looking at how effective sequential use of drugs may be and in what order. Add into the mix the use of targeted radiotherapy if spread is found in a particular area as well as the possibility of more chemotherapy with both Docetaxel and then later with another drug. Beyond this there is a lot of research on the use of immunotherapy, nuclear therapy and genetic therapy. Try to not get hung up on how long your particular combination is likely to work (difficult I know as we all want to be reassured) but think that there are more options available further down the line if necessary. My husband was given a possible 6 months, that was 3.5 years ago and he is still going strong. You are a lot younger than him so keep positive and enjoy your life.

I have attached an information sheet on the development of Darolutamide for you.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darolutamide#:~:text=Darolutamide%20entered%20phase%20I%20clinical,the%20agency's%20priority%20review%20designation.

Hello Ash , I’m afraid I can’t look into the future to answer your question but I can look to past family history to give you a lot of hope!

in the 1960s my husbands grandfather was admitted to hospital in a very poor state with ‘prostate problem’ - no diagnosis given. He died within days

in the 1990s his son, my husbands father was admitted to hospital in a very poor state with kidney failure caused by blockage caused by advanced prostate cancer - about which no one had been aware.. he was stage 4 and the only option was a3 monthly hormone injection which would control the cancer for approx 4 years. He had a good 3 years and died after deteriorating in the 4 the year

Roll forward to 2022/2023 my husbands PSA had been monitored for several years. He was re- referred to urology as it reached 10 in 2022. He had locally advanced PCa with no secondaries. He was offered treatment ‘with the intention to cure’ . We know that if the cancer reoccurs there is now a whole armoury of drugs out there to throw at this! We also know and take hope from the fact ( as I hope you will) that ongoing research will bring even more to tackle this disease.

my husband has had genetic counselling. As a result, our children, all in their 40s , have been sign posted to regular screening.

the improvements down the years are encouraging, I think?

Thank you Linda for your reply and your absolutely right new treatments are always coming out. I am being positive but sometimes your mind starts to wonder and questions things. I will enjoy life and I am very glad for these forums who have helped me alot. This forum and the people who have shared their experiences have inspired me and gave me hope. To everyone thank you for your experiences and inspiration.

Hi yes 6 cycles of chemo and 20 radiotherapy.  
stanley

my chemo finnished in may 2019 not a success so radiotherapy was scrapped 

been on 3 monthly zoladex injections and abiraterone ever since 

still managing to work as a gardener and a half decent way of life atm 

no one knows how long this treatment will work and speculating a time is not helpful imo !

be positive and if u can exercise even just walking , this treatment will put weight on you 

surround urself with positive people and don't change your way of life 

fight this anyway you can