PSA droped

Hello Prosleg 

Well I can't give you all the answers, but I can tell you the combination of HT and Chemotherapy is working and with a reduced PSA of 0,01 I am sure everyone is happy.

It's my understanding that once this round of chemo has finished you will stay on HT and your PSA will be checked at regular intervals. From my limited knowledge if there is a significant rise in your PSA it will be another round of Chemotherapy.

Lets's hope for continued low PSA's.

Best wishes - Brian.

hi there 

have all your questions written down for your next meeting especially as chemo gives you brain fog sometimes !!

in my experience they will see what the chemo does before taking the next step .

i had chemo 5years ago , for me it was a waste of time as my cancer spread during the chemo !!

i was due to have radiotheraphy after that but they scrapped it and i went on abiraterone instead  .

the fatigue you have to fight , exercise is the best way to fight it and positivity is a must 

i'm incurable but i keep fighting and have a reasonable quality of life .

i'm a self employed gardener my oncologist is convinced the nature of my job is helping me .

you can do this 

Hello Prosleg .

Can I add to Brian's post by saying that your PSA will be monitored hopefully every 3 months. I would also push for regular scans, not just of the prostate area but whether you get them depends on your health authority. Keep a close eye on the PSA and if it starts to rise then ask for a repeat. If you have 3 consecutive rises then push for a scan, preferably a PSMA PET CT scan which is capable of picking up very small mets. The chemo will have hopefully dealt with the initial cancer but occasionally small residues might exist. Depending on where they are and how many you may be offered a very focused radiotherapy called SBRT. If mets remain in the prostate area then a wider form of radiotherapy called EBRT might be used. There are also additional hormone therapy drugs called second generation antiandrogens which can be used to bring the PSA down. They might add these in sooner to aid the chemo but that is up to the oncologist. Beyond these there are a range of treatments such as immunotherapy, PARP inhibitors, Lutetium 177, Radium 223 .......which might be used depending on where the mets are. Additional types chemotherapy might be used at some stage. You are at the start of your journey and have an extremely good response to the initial treatment which is a good indicator. All the best with the rest of the chemo. 

So far my husband, who is T4 with distant mets plus lymph node and adrenal gland involvement, although not bone mets, was diagnosed almost 4 years ago and has had a range of treatments but is still going strong at 80. Each persons journey is different and there is no standard treatment route. You can read his journey by clicking on my picture but please note that his is a rare and very aggressive form so time to each recurrence may be shorter as a result. Please come back with any questions.

Thanks for that Brian, we have quite a few questions for our next meeting with the oncologist.

regards J

Hi Prosleg , sounds like you are doing very well, but chemo can be a roller coaster so take care. Whilst exercise is really important to combat fatigue, listen to your body. I find it a tricky balance but I am much older.  Feel free to ask any questions here and great that you are making a list. Best wishes, David