Gleason 9+bone metastases

Hi,

My father was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer 3 months back.  gleason of 9.  beginning of bone metastases.  started on eligard and his PSA went from 2800 ( yes it really was that high) to 0.04.  I am told however, that how well he is responding currently is no indication of how long he will continue to respond to the treatment and that the avg duration under this treatment is around 1-2 years.  Then they say the chemo options are limited and will give him another year at best.  Does anyone have anything positive to tell me about this situation :-(

Hi, I'm sorry to hear that your father was diagnosed with advanced PCa. My husband was diagnosed with a PSA of nearly 2000, and the cancer had spread throughout his body (bones, lungs, etc. see signature).

It is indeed important that the PSA goes down quickly because it is an indication of how well the body responds to the hormone treatment. It will also be possible to monitor to what extend the tumor is reduced through various scans. The question that many of us are faced with is how long it will take until the cancer becomes hormone independent.

The 1-2 years is just an average and doesn't tell you much about how reality will be for your father. Your father may be lucky and amongst the many men whose PCa doesn't become hormone independent until after 5 years or even more. Furthermore, the 1-2 years does not take into account the new types of treatment. Based on what I've read, I believe that the one year that chemo may give is too pessimistic.

There is a school of thought (Dr Strum, Dr Meyers) that strongly believes that in your father's situation the treatment should be far more agressive than just Eligard. You should check out the website Us too, as well as some other websites on advanced prostate cancer and on hormone resistant prostate cancer. The folks there are extremely knowledgable.

After 9 months, my husband's PSA is undetectable and his tumors have shrunk dramatically. Based on all the tests, his specialist went as far as giving the prognosis that he should be able to be with us for at least another 5-10 years.

So really, don't give up yet, there is still hope. Help your father researching PCa because the information can be overwhelming. Stay strong, Dutchy

posting deleted "off topic"     v        bluebird ~   Moderator for Prostate Cancer Forum     Post Edited By Moderator (bluebird) : 4/9/2008 5:55:29 PM (GMT-6)

I to am a gleason 9 with lymph node metastasis, I have been on hormone therapy for nine months and so far am doing well. I to was told to expect a couple of years for the Lupron to work and then another year or so for chemo. I do hope and inspiration seminars and one of my phrases is this "don't deny the prognosis, but defy the verdict". With a positive attitude and loving support from family and friends, i firmly believe life can be sustained. Welcome to the forum.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses. You cannot imagine how much it means to me to have this support.

My doctor (and a lot of doctors in the Asian region believe that one shud start chemo only when all forms of hormone treatment has failed. else its like using up all your ammunition in one go.

Have also been reading about the benefits of lycopene, selenium, vit E etc so i try to give him as much of that as possible. Exercise is also very important and there is a school of thought which believes that more oxygen in the system helps fight cancer ( on lines of theories which involve ozone treatment for eg) so i make sure he has a good brisk walk every day ( at 64 i cant make him do much more!)

Being positive obviously helps and i think he is doing a great job of it.

What i am additionally trying is homeopathy. I have heard some very good things about the effects of homeopathy on cancer. My allopathic doctor doesnt have an objection to it and i hope it will help in some way.

its one of those phases in life when you realise that family is above everything else in life.

Thank you so much once again for your responses. I cant tell you how much it means to me.