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biopsy, will it spread the cancer?

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Posted 4/10/2008 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

My dad has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.  He is 70.  We just found out 6 weeks ago.  His PSA level is 167, up from 94-6 weeks ago.  He has not agreed to any treatment other then natural methods such as eating an alkaline diet and protocell.  They want him to come in and get a biopsy so they can treat his cancer, but he is afraid that it will make the cancer spread to other organs.  Does anyone have information on this?  I greatly appreciate your help!

 

Posted 4/10/2008 2:28 PM (GMT 0)

We Welcome you to this very helpful place. 

There is much you have not shared about your father, but I am sure the people who post here will gladly help.  Your father is only a few years older than me, so in my opinion he should do what ever he can to try and defeat this cancer.

Your comments make it appear that he is having a difficult time accepting his problem and doing something about it.  Please share more so that others here can give you all the support that you deserve.

Posted 4/10/2008 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
I have never heard or read anywhere that a prostate biopsy would spread cancer to other organs. There are several treatment options available to your dad. The only sure way for the cancer to spread is for him to do nothing.

Good luck and please stay with us...

Jim
Posted 4/10/2008 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum!  While natural treatments may be effective in treating prostate cancer, with your dad's high PSA, it would be more effective to add some aggressive treatments that will help your dad with both the quality and the length of his life.

All of us here fear prostate cancer, but sticking one's head in the sand doesn't make it go away or get better.  As his loving daughter, maybe you can have a heart-to-heart talk with your dad to get him to be evaluated.

There is hope, but he has to take the first step.

Take care and hang in there...Tim

Posted 4/10/2008 9:58 PM (GMT 0)

Thank you for your replies.  My dad has an appt. tomorrow and had asked me to post this as a way to gather information for him.  We don't have much more information then what I have shared.

I think he is afraid of what he might find out, but I think he also feels that once treatment starts that his quality of life will go down to the point that he might as well do nothing as far as conventional treatment.

Selmer, you may be right, he may not have enough information as to the good that a biopsy will do.  Any additional help would be greatly appreciated!

Posted 4/11/2008 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Val's wife here.  The time between diagnosis and treatment is so very hard.  A biopsy is essential, probably along with a bone scan.  My father was diagnosed with a metastatic condition affecting the bones and lived, after a few different treatments, a good dozen years into his early 80s.  Since his original diagnosis options have improved.  Your father needs to know there are a lot of men struggling with this and he should get all the information he can to make a good choice.  Your attention will help.  He needs to know too that there are a lot women very invested in the health of their loved ones.  It is definitely a "We" affair.  Good luck!  I know we found this site to be of enormous help in making our decision and in various details.  There are no questions that can't be asked or details to be discussed.   Yes, treatment is not without consequences, but he could possibly have a good number of years beyond with it. More definitive assessments are needed.
Posted 4/11/2008 7:31 PM (GMT 0)

daughter63 said...
Hi,

My dad ...has not agreed to any treatment other then natural methods such as eating an alkaline diet and protocell.  They want him to come in and get a biopsy so they can treat his cancer, but he is afraid that it will make the cancer spread to other organs. 

I can understand some of what both you and your father are going through, as the first thing I did once diagnosed was to investigate complementary medicine. It exposed me to a lot of different ideas regarding therapies, some made sense, others looked way out there. I did see mention of 'biopsies allowing the cancer to spread', but I do not believe it came from an MD. There are a lot of folks out ther putting 'Dr.' before their names...and quite legitimately I might add...but some of these surefire alternative 'cures' are being touted by English majors.

I stopped my PSA rising and brought it down a touch using Essiac and a couple of other things and would have ridden that out a while to see if it worked, but my family made it quite clear that they wanted me to use the tools at hand in standard treatment. If I was going through this in a vacuum I'd have tried...but I figured I owed everybody else some comfort too. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't regret my decision.

Ultimately, I use the alternative stuff on the side, to take some of the sting out of the radiation. My oncologist doesn't mind me seeing a naturopath. It's a course that addresses everybody's concerns. Maybe your Dad could identify with this line of thought. Best of luck to you both.

Posted 4/11/2008 11:07 PM (GMT 0)

Johnny,

Thank you for the reply.  It was quite helpful.  We are hoping that our dad will use conventional medicine along with the natural stuff.  Everyone is so helpful in here.  I have recommended it to my dad so he can ask questions and get support from people that understand and have been there.

Posted 4/12/2008 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
I know two men who are doing well on hormone treatment which reduces the amount of testosterone  the cancer cells need.

Unfortunately there's not a lot of useful material published about it: You would find the book by Dr Myers or the one by Lee Nelson MD very interesting. Both publications have a lot of information on Hormonal Therapy, lifestyle, diet nutrition etc. Lee Nelson's book is more general as it covers all the treatment options. Both authors are PC survivors, and used radiation and hormone treatment for thier own high risk PC.  Dr myers has subsequently used hormone therapy successfully for many of his patients.

I am not familiar with the "Protocell" you mentioned. Some men have reported their use of "Prostasol" to be effective. There are a few versions of it including one used by Dr Pfeifer as part of his protocol. www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer

There's a discussion board on this and natural treatments at  www.health.groups.yahoo.com

 

Posted 4/12/2008 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
I usually try not to mention spirituality, however in this case I am going to. I am concerned if your dad is suffering from something emotional, or spiritual. It has been my experience that when we find out bad news we either deny it or worse think we deserve it. be as spiritually strong as you can and let your dad know how much means to you and how much you want him to be a part of your life. Treatments may make him tired and sore, but I doubt they will effect his quality of life as adversly as doing nothing.
Thanks for the post and please let us know what happens.
God bless
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