Advice please

Just want to welcome you Lisa, although I can't provide much experience to you there are other guys out here that have/are dealing with very high PSA's - I'm sure they'll chime in soon.

Best to you both as you continue to fight the beast.

Thanks for replies, dad is 64. I will look into the treatments you mentioned above.

Thanks so much
Lisa

Lisa,
You prompted me to post this list...
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=2610678

Good luck and thoughts and prayer coming your way...

Tony

Thanks all,

Raddad (bud), can you give me some info on your experience with zytiga. The only info we were told was by a very morbid doctor (we swiftly changed) who said it would only give him 4 months extra of life!!!

I've tended not to ask too many questions when we're there and speak to his nurse or use the internet after as I'm petrified the answers are negative and dampen his positive attitude. It's silly I know but i somehow think that it protects him a bit. I know we are in for a battle ahead, just want to be armed with all the facts so we can't get fobbed off
Thanks
Lisa

Hi Shar,

It's a comfort just knowing we're not alone. Yeah you're right, it's just so hard. Dad is the hub of our family and always just gets on with things and never complains. We're in Middlesbrough and go to James Cook University Hospital. Most of the staff there are great. Dad has an oncologist, urologist and a prostate cancer specialist nurse, who is the one I often call to talk things through after appointments and she's just great. For the past 2 years we've been lucky enough to keep PSA down with HT degarelix injections and then added diethylstilbestrol in April last year. We dread getting to the chemo stage, I think it just scares us to think we are running out of options and that dad will become poorly as so far he's done fantastic. Maybe once we get to that stage it won't be as bad as we think and instead of fearing it we may be thankful that it keeps the cancer at bay? Who knows.
They did mention clinical trials at the last app but at that stage his PSA was still decreasing. I've seen another ht drug ketoconazole that could be used alongside the 2 he is currently on, but that's all the info I have. Not sure if our NHS will offer it? And they seems to be a few new ones popping up to use with or after chemo so we just have to keep our fingers crossed.
The doc mentioned another scan too which again I dread as we know his mets are widespread and that was 2 years ago. Unfortunately the hospital originally picked up that dads PSA was 249 and sent a letter to his GP who failed to read the letter properly and was only picked up when dad was going to Sheffield hospital almost a year later, for a hip replacement (which was what we thought was causing the pain as my dad also has osteoperosis imperfecta, "brittle bones", when we were told is was in fact cancer and his PSA then was 1100. Just been a roller coaster ever since!
I think a positive attitude is half the battle and I just don't want him to keep it and wil do anything I can for him.

How is your dad doing in himself?

Lisa x

Just to second special lady -Taxotere is mostly tolerable. If you've heard people talk about it with breast cancer, it's usually given on an every three week basis, rather two week; therefore, side effects not as bad. Tony has given you a lot of options. Good luck with your visit.

This is really well done - its our brother Southern Comfort experiences with Taxotere (docetaxel).

[url]https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=2469594[\url]

Hugs!

Bud

We will beat this crap!