Questions about Xtandi and Progression

Hi there preacherman, your father is a fighter, you must be proud of him. I understand his PSA is climbing, but 8 still seems pretty low to "move to end stage of life". Of course, you need to take into consideration his overall condition. Xtandi has shown to increase overall survival otherwise it would not have been approved by the FDA. It is easier to take (from what I hear) than Zytiga, but of course, one has to watch for side-effects closely. There are always clinical trials that your father can get into. They test new medication, at one point in time Zytiga and Xtandi were some combos of letters and numbers and considered "experimental". Best to you and your dad.

I see, so your father has side-effects from Xtandi that affect his QoL.
At times, there are other chemotherapy options, but not sure whether they would be easier on him. Going back to a previously taken medication - giving it another chance, or combing old one with a new chemotherapy option. I invite you to look at an inspiring video, to see how a particularly forward-thinking doctor at MD Anderson kept this man alive for more than 10yrs with advanced PC. But it involved sampling and analyzing tissue and trying to use "old" medication (not even PC medicine) with a new purpose:
vimeo.com/34685602

My husband has been on the Xtandi since November. He started off doing very well. Since February he has had some pain that has gotten progressively worse. At his last doctor visit, the doctor said he thought it was arthritis, but it is progressing nearly every day. He does keep busy most of the day, but by about 8pm, he is ready to be still for the night. To bed by 10 and usually in bed until 8am. Just a bit ago he said he wondered how long it would be until he would need a walker to get around. His eyesight has gotten very blurry, says it is like he is seeing under water. He hasn't felt sick to his stomach and also hasn't had any feeling like he is going to have a seizure as it states could happen. We are waiting to see how long he can continue on the drug. His PSA is very low, was 0.15 in June, was a 9 when he started this journey in 2001.
Hope you can find out what you need to. There is also a 10 page thread out there where many who are on the drug have posted, so you may try reading that.
Good luck to you.

Preacherman12 ........

   I have many of the same concerns ... and yesterday, along with a blood draw and an Xgeva shot, I sat down with the Practitioner Nurse in my Oncologists office.

   I had a list of questions that she addressed both quickly and concisely. They were all about Xtandi ... and I am just completing my 4th week of 160mg of Xtandi daily.

   My Oncologists office (of 10 to 12 doctors) has found very good success with Xtandi in, at least, lowering the PSA levels. The problem has been in the side effects. This is my third type of chemo (see below) ... and in a fairly short timeframe, Xtandi has given me more side effects than either of the other two chemo types.

   In my Onco's office, their approach is when the side effects become pretty intolerable, they reduce the Xtandi - first, from 4-capsules (160mg) down to 3-capsules (120mg). And as long as the PSA level at least stabilizes, they may even drop the dosage down to 2-capsules (80mg) in order to reduce the side effects.

   So far, they have had success with their patients in reducing the dosage to 3-caps leaving the side effects very tolerable - and not having the PSA spike upwards.

   As you can see from my background below, I have had very similar meds as your Father ... and I am 70.

   Hope this helps!

  

I'm new to posting but have been following these links for a few months. Hubby has been on xtandi since Dec and his PSA responded very well almost 1000 to 18 in 2 months. Now rising up to 88 but the best news is his recent scans. His lymph tumors have shrunk and lung and bladder tumors are gone. Not as effective with bones. Minimal side effects, nausea, lack of energy, some headaches. The blurry vision he had right after starting xtandi was from nerve pressure in his brain because of large bone tumors pressing inward. Brain radiation worked for that. We had to press the oncologist for brain scans because he did not have patients with prostate cancer and brain issues. He was so sick in Dec that his urologist suggested hospice. He personally called yesterday after reading the recent scan results. This journey is different for every patient and caregiver as are treatment benefits and side effects