Posted 4/2/2016 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Smurfine78,
It's heartwarming to see the support you are showing for your father. From what you've shared, he's a veteran in this battle --- pursuing treatments for over a decade now.
From what you've shared, he started out with an advanced case. It looks like he's had some meaningful successes over time, fighting back against the "fire-breathing dragon" --- and pursing some advanced treatments over the course of the past ten years.
The fact that your father is still a "soldier in the war" after a decade is inspirational to other new members who have joined our membership here on the forum in recent times. I'm sure over the past decade, you and your father have been pleased to see the emergence of these newer breakthrough medications such as XTANDI, ZYTIGA, and XOFIGO which were not all available when your father was first diagnosed. Taxotere chemotherapy infusions for prostate cancer were not approved for prostate cancer patients until 2004, right before your father was initially diagnosed --- and now Taxotere infusions have become a front-line weapon of defense for those of us now diagnosed with prostate cancer.
I know that you are seeking new answers, new treatment ideas, and new sources of hope. Your father has truly had some positive successes over time with his range of treatments over time.
In your father's case, I assume you have a well-organized medical team in place ? That's essential beyond all words to describe, for advanced cases. Since you are considering "additional rounds" for some previous treatments and medications, it would be wise to see the expertise of a UROLOGY ONCOLOGIST --- this is a fairly rare certification. There are thousands of urologists in this country, and thousands of medical oncologists --- but for your father's case, it would be wise to see the expertise of a UROLOGY ONCOLOGIST --- one who specializes in advanced prostate cancer cases.
Urology oncologists are usually to be found at the larger medical hospitals located across the country. They can sometimes offer specialized and individualized BLENDS of chemo infusions, based on the needs of the patient. Since your father has been through a course of treatments over time, you might need to consult an expert urology oncologist --- they are out there --- we have members right here who have sought their advice and expertise --- and these experts are to be found all over this country. They are the doctors who go beyond the "textbook" and can sometimes formulate different "chemotherapy cocktails" or put together an individualized sequence of treatments or medications for cases like what you have described in your father's case.
Wondering if you have sought a second opinion, in your father's case? If you haven't, you need to take it up to a higher level than your current level --- just going across the street to the next doctor down the road isn't what you need right now in your father's case. You can have your father's records sent to a specialist, and they can go over what has been done in your father's case over the past decade of treatments, and then you can go from there --- based on what they recommend.
Friends of mine with advanced cases have recently done this --- they reached a "brick wall" with their current course of treatments --- they began reaching the limits of what their local doctors could offer them --- and so they traveled a bit to larger medical facilities, seeking out a second opinion from urology oncology specialists. In these cases, a new treatment strategy emerged --- a new plan of attack that hadn't been considered before. One of my good friends just recently returned, after seeking a second opinion and exclaimed, "A week ago, my back was up against a brick wall and now ... my life just changed!" My friend has already started on a new treatment strategy that had never been presented before now.
In my own medical journey, I have ALSO added a urology oncologist to my medical team, realizing that I have some complexities in my case. I did this to take an aggressive, proactive approach to pursue the best medical care I could find for my particular case. He now oversees my case, assesses the results of all my ongoing treatments, provides insight for future treatment strategies, and has formed a tight partnership with my local doctors --- sharing lab results, test results, imaging results, consultation advice, and all my medical records. I visit him every few months, and he conference calls with my local doctors each time I consult with him, and they discuss my case together while I'm there. Coordinated care in action !
I just wanted to reach out to you with a few lines, hoping that you have assembled a medical team with strong expertise in advanced prostate cancer treatments. We all deserve the best doctors we can find, and I wish the same for your father, as new treatments are being considered ...
Keep in touch with us here --- we want to wish you and your dad the very best, looking ahead.
With all my best,
"Cyclone" From Iowa State