Officially BCR now, Onco wants to go with Metformin, Lipitor and aspirin

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last posted. I have been browsing the forum periodically but have been mostly just trying to get on with life as I continue to watch my PSA rise. The last PSA result was a surprise as it rose from .2 to .5 in 90 days! That is quite an increase! Because my stats indicate SRT has only a 30% chance of success even with HT, I decided to pass when I lost my 0 in the summer of 2014. Now, I am sure the percentage rate of success has declined. I understand that most on this forum are of the mindset to throw everything at it and don't understand my mind set, but that is ok. I feel great physically and I want to enjoy that for as long as I can. Mentally? Well I must admit, that it has been tough as it is constantly on my mind with worry and concern.

Anyways, the main reason for this post is to get some feedback and dosage information. My new Onco is a Robotic surgeon that I considered way back at DX. I like him and the way he deals with me. Of course he wants me to still try SRT and HT, but understands my mindset. The goal now is improve the doubling time of PSA rise. So, he referred me back to my family dr. to prescribe Metformin, Lipitor and low dose daily Aspirin. He referred me back to the family dr. because he feels I should have a liver function test first. Now is the time I have to make some serious life style changes for good health. Immediately, no alcohol or tobacco. Go back on the Mediterranean diet (Except fish-yuk) and lose the belly fat that has accumulated back over the last 18 months. I am not sure what is next if we don't see a reduction in the PSADT.

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions please. Thank you.

Well Greg do keep us posted on what decision you make. I know it is a difficult choice to make but you and I have talked about this before. Only you can make the decision that you are willing to live with. Know that all of us will support you in that decision process. The best to you.

Hope this does not knock you out of GFMPH.

Cajun Jeff

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I am thinking it may be time to start searching for a Med Onc who specializes in PCa.

I asked about bone scans because of your very high PSA at diagnosis, but your sharply reduced PSA post-prostatectomy gives reasonable assurance it was mostly local. At a PSA of 0.5, some of the new PET scans may be able to pick up something. But the question is what to do about it if it does. Remember that chemo was only beneficial in men with multiple mets detected on a bone scan (not a PET scan), so it is questionable if there is a benefit to chemo even if a PET scan finds mets. If you don't want to start hormone therapy, there are really no other treatments with proven efficacy for men in your current situation.

Hey Startech,
Good to hear from you - but not this way! Carp!
I'm not an Onco so I can't help you on that front. I can, however, help you another way.
You wrote "Mentally... it has been tough as it is constantly on my mind with worry and concern."
I hereby volunteer to cover your worry load on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, if that will help. That will knock your worry load down by 42% freeing you up to get into the shape you want to be.

I got you covered today! So get out there and take a walk. It's Good For Men's Prostate Health!

Jeff in New York

Thanks WG! I appreciate that very much and will do my best to just play on those days!

Thanks Jim, that is exactly what I needed. So, I will go with Crestor and investigate Niaspan. Give that bride of yours a hug for me and hopefully we will see you in BR!

Gemlin-

Don't look too hard. There are just as many studies that show no effect as show an effect.There are a few RCTs in progress. And there are lab studies too, but those mean even less. Here are some recent meta-analyses, if you're interested:

/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4838306/
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4904224/
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053259/
www.cancertreatmentreviews.com/article/S0305-7372(15)00074-2/abstract
/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4735873/
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pros.23138/abstract

Some doctors recommend them in spite of the lack of convincing evidence because they may be good for us anyway - metformin slows the development of insulin resistance, and statins and aspirin are heart-healthy. So unless there's a known contraindication for taking them, the default becomes "why not?"

TA said...
So unless there's a known contraindication for taking them, the default becomes "why not?"

Startech - why not add Pomi-T capsules to your daily diet. Can't hurt and might help to keep PSA-DT low for some time.

Conclusion from the study presented at ASCO:
In this study, it was shown that men taking the whole food supplement (Pomi-T) had a significantly lower median percentage rise in PSA compared to men taking a placebo (P<0.0001). The difference in percentage rise in PSA between these groups from the start to end of the study was large (63.8%); and as the patient characteristics were well-balanced and the trial had sufficient numbers to ensure adequate statistical power, the results of this study offer clinically meaningful guidance for men contemplating nutritional supplements after prostate cancer.

For what it's worth, my GP switched me from simvastatin (Zocor) to atorvistatin (Lipitor) in July. I also added CoQ10 to raise my HDL. It's probably just a coincidence, but my PSA reversed a steady rise and dropped from .049 in July to .049 in January.

Good luck, buddy!

He switched it up to see if he could get my cholesterol a little lower. Simvastatin only got me down to about 210. Inherited it from my mom..