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Posted 10/27/2017 6:19 AM (GMT 0)
The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center is doing a nationwide clinical trial on radiation treatment for prostate cancer and asked me to be a part of it. There is no marginal benefit to me but it may be useful to those coming after me so after much consideration I agreed. One group will receive the standard treatment of radiation (7 weeks), the other will receive the shorten version (5 weeks) at a higher dosage. Its random so I won't know which group I will be in. In talking to my oncologist he mentioned that the rate that my PC is growing that it would pose a considerable danger to me in 30 years, that I could conceivably forgo any treatment but it may begin to increase much faster in the coming years. So my bone scan and CT scans are scheduled for next week. They decided to forgo the hormone shots so here it goes. Glad to bypass those bad boys. My brother also has PC and is receiving the shots and he is not fond of them. I thought about winging it and doing nothing but it could also begin to rise at a faster rate. So I better spin the wheel and hit it hard now.

Post Edited (Howard3569) : 10/27/2017 12:34:04 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/27/2017 6:46 AM (GMT 0)
Nice of you to participate and give of yourself to the rest of your brothers. I hope it's successful.
Posted 10/27/2017 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, after my conversation I started to wonder if I am pulling trigger too fast. My oncologist told me that my PSA was doubling every 2 years and it’s still low, that if it continues at the same rate, it would be more than 20 years before I would be in serious danger but it could of course speed up. Oh well, we have to roll the dice.
Posted 10/27/2017 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
As an active cancer researcher I have taken to heart those willing to participate in trials. Thank you for your participation. I recently co-authored an article due out by the year end in Urologic Oncology magazine that touched on CT participation and why it is so low (less than 5% overall and even worse in rural areas). Being familiar with that trial, the hypothesis is that using cone down delivery patients will be less inconvenienced while still getting similar disease control. That would be a great result. But there is also concern that the higher gray in the fractions could deliver more immediate side effects. But the trial is attempting to weigh the benefits versus the morbidity which I ultimately think will be low.
Posted 10/27/2017 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
Howard-
I checked your signature on a previous post because you didn't include it here. But it didn't include any readings since October 2016, so I can't comment.
Posted 10/27/2017 6:59 PM (GMT 0)
Have been in one clinical trial (UCLA Gallium-68 scan), but would like to get into more, but not sure (1) how to get information on what's being tested here in northern California, and (2) is it possible to do this without taking lots of time off work, as I am currently employed full-time and need to continue to pay the astronomical cost of living here in the SF Bay area? Not to try and hijack this thread, but any information on local or nationwide trials would be welcomed.
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