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Xifigo (Radium-223) Question

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Posted 3/1/2018 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
Who administers the Xifigo treatment ? MO's or RO's ? Maybe I've been talking to the wrong people !
Posted 3/1/2018 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
MOs typically would prescribe it. But some places have a department of nuclear medicine that oversees the treatments.
Posted 3/1/2018 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks TA...I don't see anyone standing in line to receive this treatment....Lots of red flags..
Posted 3/1/2018 9:42 PM (GMT 0)

Fairwind said...
....Lots of red flags..

A nearly four year old thread recently resurfaced on another message board. I don't know whether or not you frequent the cancer survivors network, but this was a pretty harsh critique of Xofigo, from a spouses perspective ... Don't believe their lies!

Hopefully you are reserving Xofigo as a last resort, and not hoping for a magic bullet.
Posted 3/1/2018 10:18 PM (GMT 0)
I think Xofigo has had excellent outcomes in general. The problem comes when following advice like RobLee's based on anecdotes. The problem with such (well-meaning) advice is that side effects and the effectiveness of all therapies are worse the longer one waits.

In the following study, for example, Xofigo increased overall survival time by 48% and "There were no reports of treatment-related AEs or long-term hematologic toxicity during the 12- to 24-month follow-up."

www.clinical-genitourinary-cancer.com/article/S1558-7673(12)00168-1/fulltext

As you can see in the following tables, the SEs were extremely mild and no different from placebo:

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1213755 Table 3

/meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/90503/abstract

It works best when used earlier:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pros.23286/abstract

It also does wonders for relieving bone pain and preventing fractures. I hope you don't wait until it's too late to have those beneficial effects.
Posted 3/1/2018 10:31 PM (GMT 0)

Tall Allen said...
The problem comes when following advice like RobLee's based on anecdotes.


Just for clarity, I did not recommend anything, and I did not present any advice. Fairwind brought up the subject of Xofigo. I happened to remember recently seeing a post in another forum and posted a link to it. I have no knowledge on the subject.
Posted 3/1/2018 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
RobLee,

I do understand you meant to be helpful. But what you did was put forth a single negative anecdote, as if that was all there was to the subject. And you did add these words of advice: "Hopefully you are reserving Xofigo as a last resort..." As you can see, that was bad advice.

Anecdotes have their place in qualitative understanding, but a single experience is no substitute for the experience of 921 patients in the ALSYMPCA trial, or the other trials that followed.
Posted 3/2/2018 1:09 PM (GMT 0)

Tall Allen said...
And you did add these words of advice: "Hopefully you are reserving Xofigo as a last resort..."

I was merely expressing my hopes that his condition does not progress to the point where he would require radium injections.
Posted 3/2/2018 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
Frank's Radiation Oncologist administered the Xofigo.
Posted 3/2/2018 6:27 PM (GMT 0)
RobLee-

Since you don't want to let this drop... I guess you are missing the point. His condition has already progressed to the point where Xofigo is a good idea. Reserving it as a "last resort" is your opinion based on nothing but anecdotal evidence of one person. You can have any opinion you like, but you were, in fact, offering that bad (in my opinion) advice.
Posted 3/2/2018 7:18 PM (GMT 0)
Condescending overtones aren’t great for generating goodwill. Diplomacy works much better. Let’s support each other.
Posted 3/2/2018 11:14 PM (GMT 0)

mattamx said...
Condescending overtones aren’t great for generating goodwill. Diplomacy works much better. Let’s support each other.


Don't forget about the forum's feature to ignore specific members. It has greatly improved my experience here. Most of us are here to reduce stress, not make it worse.

I wish there was a similar way to ignore a thread, but that doesn't exist apparently.
Posted 3/3/2018 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Making a mountain out of a molehill, it seems to me.
Posted 4/11/2019 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
So I'm still here...Radium 223 seems like a good next step for me as I'm running out of options..My PSA now 289, Cabazitazel has kept it there for 6 months but the side-effects are getting hard to take..My last scans showed no progression, still limited to bones..Maintaining blood counts when on Radium can be tricky but manageable..You get braver as your options dwindle..
Posted 4/11/2019 8:23 PM (GMT 0)
"..You get braver as your options dwindle.."

powerful and so true. pulling for you brother!
Posted 4/12/2019 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Best wishes Fairwind. Good to hear from you.
Posted 4/12/2019 2:03 AM (GMT 0)
Fairwind,
I hope you can continue to hold it back as long as possible. I miss seeing your posts.
Posted 4/12/2019 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
Fairwind,

Sounds like you have another bullet in your gun. According to my MO when as we are considering the next steps, this is when it is a viable option. Keep up the good fight. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

MIke
Posted 4/13/2019 7:39 PM (GMT 0)
I spent the winter living in a place with very limited internet connections..No time to yak...But I'll be back to civilization in a couple of weeks, I'll be posting more....Thanks for all your support !
Posted 4/13/2019 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
Fairwind, you’ve been missed here, good to see you posting again , keep fighting.
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