Lupron

You had a considerable amount of grade 4 cancer in there. If I were you I'd stick it out as long as your RO has recommended. My last shot was nearly a year ago, but I'd certainly never know it, as my T is still at castrate level. So even after you stop it may stick with you for quite a while.

JGB -- if I were your doctor it would have been three years. see, you just knocked off a year. don't be stupid, man. you've got a lot of G8 cancer. kill it!

I gotta agree. I did the full 2 & 1/2 years of luprolide chemo in the hope that it would take out the last of the cancer. Not so much, but sure kicked the can down the road.

I will most likely soon be going back to a first round chemo + a second round chem. Knowing that, being aware of the side effects and researching counter measures helps balance negative emotions that accompany a cancer dx and treatment failure.

I frequently meditate on accepting that I am not running on all 8 cylinders all of the time anyways, and the chems just increase that some. Meanwhile, I enjoy not being on them - and plan my upcoming anti - side effect measures.

Unanimous. Listen to your Dr.s

I had a lot of G8. Had the 40 radiation treatments and was on Lupron for the two years. A lot of cancer cells get killed while your T is down. Stay on on the shots would be my suggestion.. Even thought the SE are annoying.

Carl

Based on my limited understanding of how HT works, I think the time you need to be on HT depends on the doubling time of the cancerous cells.

The idea, again in my assuredly non-medical perspective, is that PCa cells need testosterone primarily when they divide, when they duplicate. So, the idea is by stopping T, they die when they try to divide. Prostate cells are some very slowly dividing cells by their nature, something like 2.5 years or so. Cancerous cells would divide faster (the doubling rate). So any cell about to divide would be affected first, and cells that just did it would linger 2.5 years before doubling again. So the idea of a 3 year sentence was to hurt all of the prostate cells that try to divide, all the way out to the maximum.

Since cancer cells would divide faster, probably much faster, maybe shorter terms on HT hurt them enough to stop the process if it happens sooner. If we want to whack cells reproducing in 6 months, 12 months, or some such, then as long as the HT is in place longer, then maybe that's all that's needed.

Radiation also hurts their ability to divide, messing up the DNA so they just die when they attempt it. Combined with lack of T, apparently it's a double-whammy.

Maybe it is used for other functions too, so maybe they depend on testosterone more than that. I don't know. Just another perspective, trying to look at the underlying physics of the problem.

F8, I've never heard grinch slap before. It brings up a funny image.

JGB said...

However, I don’t want to be stupid.

Simple don’t be, listen to your doctor and those here with first hand experience.
Look at it this way, you are in the “going for a cure stage” it’s like those onetime offers never to be repeated.
I’m looking at same decision next March when my year on Lupron is up. With heart issues my care team wants 18 months. I hate the side effects, turning into my grandmother compared to before ADT. I accept that there is no way to know if it cures or just delays progression, but it does make it more difficult. I plan to ask if switching to one or three month shots helps in case there is a problem.

With G9 it would be very helpful to talk with a medical oncologist that has experience with prostate cancer. The RO and Urologist are not specialists in chemo and ADT. G9 really needs aggressive treatment.