Coming off of HT

Yes, and I feel like I am the middle man in the street fight. I continue to follow up at six month intervals with the rad doc. Next visit is September. The uro said come back in a year. Not sure I liked that approach. The urologist mentioned that we would most likely not do anything until the PSA got to around a 2. Still not sure I like that approach either.

The Casodex was only to prevent the flare. My prostate was  not that large to begin with but I was told that it would also shrink the tumor and make it easier to treat. I did a bit of research on the HT and looked at opinions on single, double and triple blockade. At the end of the day there did not seem to be an advantage to overall survival  for single vs double or triple. So, I went with the uro's recommendation of Lupron as a single agent.

I have had some brief conversations with the rad oncologist about chemo or other therapy going forward. He gave me a run down of the usual stuff that I see on the net. His office participates in trials and he asked if I was interested. I told him not just yet.

I am currently looking for a good medical oncologist to help me manage going forward. Have not found one yet so if you know a good one in the area around Boise, Idaho let me know. I am taking it on my own to get a PSA once a month since I had the little bump in June. My GP is not much help and seems rather dismayed by any discussion around PCa. Good news is the PSA seems to be level at around the .32 mark. In addition I have read that Proscar or Avodart offer some benefit as a maintenance drug after stopping the hormone but neither of my docs have mentioned this other than a brief conversation with the rad oncologist.  

If this all seems sort of drifty to you it is to me as well. I guess I thought there would be more direction from my current doctors and in general things are going OK. So, maybe no need to do anything now but I like to know my options.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Don

David, thanks for the well wishes. Your comments regarding your wife reminds me of a lady that I was keeping company with a few years back. She was having that wonderful change of life that all women have and I was constantly dismayed by the rapid personality changes. Now, having experienced something akin to her experience, I have a great deal more sympathy and empathy for what she was going through. Thanks for your well wishes.

ID, thanks for the notes. I guess I thought the hot flashes would be tapering off with the elimination of the drug. While I was on the Lupron the hot flashes diminished a good bit after the second one. What has really surprised me is the anxiety as this did not show up until this past week.

Best to all,

Don

Whew! I was sort of hoping it would be quicker but then what's the hurry? As you recommend I do keep up a regular exercise routine with weights and treadmill. Knee has had me off the treadmill for a few weeks though. I was into exercise before I was diagnosed and kept it up all through my treatment. Did slow down a little near the end of the radiation. I believe that is what has kept me feeling as well as I do. I just got a bit blind sided by the anxiety this week. I am in the middle of making a major decision to relocate southward to be nearer to family and that sort of set things off.

Dale, I sincerely hope that it is a long time before you need to consider returning to HT and I appreciate your comments current and past.

Best Regards,

Don

I was thinking along those same lines. He and his practice have been very good to me in discounting the cost of my HT and radiation since I am uninsured. But I think that disease management would be better handled by a medical oncologist.

Don

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the advice. I will temper my expectations. But I still like HGTV... should I be worried?

Thanks again for the encouragement. It means a lot to have all you guys as a resource to talk about this stuff. I do not talk about it much outside of this forum.

Regards,

Don