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2nd round of ADT3 not as effective...What now?

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Posted 8/21/2014 5:22 AM (GMT 0)
My husband, who had a failed prostatectomy in 2010, started his first round of ADT3 in February, 2011. He managed to get down to <.02 and he came off of the hormone therapy to take a break in February, 2012. He restarted hormone therapy in November, 2013, when his PSA reached around 4. Once his PSA started to rise, it moved quickly. This time, his PSA has been hovering at .05 for the last three months. I read somewhere that failure to get below .05 is an indicator of less time to chemical failure.....not good! nono

Personally, I'm afraid that coming off the hormone therapy if his PSA doesn't reach an undetectable level would just be asking for trouble. I'm imagining that his PSA will start to rise rapidly soon after coming off.

We've been to see Snuffy twice but missed this past year because my husband slipped on the ice this past winter and suffered a bad break to his wrist. Since he's a painter and this happened to his right wrist, money wasn't coming in and a trip to Virginia from Canada wasn't possible. Also, at the time, his PSA was still dropping on hormone therapy so we were at a stage of just coasting along.

So, what now? I'm just wondering if any of you out there have gone through something similar. Should we ask to switch to Darelix as an option? Should he stay on the hormone therapy or take a break as usual after a year? (That last one doesn't sit very well with me).

Any suggestions or stories of similar experience would be very much appreciated.

Rhonda
Posted 8/21/2014 11:03 AM (GMT 0)
Rhonda,

On his first HT break, did he continue to take Avodart? I would imagine Myers would have recommended that?

Are you sure it's not <.05? Just asking because I've had tests come back at .006 a few times just to find out that the lab was not reporting it correctly. At these low levels it may be a possibility. Even if it is .05, he's been at that level for a fairly long time, correct? Myers and other docs might not want to add anything to the mix since its not rising.

What is his testosterone at?

Any scans recently? Do you have another appt. scheduled with Myers? I'd want to know what he thinks. He may want to consider Firmagon instead of Lupron, if that is what he is on. Could always email him...

sorry you have to deal with this...but, hang in there.

Jerry
Posted 8/21/2014 2:06 PM (GMT 0)
Rhonda,

I hope his PSA continues to drop or at least remains steady.

I'll be watching for your updates, as my husband comes off of all medication in less than a month, and I'm curious/anxious to see what his PSA will do.

Best of wishes to you guys.
Posted 8/30/2014 8:12 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry for the delay in my response.

For the past 3 months, Irv's PSA has seemed to have bottomed out at .05. We checked and, yes, it is definitley not <.05

Irv has an appointment with his doctor in a couple of weeks. We'll get his opinion on Firmagon. My guess is that he won't want to change since Irv's PSA isn't rising.

However, I hope he doesn't suggest that Irv comes off at this point. With his PSA at .05 and, knowing how fast it rises when it gets going, I just don't think, for him, coming off would be a good idea.

Any opinions on that?
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