Lymphocele can form when the lymphovascular vessels are cut during surgery, even without removing the lymph nodes. It is not that rare, happened in about 2-3% of surgery cases. Usually after some...
Thank you for sharing the pomegranate study. A few comments: 1. I don't understand why the study was biased towards extract and left very few patients on juice? There were 84 patients on placebo, 102...
Dr. Ahlering at UCI is one of the very best robotic surgeons in Southern Cal. He published his statistics in peer reviewed journals and were very welling to share with his patients the details of...
BillyBob@388, Sorry I miss spoke. I was just trying to emphasize the still dismal outcome once one was diagnosed with distant met. Perhaps I should not compare distant met today to all stages for...
You are right, to be fair, I did not give advances in treatments enough credits for increased survival and reduced side effects. This is especially true in the new technologies coming on line in the...
RCS, Let's look at some of the statistics: 1. The overall 5 year relative survival (relative survival means they did not die from prostate cancer and was normalized to the baseline population who...
John T, IMHO, to get some meaningful conclusions, you do need to drill down to the next two to three levels of the SEER database. For example, comparing deaths and incidences for that particular...
I have no opinions in your particular case but I think the opinions of your physician should carry some weigh. A second opinion from another qualified physician is an excellent idea going forward....
Fairwind, I would get a second opinion on chemo if I were you. Regards,...
Let me quote some statistics from the National Cancer Institute's SEER database. These are overall population statistics and are not "messaged" by anyone: 1. I pick the 1975 survival statistics...
He had a great 17 year run and I wish him luck, hope he can still find some treatments to keep things under control. Went back to re-read his posts and what he wrote in August 2013 was a surprise:...
LOL! I'm laughing at that lady, whoever she is. Does she really think that the research that demonstrated this would not be true if it were done in the England? The same rules of evidence-based...
You are generally correct about keeping the distal sphincter after RP but many robotic surgeons were also able to keep the proximal sphincter. See this article:...
David, I finally got hold of the full article and took a quick look. It was a retrospective population study with a large population, 32,465 patients were treated between 2002 and 2009 about half of...
"Seems like some here don't agree to the risk of secondary cancers in relation to prior radiation. It's a very well supported and known risk, and I believe it's understated on purpose by some RO's to...
A more recent study - published in The Lancet Oncology, Jan 17, 2014 http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2813%2970606-5/fulltext...
pepsiguy, I am very happy for you for having positive results with a combination of Provenge and Xtendi. You are the second person I know that has this outcome with the protocol. There was a paper in...
Good answer Mr. Tall Allen. I appreciate your thoughtful response....
Casey59 said: "Newporter, one should make the very careful distinction that the PC architecture of the lymph nodes has NOT been associated in this study with the architecture of the primary tumor....
There are a number of scientific articles on lymph nodes Gleason grades (they don't normally talk about Gleason scores outside of the prostate) and indications were that Gleason grade 3 (equivalent...
Actually JohnT, if you dig deeper into the SEER, you will see that the annual death rate of prostate cancer increased from 31.4/100,000 in 1975 to a peak of 39.34/100,000 in 1993 and then steadily...
Southern, You have the most aggressive treatment plan I have seen and it seems to be working! May I ask how your oncologist/urologist came to this treatment plan? I always wonder why most prostate...
Casy59, I also want to acknowledge that you are correct, that advanced treatments have prolong life, even for those with metastasized prostate cancer. The period survival rate keeps increasing;...
Thanks for your reply. I am not advocating surgery nor am I promoting removal of prostate cancer for all men who show signs of prostate cancer, I was just pointing out that Dr. Whitmore's statement...
Casy59, I appreciate your comments and views but I don't think your statement is supported by either cancer mortality statistics or logic: Statistics: If you are correct, the rate of prostate cancer...
JohnT, Just saw your post and I like to offer a different perspective. 1. This study was for men with localized prostate cancer and the percentage of people that progressed to metastasized stage was...
There is no cold hard facts but this maybe why both his doctors recommended adjuvant radiation: Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer After Prostatectomy: Adjuvant or Salvage? Amit R. Patel, MD;...
John T, I appreciate your thoughtful responses. All excellent points especially the last. I had forgotten that there was a historical bias that pushed older patients towards radiation and am not...
John T, I read the original article and they actually included all the clinical risk classifications including PSA, biopsy Gleason grades and biopsy clinical stagings so I do not think it is...
Your pathology report indicated some non cancerous prostate cells could be left behind....
[/b]You have negative margin for cancer but a positive margin for benign prostate glands. That could explain the psa increase....
The formula for PSA from benign cells is x (benign) times .0666 = PSA. Or, x times .0666 = PSA. So the formula for that x factor is .0666 / .2 = 0.333cc. I think. :idea:[/quote] Using your formula,...
Mel/Compiler, Here are some detail conclusions of the study, results are encouraging: 1. Change in Total PSA From Baseline at Months 12 and 24 (absolute number) Placebo: months 12=2.3 +/- 4.86,...
A bit shorter when resting but same when not. :-)...
The first genetic mutation for prostate cancer risk in families with a strong hereditary predisposition has been found, researchers reported. Men with prostate cancer were 20.1 times more likely than...
Welcome to the other side and congratulations on an excellent surgery outcome and recovery. Your pathology report is almost identical to mine except my cancer was a bit more extensive. I also had...
I like your doctor. Looks like he does not use the standard "cookbook" approach, very thoughtful (QOL is important to him), insightful and logical in my opinion. From what I read, chemo works best if...
Nellie, I sympathize with your situation and dilemma. I often wonder about the same issue myself. Recently I searched the Clinical Trial web site and found quite a few Phase III clinical trials...
zufus, What were your thought process and decision process to arrive at your treatment plan. Do you discuss/direct your doctor? Whatever you did, the result is very impressive. I don't think many of...
living1963, I am so sorry to see you suffered. My heart goes out to you. Depression is a normal reaction when fighting the disease and even for those of us that is fortunate enough to be still in...
The SEER data from the National Cancer Institute prostate cancer just does not support the conclusions of this study and the USPSTF conclusion. Here is a summary of my review of the SEER data...
hotpink2, Sorry your father is joining our rank and hope his treatment, whatever he chooses, is successful. You do want to educate yourself and ask the rationale of the clinical trial and whether...
I knew someone who had SRT at a major Research University in California. The Oncologist and nurses never mentioned or asked him to have a full bladder prep during radiation treatment and he did not...
Don't think complier is looking for alternative medicine, diets or supplements. He asked some very good questions like when to start SRT if surgery fails, when to start HT, what type of HT and for...
I feel your frustration. You have done everything right, received the best conventional protocol and yet your PSA still rises rapidly. This is especially frustrating for someone very well educated...
I am sorry your PSA kept going up but thank you for sharing your story. My pathology report was also much worst than the biopsy results and I do not know if I will be following you. Question: Were...
You are more than welcome. What I am doing is similar to what compiler is doing: Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We are all learning and trying to help one another....
Purgatory said...[Edited] Amen. Based on some of his prior comments David and his oncologist knew what they were doing. In fact I am rather impressed with his oncologist's thought process. We may be...
Why do I want to ask for the expert's opinion: Conventional cancer treatment protocol for many other types of cancer is to use either surgery or radiation to "debulk" the cancer and finish it off...
You have the questions regarding conventional hormone treatments well covered. However, your case seemed to be an aggressive case: Failed surgery, failed SRT and have a short PSADT, so I would also...