You would expect the PSA to rise as the Lupron wears off and your T recovers. This would be different from a bounce, in which PSA is going down post treatment and then has a short-lived increase. At...
I wish there was a like button for 81's post....
This is fantastic to hear. And yes, I remember when you had your treatment--I believe you went hiking the same day as your brachy, or something like that....
I'm weighing in a bit late on this, but one thing to keep in mind is that whenever a primary treatment fails, it's generally because the cancer cells have moved on. So if your HDR brachy doesn't...
This is a frustrating part of the process, but glad you're making progress!...
Nicely done!...
PSMA scans didn't exist when I was diagnosed, but I would have guessed that they would now be SOC for G9 diagnoses. It seems quite critical in terms of your treatment decision tree. I'm not sure why...
Just wanted to say there's nothing wrong with keeping multiple irons in the fire. In fact, I think it's actually helpful. You're in the most confusing part of the process: trying to figure out what...
Hello Larry from a fellow Gleason 9. It's been many years, but I remember the kick in the teeth I felt when I got my diagnosis. But that was almost 12 years ago and I'm doing fine with a very low PSA...
Until reading JNF's description, I had forgotten that sitting was a bit difficult following my brachytherapy. But it only lasted a few days. In general, the only long-term issue I have is I don't pee...
Your nine-week wait prompted me to look up how long it took for my application to be approved and it only took 11 days. My "approval" was an e-mail that said "Your Submission Status Has Been Updated"...
Your question is above my knowledge level, but I did want to say "Hello Mel!"...
It seems the only downside to adding brachy is that you can't have the treatment locally. But you only get one shot at primary treatment, so if you can swing MSK logistics, I think it makes a lot of...
I had HDR brachy, in conjunction with external radiation, and 11 years later I'm doing fine. The closest thing I have to a side effect is that I don't pee quite as well as I did, but it's easily...
It seems like it's a minority of guys here on the forum that don't get hot flashes--probably still too early to put yourself into that camp, but it would be a nice little "W" if you did get to miss...
I think this is almost definitely attributed to your ADT. And I'm sure it will continue to go much lower. How often will they be monitoring your PSA and testosterone? I had monthly checks, but that...
Thanks for the update and glad you're making progress. As to the side effects of ADT, I seem to recall that my SEs had all started within the first month. The most bothersome for me were the hot...
Not sure how I feel about Epstein, but my initial diagnosis was as a G8 and when I had the second opinion from JHU, my plan was to have surgery in the event I was downgraded to a G7. Instead I ended...
Typically, a G7 would have either brachy or external beam radiation as a mono-therapy, but certainly something good to ask UCSF. (Of course, it would also be good to confirm you actually are a G7, as...
Congratulations on both the nine years and the upcoming retirement!...
Hello jr...wanted to welcome you to the forum, although I'm sorry you have to be here. Glad you have access to a top notch facility. One thing that hasn't come up yet is getting a second opinion on...
Glad you're started on your ADT--now you're playing offense instead of defense. Also glad to see Zytiga will be part of it. When I had Zytiga it was still considerable experimental to use as part of...
JPS1...just checking back in with you. Did you end up starting your hormone therapy? I've been keeping an eye out for your posts, since both our diagnoses and ages (at the time I was 51) were similar....
Starting Casodex and then making an alteration to your radiation therapy would not be an issue--it's always Step One for G9 cancers. I'm also pretty sure that's also the case for surgery--but maybe...
Congrats on landing on a treatment plan. I had similar treatment, although in my case brachytherapy was part of the radiation treatment and it sounds like your plan is all external radiation. Like...
I had them for about 8 years after finishing treatment, although I always wondered if they were necessary. The only reason I'm no longer getting them is that I only see my primary care doc nowadays....
Fellow G9 guy here. My PSA on diagnosis was 9.26 and I really sweated the process of going through my scans. And...everything was fine with no spread. With a PSA in the 5 range, I think your scans...
Hello billygoat...not sure how I missed your thread until now, but I wanted to say hello and wish you luck. FWIW, I was diagnosed at age 51 and now I'm 63 with no sign of cancer, no significant side...
Well dang, dang and double dang. I'm very sorry to hear that. But just know that I was diagnosed a G9 when I was 51 and here I am living a normal life at age 63. In fact, my last PSA was...
Good luck on the results--one thing to keep in mind is that the majority of prostate biopsies are negative. Hoping those numbers are true on your end....
Congrats on nine years and my thanks to you for hanging around here (and moderating!) since then and making things easier for new guys!...
Hello JPS1, I also wanted to welcome you here and I hope our community can continue to be helpful. It is anxiety-provoking, but try to take everything one step at a time--it's so easy for the mind to...
And with a clean bill of health for your liver, you can now safely toast your good news. Congrats!...
I was on Lupron and Casodex for about a month before adding Zytiga. I had all the typical ADT side effects--hot flashes and a general feeling of creakiness--but didn't really know what to attribute...
I don't think the potential issue is that Epstein made a mistake (unfortunate, but understandable), but that he allegedly pressured people to make a specific reading that matched his wife's reading....
Wow, this is interesting. I've always been a big advocate of the second opinion on biopsy slides since I was hanging my treatment decision on it. I was diagnosed a G8 and my thinking was going with...
Did the RO specify why no spot radiation? I'm wondering if it's worth seeing another RO for a second opinion on that. But to answer your question, yes you should be seeing an MO and preferably one...
Other than putting up with 18 months of ADT and daily drives to UCLA for radiation, I'd have to say I have an excellent QOL. And I'm willing to bet that 80%+ of the guys here would say the same thing...
I second the suggestion of a second opinion of your biopsy slides: I was initially diagnosed as a G8 and then was upgraded to a G9. I had the combo external radiation/HDR brachy combo (pretty common...
Stephen S--yep, that did the trick! Thank you!...
I've lost access to the PC forum if I log in via Safari. Yet somehow it works in Chrome....
My wife has diverticulitis and it seems like the issues that arise from it come and go without much ability to predict. I can understand your reluctance to travel since it's caused us to think about...
95% sure sounds scary--glad they caught it and glad you're doing okay!...
I think it depends on the poster to some degree. Can you imagine if Andrew (In The Shop) had just stopped posting one day without letting us know what his plans were? I think a lot of us would have...
Hope the stent procedure went well. Give us an update when you get a chance....
I have learned that the two best words to hear after any medical checkup are: "undetectable," and "unremarkable."...
Stephen...for what it's worth, when my wife and I came down with covid in June (following a trip to Paris), she took Paxlovid and I didn't. And for whatever reason, she tested positive for several...
If you're referring to the side effects from the ADT, yes they went away but I found it a rather slow process. I did 18 months of Lupron/Casodex/Zytiga and while I didn't expect an immediate change...
I definitely had low libido when on ADT. (Probably more accurate to call it *no* libido.) However, I didn't have ED--just no desire to do anything with it. My doc (not the UCLA RO) had me on cialis...