Before I was diagnosed with PC, I experimented with several different supplements to help with frequency, and found that I got a lot of help from a combination of a certain maker's saw palmetto...
JohnT: when you wrote "oncologist," did you mean either Drs. Lam or Scholz? ASAdvocate: yes, I saw JNF's post. I will do more research on HDR brachy and what kind of results it has gotten as part of...
After a good night's sleep, the disappointment has subsided, and I came out where almost of you did, which is to go for the Lupron and see what happens. There is almost no downside, and there might...
Thanks for the detailed information about how it looks down the road that I someday hope to travel (although LDR brachy is now looking like a longer shot for me). It makes me realize that RO concerns...
For some reason, my profile did not post, so here it is: Age: 62 PSA, 3/18: 6.1 DRE, 4/18: Stage T2a, right side Biopsy, 6/18: Left = 2/6 positive, G3+3; Right = 6/6 positive, 3 @ G3+3, 3 @ G3+4; PNI...
I decided for "double play" treatment of 23 sessions of IMRT plus LDR brachy. In June, after my first biopsy, my prostate size was estimated at 40 cc. In August, after my mpMRI, my prostate size was...
Thanks for the detailed update, CAdogsRus. I'll be going down the same road as you with pretty much the same folks in about 3 months, so it's good know what is in store for me, and that it went so...
Agreed, Halbert, looking for a RT-neutral urologist is like looking for an ambidextrous unicorn. I'm going to continue to pursue the double play with my RO per CAdogsRus' suggestion, and if that...
CAdogsRus, could you please PM me? I'd like to get more details of your treatment. My email address is in my profile. Thanks! Richard...
Thanks for the sage advice, Redwing57. Your backstory was also very helpful as a harbinger of the road ahead. It's not an easy road, but if you take it one step at a time......
Fauntleroy: makes sense. Thanks for your reply. Glad it turned out well for you. Michael_T: I have seen several other people on this board highly recommend Prostate Oncology Specialists, and...
Thanks, guys. Lots of good information and advice. Fauntleroy: we have similar numbers, so I'm a bit curious why you did ADT. The doctors I spoke to were unanimous in saying that ADT was not...
Thanks, CAdogsRus, that's very helpful information. Yes, I got a second opinion on the random biopsy from JHU. It repeated the original biopsy almost data point for data point. After the biopsy, I...
For some reason reason, my profile didn't post. Here it is: Age: 62 PSA, 3/18: 6.1 DRE, 4/18: Stage T2a, right side Biopsy, 6/18: Left = 2/6 positive, G3+3; Right = 6/6 positive, 3 @ G3+3, 3 @ G3+4;...
After extensive due diligence about treatment alternatives, including the help of my friends here on HW, I decided to go with the "double play" combination of IMRT with a low dose brachy boost with a...
Thanks John T and JimBear for the feedback that it is possible to have RT of a TZ tumor without long term urinary SE's....
Thanks for sharing your hubby's positive surgery experience, Jaybee&GG. And also thanks for sharing the neat Australian slang: "spruik: (transitive, Australia) To promote a thing or idea to another...
Tall Allen: I had nighttime urination once per night, 2-4 times a week, for about a year, then it stopped in January. Then it started 1-2 times a week after the biopsy in late June. Also frequency...
I had a biopsy in June, which showed 8/12 positive cores, 2/6 (both G3+3) on the left, 6/6 on the right (3 @ 3+3, 3 @ 3+4). Yesterday, I got the results of an mpMRI, which contained both good news,...
Let me tell you my experience, which shares some similarities with yours. My PSA went up to 4.4 in August, 2016. I assumed it was from inflammation/prostatitis due to heavy biking. That seemed...
Thanks for all the great information, everyone. It really helped clarify my thinking. Rich...
JNF: yes, as I wrote up top, if it can't be proved with a high degree of likelihood that the cancer is contained in the prostate, then I would probably do the "triple play," including a brachytherapy...
Gemlin: agreed, we will probably have to wait for the results of the UK trial to see with a scientific degree of certainty how SBRT fares vs. surgery and other forms of EBR re: survival, BCR, and...
WeightLoss: Thanks for your insights. I did not know that BCR was possible if the cancer was contained and the prostate removed by surgery. If that's the case, and the likelihood of BCR is roughly...
Hello All: Are there any studies on the percentage of BCR after SBRT where the cancer was 100% contained within the prostate? And if so, how did they confirm that the cancer was contained, in the...
Makes sense now. Thank you George_ and Tall Allen....
CAdogsRus: Yes, hoping to see Tall Allen's input on this issue. He is the "Answer Man." Thanks for taking a stab, anyway. Not an engineer, not even good with numbers. But I have a lot of respect for...
Trying to understand estimated outcomes for various forms of treatment presented in medical studies and nomograms. But I can't seem to find a clear delineation between probability of freedom from...
Planning to do just that, CAdogsRus. Best, Rich...
Tall Allen: I saw on another thread from about a year ago that you said that there were no doctors sufficiently experienced in low dose rate brachytherapy (seeds) in Southern California that you...
CAdogsRus: I'll look for you at the August IPCSG. Excellent tip about Eclipse Chocolate. I live in downtown SD, about 2 miles from there, and that's the first I've heard of it. Tall Allen: I...
That's some great info, CAdogsRus. I also have Aetna PPO with a $5K deductible, which I will pay in a heartbeat if they don't nickel and dime me on getting the best treatment, as supported by...
Thanks again, Allen. As you indicated, I see the revision of the intermediate risk definition in the 2016 Katz study vs. the 2014 study. Somewhat weird that the rates of biochemical failure after 7...
Thanks, F8. I have read the Andy Grove story, and was greatly impressed by it. One of the nuggets I took away from it is that researching your best PC treatment strategy is like researching your best...
Tall Allen: I went and read Dr. Katz's report on 7 year outcomes, and the 68% disease-free survival rate equated to the D'Amico high-risk group, which is characterized by "PSA > 20 or Gleason sum of...
Thanks again, Allen. Very helpful information. But depressing, if true. I had assumed I was standard intermediate risk, what PCRI calls "Basic Teal," which usually means one modality of treatment is...
jmadrid: Reread the Protect trial report and they said basically the same thing: " Between-group comparisons with respect to treatment failure require considerable caution because of the different...
Taking a stab at answering my own question-- Maybe a chunk of the RT primary failures were technical failures only, caused by a PSA bounce of more than 2 (the definition of primary failure for RT)...
Thanks, F8, I've seen some good numbers on combo therapy. I intend to discuss it when I meet with a radiation oncologist at UCSD next week. Tall Allen, that's a lot of great information, thank you so...
Hello All: I recently received my biopsy results, which were: Right side: 6/6 positive cores, 3 at 3+3, 3 at 3+4. PNI confirmed in 2 cores. Total tumor burden from 15% to 35%. Left side: 2/6 positive...