Hey, Glen, Sorry I'm late to the party! Glad to see that your PSA is behaving. Your trendline will look a lot like mine, and I congratulate you on your approach to the whole process. You did your...
Tom - How high did your T level spike? Mine has occasionally gone up to near the top of the lab's "normal" range, and my uro and I have decided that we will not react to one single reading. Since we...
Here's my take, and I won't enter the fray between the doctors and researchers, but will offer my opinions based upon my own discussion with Dr. Morgentaler. I cannot comment on PCa cases in which...
You could also contact Dr. Arica Hirsch at CyberKnife Illinois. I am not sure if she does salvage radiotherapy, but she has been doing SBRT and IMRT for PCa for 10 years or more. I had primary SBRT...
Mike, I've been on TRT before, during and since radiation treatment (SBRT, Nov. 2016) for PCa. I was severely symptomatic before commencing therapy (weight gain, loss of lean muscle mass, foggy...
jr - You don't mention which type of biopsy procedure you will have. I have no experience with trans-perineal biopsy; mine was trans-rectal. If you are going to have the trans-rectal biopsy, be sure...
All true and valid comments. Our medical insurance "supplement" is the standard BCBS plan that is offered to Federal employees. Up until the current revision, it was great. Between Medicare and BCBS,...
I hear you, Mumbo. The added wrinkle for me is that I really don't have a separate Part D plan. For many years our prescription meds coverage was simply a feature of our BCBS insurance plan. It was...
Well, it had to happen some time. I have had Blue Cross/Blue Shield, in addition to Medicare for 11 years now. Just this year, our Blue Cross plan changed its prescription drug coverage from the...
Another gastro? Seriously, if the one you are seeing cannot help, there is no harm done to seek a second opinion. Also, your symptoms seem quite a bit broader than "just" proctitis. Proctitis, if I...
I'm another CyberKnife SBRT patient. (No balloon or spacer gel used.) A few years after treatment, I had some really "slasher movie grade" rectal bleeding. Large clots and splats, you get the...
Boomer -- I, too, have had a couple of bouts of blood in the stool, some years after CyberKnife radiation therapy. In my case, they were "slasher-movie" gross episodes. I thought I was going to have...
And then there's also the media's own "Public Service Announcement."...
Thanks for the ideas regarding alternative meds, everyone. Hopefully this med will again be only short-term. At least, once this most recent steroid injection was absorbed (probably just a day from...
I was thoroughly chuffed after my last update. Probably shouldn't have been to upbeat, as Murphy must have been reading the mail. This one is a bit of a case of domino theory. I have had spinal...
Just thought I would stop by with an update. Things on the PCa front have been relatively uneventful lately, although advancing age has added some non-PCa medical concerns (but no need to go into...
Not to take this thread off on a tangent, but now that we are talking about urinals, a funny (to me) story comes to mind. Many years ago I worked in the Finance department of a large company. The...
At home, I sit. I hate washing walls and floors. At public restrooms, I can use the urinals (bigger target, in case of spray)....
I never had a supra-pubic catheter, but some years ago (well, nearly 25), I had a nasty bout with probable kidney stones. The uro went in with some sort of device that felt like it was a hollowed-out...
Paul - I'm sorry that I am late to the party, but there is a bit I can add. First, I suggest that you read the published works of Dr. Abraham Morgentaler. He is in Boston and is/was affiliated with...
Not to be snarky, but how much historical data do we need? I had SBRT 6 1/2 years ago. At that time, we already had Dr. Katz's 9-year results published, with his 10-year data to shortly follow....
I've only had a few. . . in no particular order: 1. When I was about 2 1/2 years old, I was in a pet shop. I was fascinated by a monkey in a cage. I pointed. He grabbed my right hand and started...
Paul -- Do you track the time at which your blood draws are done? Time of day is important for T measurements, as the body's natural cycles generate its highest reading in the early morning, shortly...
Again, thank you all for the well wishes! Terry -- I haven't brought up the subject of treatment for BPH other than meds as yet. We have been watching that one for over 20 years, and just now I am...
Hi, everyone! I just thought I would stop by with an update, in case anyone is on the fence about SBRT versus other treatments. I just came back from my 6-year (plus a few months) review with my...
Glen, Just continue telling yourself that 2023 IS going to be a good year. Many of our afflictions just take time to heal, and nobody really knows how much time they will take. I am now more than 6...
Yes, Prato, that is the gist of the Saturation Theory. Morgenthaler found that as long as T levels were above castrate levels (which he defines as 50 or higher), the PCa activity is the same. More T...
I'd agree with Sailor 100% on this one. The "Saturation Theory" of how PCa reacts to T supports the notion that "castrate" levels of 50 or less (for total T) are sufficient to affect PCa. I would bet...
Sailor - I would hesitate to call a T level of 181 "borderline low." Every lab T test I've ever had (starting about 20 years ago) showed its "normal" range something like 300-1100. If 300 is the...
I;m another SBRT "Post Toastie." I completed treatment in Nov. 2016. Over the next 66 months, my PSA mostly trended down, but bounced and rattled around quite a bit. It has taken 5 1/2 years to nadir...
I am probably an outlier, but I have been on TRT (gel) before diagnosis, during treatment, and all along since treatment for G3+4=7 PCa. Before TRT, my T was in the 200's, and I was significantly...
I was 68 at diagnosis, and am now 74. My wife would generally complain that I don't act my age. Why should I? That's no fun. . . I don't run any more, but I still "speed-walk" anywhere from 3 to 6 or...
My uro was a great advisor in that respect. When we (uro, self and wife) had the initial strategy and counseling session after my diagnosis, my uro explained that my pathology was a relatively low...
Glen - Sounds like you're right on track, my friend. You are exhibiting two signs of a good prognosis. First, a longer, slower downward PSA trajectory has been linked to better long-term outcomes...
Bohemond -- If that tooth of yours is gradually deteriorating, there may be another approach for it as well. Ask the dentist if the root(s) are strong but the main, exposed part of the tooth is...
Mel - This definitely calls for a second opinion. Probably best to see an endodontist for this, as these are the dentists who specialize in root canals and similar treatments. While the extraction...
5 treatments and ring the bell? Wishful thinking. Methinks that this marathon lasts the rest of our lives. What varies, though, is the intensity with which we must compete at various times during the...
Are you thinking of hyperbaric oxygen therapy? It is sometimes used to treat radiation proctitis/rectal bleeding after radiation therapy. This sort of therapy is delivered by having the patient spend...
We can't forget that there is a saying within the auto industry that ". . . Just In Time is the same as Almost Late." When all of the large OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers) implement very...
. . . and just one more re-statement of my only observation set, my own. I am now 66 months out from my last CyberKnife treatment, and this most recent PSA reading was a new nadir. The previous 3 or...
Yeah, somehow some of the docs don't seem to realize the emotional toll a simple thing like a delay in getting the results can have. I have a bit of "test anxiety" myself....
Vic - How do you feel about all this? Your PSA just could be bouncing around (or maybe not?), as you've noted. As it is still rather low right now, how do your docs feel about waiting one more test...
I hate doing anything more than simple "yes/no" check boxes on my cell phone, too, Glen. I prefer to wait to get to a "real" computer, or at least a tablet with a larger screen so I can see what I am...
Thanks, everyone, for all of the good wishes. With the support and compassion I received here when I first joined, I feel compelled to share what I can, in the hope that it may give others hope that...
Well, I just finished the last part of my 5 1/2 year status review, having met with uro today and RO yesterday. A brief summary of the journey is: I have been on TRT gel since age 65, due to severely...
I recently had a discussion with my RO about the various dosages used in SBRT over the past 5 or 10 years. When I asked her about which made more sense, 36.25 Gy or 40.00, she said "Yes." After I...
I used it for a couple of years, several years ago. I thought it was helping me. Then I just stopped it abruptly, and nothing changed. I guess I was feeling a placebo effect. I haven't used it in 6...
Roadrunner - glad you're up and around again. Those hose things can be a drag. . . I did not have PCa surgery, but did have to tolerate a leg bag for a week some years ago. I even went to work,...
Just to set the stage, recall that I have been on TRT before, during and after PCa treatment, due to adult-onset hypogonadism. IIRC, when I first began researching my own treatment path, I looked...
I'm one of the lucky ones. When I was diagnosed, I was still working full-time (now part-time, same job). What made it easy for me was the fact that my boss had been through PCa diagnosis and surgery...