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I am wondering about the effectiveness of Intermittent Hormone Manipulation used as part of a Chronic Disease Management course for PC. Does anyone have any experience?
The general principal, as I understand it, is to manage the PC through regular PSA tests, to treat it with Hormone Therapy or Androgen Deprivation when the PSA gets to a certain high point, but only until it is lowered to a secondary point.
There is a Dr. Ronald Wheeler in Sarasota Florida who is promoting this as the better long term strategy, given that PC may have already escaped the prostate gland, even with a low PSA, and therefore a Prostatectomy is likened to shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.
I would be interested to hear anyone's experiences.
Like everything else to do with prostate cancer there are differences of opinion about Intermittent Hormone Therapy and how efficacious it is.
You have a grasp of the principles and the conclusions that Dr Wheeler came to are precisely those that I came to after my diagnosis in 1996. I watched my PSA for 11 years but finally came to the conclusion that I should do something, so started ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) – just Zoladex – last August. I intend stopping next month since my PSA has been 0.20 ng/ml (down from 40.0 ng/ml) for some months now. My oncologist agrees with this approach: my primary health provider – my GP – does not. He believes in kicking any cells repeatedly while they are down.
If you browse through the stories on the site, you’ll find examples of other men on IHT – the one that comes to hand is DOUG ADAMS who has been off ADT for many years now with never a rise in his PSA.
I guess what has me most concerned about the Chronic Disease Management approach of Dr. Wheeler is the possibility that the cancer could escape the prostate. But obviously, with PSA getting up to 40, that hasn't concerned you. Isn't that a critical thing? That's the argument for outright removal of the prostate isn't it?
For myself I have been a vegetarian since 1975; I figure I have already been following the PC diet. I probably have skimped a bit in the exercise department since living in AZ for 20 years (I used to surf until then), but as my PSA continues to rise (5.8 now), the fear factor is kicking in.
Barry,
I have no experience from which to offer opinions on your subject here. But a secondary thought stemming from your analogy of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.
There are a lot of horses there, not one. So one or a few may or may not have bolted. But probably better to shut that gate rather than keep them all around with an open gate.
