Prostate Cancer Survivors

 

YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

 

 

This forum is for the discussion of anything to do with Prostate Cancer.
There are only four rules:

  • No fundraisers, no commercials (although it is OK to recommend choices of treatment or medical people based on your personal research; invitations to participate in third-party surveys are also acceptable, provided there is no compensation to YANA);
  • No harvesting e-mail addresses for Spam;
  • No insults or flaming - be polite and respectful at all times and understand that there may be a variety of points of view, all of which may have some validity;
  • Opinions are OK, but please provide as much factual evidence as possible for any assertions that you are making

Failure to abide by these simple rules will result in the immediate and permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

Since this is an International Forum, please specify your location in your post.

General Forum
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
Orchiectomy

I know this subject is not discussed very much. For those who had bad side affects with ADT, perhaps this route is a better choice. Usually you read that orchiectomy is a last resort choice when nothing else has worked. Any suggestions from me to other men on long term ADT (and complaining about the side affects) usually give the standard reply "no way". My view is that when ADT is recommended, and perhaps even before PCa returns as a preventative measure to delay that return. It seems like the best choice.
Any of you thought about orchiectomy. Is life without those two nuts that bad if you are given the gift of life.
Joe

Re: Orchiectomy

Joe,
I give credit to you for speaking on this subject openly. From readings of this site for a couple years now, I sense there is a wide variety of men who post here. Some appear to regard their sexual capacity as the most important aspect of their being. Most others say little that would indicate how dearly they might hold that capacity. Since ED is discussed so very frequently, it's obviously a major issue.

My own personal take is that as I have aged I have had to give up things in life. My sexual capacity has been damaged irretrievably by my cancer, so that's one more setback. But I've sure had many, many years of good function to be grateful for. And the quality of life remains excellent for me.

Your posting is more specific, looking at the alternative of orchiectomy to continuing ADT. I've no personal experience with either. But a nearby friend did take 2 injections of ADT after diagnosis as initial treatments. He refused to take any more. He had an orchiectomy thereafter and has lived well in the several years since then. I don't think he regrets it.

Re: Orchiectomy

Joe,

When I was considering my options with my PSA rising sharply and hitting 40 ng/ml and a radiologist saying he could se a bone metastasis, I suggested to my oncologist that orchidectomy might be a better way to go than to start taking ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) drugs. I had been under the impression until then that there were very few side effects with orchidectomy.

His response was that the side effects of the surgery were very similar to those of the drugs – some men had very bad reactions; others didn’t. Different drugs also affected different men in different ways, so it was possible to change drugs if there was an adverse reaction. He also made the point that intermittent therapy was an option while on drugs – it certainly wasn’t for orchidectomy, since that is irreversible.

All of which persuaded me to try ADT Lite – single drug (Zoladex) on an intermittent basis. So far so good. I had three shots which brought my PSA right down and I had very few bad side effects, all of which went away after my last shot.

Of course, this is my personal experience and there will be others with different experiences, but I still think the options on ADT are greater than orchidectomy.

All the best

Terry in Australia

Re: Orchiectomy

Aloha Terry,
Do you know where I can learn more about the side affects of orchiectomy?
Joe

RETURN TO HOME PAGE LINKS