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.
I do not know how much my story can help, but I offer you my route. In Feb. 2001 I under went RP. My first PSa in June was 0.5 (not good)For various reasons I did not opt for Radiation or ADT. By March 2002 the psa reached 2.5 and I realized that I had to do something.
I was a chef which involved heavy physical work and was living by myself after separating from my wife. I had to find something that would not not have physical side effects and would not effect my quality of life. I tried Casodex 150mg, which within three months brought my psa down to undetectable. After a year with an UD psa I stopped taking the Casodex. It took three years for my psa to reach 5.1 when I started again on the Casodex.
For the last seven and half years I have been on and off Casodex. At the moment my psa is 2.8. My Onco is not keen that I re-start taking Casodex as he says that up to now we know that Casodex, for me, is very effective.
Besides enlarged and tender breasts I have not experienced any side effects. When taking Casodex one must have ones liver functions checked every six months. As chairman of The Living with Prostate Cancer Foundation and running three support groups in Israel, I come into contact with hundreds of men. Many of them are on Zoladex or Lupron. Most find it hard to function well because of the side effects. On the other hand I know of one who ran in the London marathon while on ADT. There are no hard and fast rules on how Hormone Therapy will effect one.
In your position I would monitor my psa, make sure that my daily schedule allows me time to relax and eat proper meals. You might have to make some hard desicions, but on the whole I would not rush into ADT at this stage taking into account on what you have told us.
