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I was really somewhat surprised by this statement of yours:
The reason why I was scared it could be Hormone refractory is as according to Dr. Charles Myers, Hormone therapy works for only 8-9 months in case of patients with bone mets with symptoms at the time of diagnosis(which sadly, is my dad's case)
It just didn’t accord with all the hundreds of pieces I have read from Dr Myers over the years. In fact in the Introduction to his book BEATING PROSTATE CANCER: HORMONAL THERAPY & DIET (well worth reading) he says in part:
….. it’s important to note that hormonal therapy can stall or even prevent recurrence for many men. In fact……there are even some cases where hormonal therapy alone has been very successful in pushing cancer into remission. and he concludes his introduction with the statement:
As a hormonal therapy patient with an undetectable PSA, I’m living proof of that.
Of course there are no more guarantees with ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) aka hormonal therapy than there are with any other aspect of life. None of the poor souls who drowned in the floods in Brazil, Sri Lanka and Australia recently would have expected to die when they did. But these things happen sometimes – and so does failure of prostate cancer therapies. BUT to say Hormone therapy works for only 8-9 months… is simply not correct.
I have tried to deal with some aspects of “How Long…..” in my piece THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. If you haven’t read that you might find it useful. You should also go along to the ADT EXPERIENCES index on the website. See how many men with T4 diagnoses (that is metastases) have survived a good deal longer than 8-9 months. Yes, some have indeed passed on. That is very sad to see. But many have not.
What you should be concentrating on is not the fear that your father may be in the group that passes on, but how to ensure as far as possible that he is in the group that lives, often for many years.
Oh! And one other thing about laboratories and test results. Some laboratories use more than one protocol for the same tests, so it is very important to obtain copies of all reports and check that the same manufacturer’s protocols have been followed for each test. There can be significant variances between different manufacturer’s results.
Good luck in your endeavours – to both you and your father.
We had dad's PSA done and it has increased from 0.10 to 0.43 which has got us worried.
Mar 2010 - >500
Jul 2010 - 0.04
Aug 2010 - <0.04
Oct 2010 - <0.02
Jan 2011 - 0.10
Mar 2011 - 0.43
Testosterone level is now 0.1
In Jan it was <0.1
We also had his bone scan and ultrasound done.
The bone scan showed that some metastasis is remaining in shoulder and knee joints and lumbar vertebra.
Ultrasound showed the prostate has further shrinked.
--> We are confused and worried at the same time. Should we be releived by bone scan report (Dad had widespread metastasis at the time of diagnosis in March 2010 and now it remains in shoulder and knee joints and lumbar vertebra) and further shrinkage of prostate OR still be worried about increasing PSA.
--> Can the metastasis remaining in bones cause PSA to rise? If yes, should we suggest more Zometa infusions to the doctor?
We will see the urologist over the weekend. but your thoughts are valuable.
Please suggest what should be the course of action now.
Dad had orchiectomy and is now on Bicalutamide (50mg) + Dutasteride.
