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.
Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
We have had precious little material to capture our time and attention these past few months. Accordingly my latest journal entry appears below for your review comment:
Developing a Plan to Ease On Out When Push Comes to Shove
The following is an exchange of emails between yours truly and a fellow PCa Warrior with extensive knowledge abut the subject matter. The discussion is edited to minimize unrelated material:
Don O (me):
We have not made contact for quite some time...cannot help but wonder how you are doing. My PCa remains under control thanks to Dr Myers and Xtandi, but it is only a matter of time. My plan is to ease on out when push comes to shove. This plan includes marijuana which I have never used, and know little if anything about. It looks to me as if there are many, many options. I don't know how much pain and mental anguish I am in store for. I do know marijuana can ease both. I thought my education might possibly begin with you. Can you help me develop a plan of action?
Don M: (fellow PCa Warrior)
Great to hear from you. I'm still on xtandi. It's been about 5 years. My PSA is about .3 It's been sorta stable rising sometimes and then other times not. I have zero symptoms, scans are also clear. However, coincidentally I have my oncology appt today. If the xtandi fails I'm not sure what my next stop will be. Regarding cannabis, I'm very familiar with but I personally don't think it's curative. It's can help with pain relief etc... Also, if you don't want the psychoactive effect (being high) which is the THC in the cannabis choose the strain which has the CBD cannabinoid. CBD has no psychoactive effects and the growers have learned to breed out the THC in the plant. Also, you don't need to smoke cannabis. There are many forms of delivery like capsules, food, candy, drinks, and tinctures. Thanks for reaching out again. Lets keep in contact.
Don O.
I am laying the groundwork for when my PCa meds begin to fail, i,.e., when the pain, suffering and anguish begin to take hold. I am indeed searching for a cannabis product that produces a high, particularly one that I have control over.
You seem opposed to a product that would produce a high. This is my objective as I said to ease the pain and suffering which are sure to arise when Hormone therapy becomes ineffective. I would be interested in your reasoning in this regard.
Don M.
No, I’m not opposed to the high effect at all. I assumed maybe you like some other people new to cannabis for medicinal reasons don’t realize there is cannabis available without thc. You can have both THC and cbd. In Michigan you have lots of great options. Please let me know how it works for you
Don O:
I would very much like for the two of us to stay in touch. At the very least let's agree to inform one another when our Xtandi fails and what we intend to do about it.
When I contacted you I was thinking about what I might do to combat the pain and misery that may result when all standard medical interventions begin to fail. Without knowing its technical name psychoactive cannabis is the product I had in mind. Offhand I suspect I will experiment with the tincture option when push comes to shove. Any additional comments you have relative to these thoughts would be most welcome.
Don M:
My oncology appt. went well but my PSA had a little bump. I'm at .32 but I think I know why. I've been traveling between Arizona, California lately and I didn't have enough xtandi meds. Besides that my #'s are good. Yes, the tinctures with CBD will work well. Just go to a real medical or recreational cannabis store. I think you live in Michigan and if I'm correct you have medical and soon to be recreational stores.
Don O:
I'm not quite ready, but on an experimental basis I thought I would purchase 1 bottle of CBD oil (1000mG/mL) from Buy Weed Online (for $190).
Would appreciate feedback from you before I proceed.
Don M:
So Michigan is a legal state for medical and recreational marijuana/cannabis. I'd personally go to one of the stores nearest you and ask them for a CBD in a capsule, oil, or edible format. You'll find a better quality, tested per state law product to choose from. Plus the price you mentioned seemed high and I don't think it's what you want. The legal stores have cannabis products that have all been tested in 3rd party labs for safety and cannabinoid profile.
Hope this helps but again I would not buy anything online. You don't know the efficacy of the product. In a licensed store by the state of Michigan you'll get a quality product.
For the record I am within weeks of age 85 and have been wrestling with PCA for well over ten years.
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
Hello Allen,
Thank you for your comments. Don has been an active participant on this Discussion Forum for over ten years, and he has contributed many valuable articles. He is not promoting recreational use of cannabis. Instead, he is identifying a form of Palliative Care that works for him and may be helpful for others. We will not be removing his message.
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
Mark, thank you for allowing this topic to remain on this website. Currently I am on intermittent hormone therapy (Lupron/Eligard). My journey of over 11 years consists of active surveillance, proton radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, remission, reoccurrence, hormone therapy. It is only a matter of time until I move on to Xtandi or equivalent and then on to some form of palliative care. I live in North Carolina which allows no forms of recreation or medicinal marijuana or any of its derivatives. I really would like to learn about my options when indeed push comes to shove.
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
Hi Don,
I gather from the thread topic that you are thinking of a suitable strategy to deal with the final stages of PCa. Many years ago Terry and I had some discourse over that very subject. This was when Terry was into the Paget diet regime for curative purpose, if you recall, and he had no identifiable evidence of systemic mets. I guess it was a bit strange to be discussing such a topic, given we were both in relatively good shape at that time. Oddly enough we both came to the same conclusion, namely that a quick exit was preferable to a prolonged one. I actually went a step further and made provision for the procurement of the required substance for the short journey. If you recall, in the end Terry chose palliative care, which I understand served him well. In light of Terry's decision, and given his distain for conventional medicine, his choice did catch me by surprise. But I guess the point that I am trying to make is, that skilled palliation can make the final aspect of the PCa journey decidedly more tolerable.
Bit of an about face on my part I suspect, but any strategy whereupon we not longer have control is not the ideal in my opinion. Best wishes Don.
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
Always good to hear from you John.
Yes indeed, I am developing a suitable strategy for coping with the final stages of PCa. I suspect a recent and very personal and very disturbing experience with a common palliative care medication (morphine) contributed to my search for an effective alternative. Without a great deal of thought, research and handwringing, marijuana occurred to me as a viable alternative. As usual I shared my thoughts with my fellow PCa Warriors.
Best wishes Don O.
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
Well Don after conversing with you over all these years, I was reasonably sure that your exit strategy would be well in place. I guess the most important element is to bring about a dignified death on your terms. When it comes to the crunch, some people embrace death, for others, fear is the overriding factor in the final part of their journey. But as we know a good many of us old PCa warriors have gone before us and through their stories, and of course your's, a lasting legacy has endured. I wonder what the next millennium of PCa warriors will think when they read all about Proton Don? Don't forget the final chapter of the blog Don! As always best wishes,
Re: Developing a Plan to Ease Out When Push Comes To Shove
John:
There has been so many developments in the treatment of PCa my journal is fast becoming a historic relic. Even so my intent is to keep it going for as long as possible. Hopefully the final chapter will read "Easing On Out."
Best wishes to you and yours.
Don O.
