My dad's cancer returned and now it’s stage 4 metastatic cancer

That's exactly my situation — I was diagnosed with oligometastatic prostate cancer to my spine at age 56, 2½ years ago, and am on ADT indefinitely — and I feel that I'm living a pretty-great life.

The side-effects can be occasionally annoying, but the extra years are priceless.

(In my case, though, it wasn't just a speck — it was a big lesion that compressed my spinal cord and left me paraplegic for many months, so there was no doubt about the scan.)

Hello 'IHATECANCER',
sounds like you and your dad are doing the right and best things. Best of luck throughout the ordeals.
I had prostatectomy 01/2022 but had a spot on a rib so two years of Lupron. Luckily, I got my last shot of Lupron 01/2024, two years worth. My PSA has been and is - and hope it stays - negligible. Hooray!!!
But now I'm waiting for the lousy hot flashes to subside. My oncologist says Lupron doesn't have a "Half-life" so there's no fixed time for the side effects will subside. I'm trying to wait patiently (or not).
And he said it takes time and the older you are the longer it tends to take. I'm 77 so your dad has a 10-year advantage on me; I hope he can follow the same course of "just" a couple years of shots.
Also, I started taking paroxetine a ways back, and still do. It helps reduce the flashes intensity and lower their frequency.
And encourage him to keep active! Muscle loss is another of (my) side effects. So fitness class, lawn, volunteering, and spoiling grandkids (5, 8, 19, and 21) are priorities for me.
Good luck and my/our prayers. Tell him we're all brothers in this constant fight and join us in praising the Good Lord for the skills and tech our doctors can provide.
And you are the "good kid" to stick by him and help him in this battle.

(And my GrandDaughter's wedding? - the young one is now only 5. Great idea so I'm going for it!!!)
Blessings,
Bob

Hey @ihatecancer
I'm fairly certain my father was simply on Lupron later in life, I'm not aware of any pills. Now the standard of care is often what is called "doublet" or even "triplet" therapies where two to three meds are often taken to get a better result.

The orgovyx is what I take daily, 120 mg pills. The belief is that this may be better in my situation because it delivers a more even dose everyday. It's fairly new so they are still learning about it. As I understand it, patients are also believed to recover testosterone levels faster when they stop taking it. Starting with my next blood test (a few weeks) and after I stop the drug, we'll start monitoring testosterone levels to see how / if it returns.

If your Dad is 67 and not working out, it might be better to start with walking and maybe swimming if you have access to a pool.....

I can't really add anything different than what others have said.

It is likely with spread to the spine that your father may be in continuous ADT.

With modern PSMA imaging and the advances in radiation planning and delivery, SBRT may be able to treat his spinal mets.

Likely his medical team will want him on ADT and an ARI. For the ADT, lots of choices, Orgovyx is one. There are still the side effects, hot flashes, muscle and joint stiffness, fatigue, genitalia shrinkage, loss of libido...though those on this forum and others say they are "less severe." I just completed 12 months, combined with SBRT to the single PLN identified in the PLarify scan, my sensing is yes, less severe, but that's a qualitative, not quantitative judgement. Hot flashes suck.

Still, while on treatment I changed nothing, most days went to the gym, took vacations to Oregon, the Great Sand Hill Crane Migration in Nebraska, went skiing with friends in Colorado, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, rode with my sister in the Garmin Unbound 50, a 50+ mile gravel bike ride in the Flint Hills of Kansas near Emporia,

My medical team can and does a lot for me, what they cannot do which are useful in mitigating the side effects of treatment:

Exercise
Diet
Managing Stress.

Kevin

Thank you Kevin for sharing your story. I’m happy to hear you still continue to live your life and do all the things you love. I do believe that sometimes it’s mind over matter and you have to that positive mindset.

Also, thank you for sharing your chart. I noticed a note on there mentioning afib. Do you have that as a result of the medications?

Thank you for the information. Your stories are so very helpful. Sending you nothing but positive thoughts that your blood results are good!

My dad starts radiation tomorrow for three days (MWF). His doctor also asked him to start taking Bicalutamide two days ago. He has been instructed to take this for one week before Lupron and one week after. Have you heard of this drug and process before?

Thank you for the information. Your stories are so very helpful. Sending you nothing but positive thoughts that your blood results are good!

My dad starts radiation tomorrow for three days (MWF). His doctor also asked him to start taking Bicalutamide two days ago. He has been instructed to take this for one week before Lupron and one week after. Have you heard of this drug and process before?

These drugs are standard of Care I was on Zolodex and still am for 7 years just like Lupron