1. < Prostate Cancer

Post treatment update #3

Posted by eldorado80 @eldorado80, Jul 21 4:02am

Exactly 1 year since 45mg Lupron hormone therapy injection that was followed by 20 radiation sessions. 90 day post treatment PSA test showed no cancer but I was left with several side effects. Decided not to continue Lupron injections, exercised daily and dieted with hope of returning testosterone level to normal from a low reading of < 20.
I am pleased to report one year later that retest results today show testosterone at 396 in a normal range of 240-899. Side effects from original loss of testosterone appear to be slowly subsiding. The worst side effect reported earlier is incontinence ( I prefer to call it "back door plumbing") and is still present. I believe this was caused by the radiation treatment and am hopeful it will normalize soon.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

stevecando54 | @stevecando54 | Jul 21 5:24am

Congratulations, I am very happy for you, good test results are always a good thing. I wish you well on your journey.

REPLY
1 reply
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jul 21 11:15am

My dysuria (urinary incontinence) became a serious issue about a year after my SBRT radiation, and then gradually became manageable again over the following six months. Since you wrote "back door plumbing," though, I'm thinking you might mean the *other* kind of incontinence. If that's the case, a colonoscopy (a good idea at our age regardless) might be able to confirm if there's any damage in there.

REPLY
eldorado80 | @eldorado80 | Jul 22 7:44am

Thanks for the suggestion. In discussion with radiologist it is possible radiation treatment affected muscles near anus and could take up to 18 months to repair. My best to you.

Dave

REPLY
eldorado80 | @eldorado80 | Jul 22 7:46am
In reply to @stevecando54 "Congratulations, I am very happy for you, good test results are always a good thing. I..." + (show)
@stevecando54

Congratulations, I am very happy for you, good test results are always a good thing. I wish you well on your journey.

Jump to this post

Thanks Steve and my best to you.

Dave

REPLY
VancouverIslandHiker | @vancouverislandhiker | Jul 23 8:54am

This is great progress you have . I had 22 sessions of EBRT ( external beam therapy ), my PSA went from 0.14 to 0.072 , and now at 0.056 ( last month) . So good progress there . I had no ADT with radiation . Operation was about 3 years ago , with a very slow rise of PSA level up to last year at 0.14 PSA . After Radiation I am now in a "safe zone" the Dr's say at 0.056 . Very low , I will agree , but should it not be zero now ? or is 0.056 , close enough to zero ? The radiation gave me more urgency to Pee , when I have to . I had no ADT but hear it gives you many symptoms . God Bless ! James on Vancouver Island .

REPLY
1 reply
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jul 23 10:43am
In reply to @vancouverislandhiker "This is great progress you have . I had 22 sessions of EBRT ( external beam..." + (show)
@vancouverislandhiker

This is great progress you have . I had 22 sessions of EBRT ( external beam therapy ), my PSA went from 0.14 to 0.072 , and now at 0.056 ( last month) . So good progress there . I had no ADT with radiation . Operation was about 3 years ago , with a very slow rise of PSA level up to last year at 0.14 PSA . After Radiation I am now in a "safe zone" the Dr's say at 0.056 . Very low , I will agree , but should it not be zero now ? or is 0.056 , close enough to zero ? The radiation gave me more urgency to Pee , when I have to . I had no ADT but hear it gives you many symptoms . God Bless ! James on Vancouver Island .

Jump to this post

There's some inconsistency with testing. Traditionally, a PSA result less than 0.1 was considered "0", but now there are ultrasensitive tests that can detect PSA down to 0.01 or even lower. I don't know if the medical community has reached consensus yet on how to act on detectable PSA below 0.1.

REPLY
1 reply
eldorado80 | @eldorado80 | Jul 23 1:14pm
In reply to @northoftheborder "There's some inconsistency with testing. Traditionally, a PSA result less than 0.1 was considered "0", but..." + (show)
@northoftheborder

There's some inconsistency with testing. Traditionally, a PSA result less than 0.1 was considered "0", but now there are ultrasensitive tests that can detect PSA down to 0.01 or even lower. I don't know if the medical community has reached consensus yet on how to act on detectable PSA below 0.1.

Jump to this post

I agree and general consensus seems to be vague at best. Most agree no PSA testing after age 70 because expectancy is one will die of something else first. In my case we moved forward with a biopsy, (11 of 12 samples were positive), Gleason score and PET scan. Mine was advanced but still appeared not to have metastasized into the neighboring lymph nodes so we treated both the prostate and lymph nodes. So far, so good. Because of my age (80+) I decided this was to be a "one shot deal". Warm regards to all, Dave

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.