Stage 4 Prostate Cancer and Hormone Therapy quit working
My husband is at Stage 4 for one and a half years now...The hormone therapy (Apalutamide and Erleada) seems to have quit working. For the past 8 months, his PSA keeps climbing. It's up to 12 now..
We're scared. Anyone else got to this point? How are you doing when the hormone therapy isn't working anymore.
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I have stage IV prostate cancer metastasized throughout my bone structure. I am going on 5 years of various treatments and am coming to the end. They have run out of things to try.
There are several treatment options available to you yet. You are still at the early stages. Depending on what all is involved in your cancer and where it is your oncologist may recommend targeted radiation treatments. I generally have had decent success with that. I also have had the six course treatment of Pluvicto radiation infusion treatments, again with good success. As of now they have run out of treatments. The thing is, they all work for a while and then they stop working. Hopefully you have several years to go yet and multiple other avenues before you reach the end of life stage that I am at with stage IV prostate cancer which has metastasized throughout my bones and lymph nodes.
I don’t see you mentioning having Pluvicto treatments. That is usually the next step. It doesn’t work at all for 1/3 of people, but it is very successful for 1/3.
Not sure what you mean by big prednisone. Not sure if you have been on Zytiga which requires you take 5 mg of prednisone. That might work for you, it might not, you need to ask your oncologist if it makes sense.
I have stage 4 PC and am doing Lupton injections/3 monthly intervals plus radiation treatment, so far having received 8/20 doses.
One thing I think about is quality of life and I would like to hear what others have to say on the quality of life question.
Thanks.
What facility are you going to?
Marie Yeager Cancer center in SW Michigan. My RBCs are low due to ADT drugs
I would have to rate my quality of life over this last five year journey as not great, but acceptable and as good as could be expected. It was up and down as whatever the current treatment was became effective. Then at a low ebb until the next version of treatment became implemented. At each stage it was important for me to recognize and realize whatever my then current level of quality of life was and to come to acceptance that it's a long, slow downhill run and to be grateful for everything I do/did have as opposed to mourning the loss of what used to be.
Getting the blood levels where they need to be is proving difficult after two infusions.
I’m doing Lupron plus I had 25 treatments of radiation. I feel like crap most of the time. My next injection is Dec 10 my birthday. Pissing all the time. Can’t get an erection can’t eat anything I would like. If it wasn’t for football I don’t know what I would do.
I should add that compared to other people I see in the infusion area I don’t have anything to complain about. The staff and Docs at Mayo Phoenix treat me great 😊
Go Cowboys😩