Have to share this, ADT

with the rhymes you are swift

Interesting that you should be the next message that I read. The last one was from somebody that was on ADT and thought that that was causing anxiety, even after being off it.

I also Had a lot of anxiety when I was first diagnosed. My cancer was not nearly as aggressive as what you have, But over Time the anxiety has gone away, Even though the cancer has become more aggressive.

I also have BRCA2, Just found out a couple years ago, That explains why it has come back four times. The thing is, I am Still alive after 15 years, Had my one metastasis zapped with SBRT and my PSA has stayed undetectable for 13 months since then, while I am on Nubeqa.

One person who has attended the Ancan.org Weekly advanced prostate cancer meetings has had PC for 26 years and is still alive, with BRCA2. He was on a PARP inhibitor for a long time, Kept his cancer from getting worse. This has given me a lot of hope for my future, since I have not needed to start a PARP inhibitor yet.

BRCA2 is not a death sentence, you have many years of treatments that work available to you. They keep coming out with new treatments every couple of years. For you a PARP inhibitor can give you more time than you thought, and you don’t need to take it yet.

Journey begins. None of us want PC Stage 4. How many times have we heard "It can't be cured but can be treated?" ADT enters our life. It can be a dramatic game changer, for me it was. I am 5 years in on this journey that can't be cured but can be treated. Wellness becomes a blessing. Walking, Resistance/Weights Training, Nutrition, and Mindfulness become vital to the PC Stage 4 life. I've added two more: (1) Buddies, and (2) Writing.
I've discovered building a large group of buddies really helps our own healing. We can't be cured, but we can heal ourselves in multiple ways. I find Buddy smiles, conversations, acknowledgements, greetings, eye contact, epically helpful. I am happily 70+ years old mostly because of the gifts that friendship gives us.
My Palliative Physiologist gave me the idea of PC Stage 4 gives us a new chapter to write about in our life journey. The more we write about it and share that writing with other PC Stage survivors the better we all become because even in our fragile state of being sincerity helps makes us whole agin. Much joy.

Are you going to be on ADT forever or on and off ? The PSA down SO MUCH - Great Job there ! Keep positive . Workout and go for long hikes if you can . I have two dogs so hiking is a natural for me on Vancouver Island . Helps cleanse the mind too ! The Dogs actually can sense my good days and bad too I think. I have never been on ADT but had the operation 3 years ago , then 22 sessions of Salvage radiation 2 years ago . PSA is now sliding down . Now at 0.031 . Dr's seem happy ! I still stress about it though as dad and grandfather both died from PC . Hence, I caught mine early with yearly PSA checks and stuff . Your doing well ...keep at it !!! I hear ADT can be a emotional ride at tie . God Bless you Sir ! James

For me, the mental side effects of ADT were the worst part. I hardly had any physical side effects at all other than insomnia and occasional chills. No hot flashes or anything like that, but did have a really bad depression and some suicidal ideation, and loss of concentration/forgetting things. When things got really bad, I went to a therapist and was put on Wellbutrin which initially helped with the concentration issue and then about a month later helped bring the depression under control. If you have these kinds of feelings I would seek help for them sooner rather than waiting as most meds for anxiety and depression take at least 4-5 weeks to start working.

It may seem like your “crying about nothing”, still there is something deep you are grieving. Perhaps it is loss of your identity as a virile male. Perhaps it is fear of dying. Both would be understandable. There could be other reasons as well. This is a great time to “start digging”. Finding out the truth about oneself is always a rewarding experience.

It may seem like your “crying about nothing”, still there is something deep you are grieving. Perhaps it is loss of your identity as a virile male. Perhaps it is fear of dying. Both would be understandable. There could be other reasons as well. This is a great time to “start digging”. Finding out the truth about oneself is always a rewarding experience.