1. < Prostate Cancer

The Age Old Question, what do you mean when you say ...cured!?

Posted by kujhawk1978 @kujhawk1978, Jun 3 3:38pm

Thought this was interesting.

I see a lot of posts about whether or not a treatment will "cure" one's PCa.

There is generally no issue when truly confined to the prostate and surgery as to a "cure." I have two friends who now 12 years later see their urologist once a year and go on their merry way.

The debate comes in when PCa is outside the prostate, particularly in the Oligometastatic disease (OMD) state.

With newer agents, combination therapies, can we cure or manage advanced PCa? I'm in the latter camp.

Many clinical trials seem to use progression free, radiographic free survival vice overall survival since they are easier (time and money) to measure.

I am 11+ years into my journey. I think I am here because of the advances in managing advanced PCa though if a curative treatment were in the realm of the possibility, I'm in!

Meanwhile, as many on this forum know, I suck it up, do the treatment for defined periods, enjoy my time off treatment and have lived a lot in these 11+ years, a far cry from that infamous day, 23 January 2014 when my urologist called me about the results of my biopsy...you have PCa and it's pretty aggressive, ouch!
https://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/fulltext/2025/06000/finding_a_single_definition_for__cure_.8.aspx

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

kujhawk1978 | @kujhawk1978 | Jun 6 9:58am
In reply to @wooldridgec "The 5-year relative survival rate for stage 4 prostate cancer, according to the SEER data, is..." + (show)
@wooldridgec

The 5-year relative survival rate for stage 4 prostate cancer, according to the SEER data, is around 30-32% according to SERO and the American Cancer Society https://treatcancer.com/blog/prostate-cancer-survival-rates/.

I am agreeing that these number are now obsolete. With the advancement of treatments the 5 year survival rate for stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer has raised significantly.

What I was trying to communicate is that the SEER data was primarily not solely based on ADT as the main treatment.

The stats for triplet therapy are still coming into focus and are much better than the SEER data statistics.

The point I am trying to make is this, when I was diagnosed the Oncologist told me, do not look on the internet for how long you can live with stage 4 prostate cancer. Those stats are old and now obsolete due to the advances in the last 6 years. I was told everyone's different and if I responded it was possible to treat this disease as a chronic illness. That was in 2022.

To me that is encouraging and makes me feel I have hope for the future. There is hope.

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Got it, thanx

Today is better than yesterday, likely tomorrow is better!

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1 reply
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jun 6 12:21pm
In reply to @kujhawk1978 "Got it, thanx Today is better than yesterday, likely tomorrow is better!" + (show)
@kujhawk1978

Got it, thanx

Today is better than yesterday, likely tomorrow is better!

Jump to this post

"Today is better than yesterday, likely tomorrow is better!"

Exactly. Our goal is to live long enough for the next generation of new treatments to help us live long enough for the next…

Or, in other words, 5 years can get you 10. That's a strong incentive to keep fighting, even with stage 4. ❤️

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Sicetnon3 | @sicernon3 | Jun 9 9:12am
In reply to @heavyphil "Cured, to me, means that something else killed you before your PCa did!" + (show)
@heavyphil

Cured, to me, means that something else killed you before your PCa did!

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Yes, I have heard that “…more people die with prostate cancer than from it.”

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1 reply
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jun 9 8:28pm
In reply to @sicernon3 "Yes, I have heard that “…more people die with prostate cancer than from it.”" + (show)
@sicernon3

Yes, I have heard that “…more people die with prostate cancer than from it.”

Jump to this post

❝more people die with prostate cancer than from it❞

Yes. That didn't use to apply to those of us with metastatic prostate cancer, but there's mounting evidence that we might also get to join the "with" club. 🤞

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Sicetnon3 | @sicernon3 | Jun 10 9:52am

With your optimistic attitude I am sure of it…

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kenshabby | @kenshabby | Jun 10 10:37am
In reply to @bens1 "My RO said that the word "cured" is basically a misnomer. You are cured for that..." + (show)
@bens1

My RO said that the word "cured" is basically a misnomer. You are cured for that day.

It has been 2+ years for me but I find that every 3 months, I get a little stressed out waiting for my PSA results but other than that, Prostate cancer is not on my mind. I will do a 30 second elevator pitch, at times, to people I meet on the golf course, about the importance of testing. I also consider myself in a far better position medically, than many others including others on Mayo connect and of some family and friends.

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Why TF didn’t anyone give me that elevator pitch?

I’m high risk for colon cancer & told anyone who’d listen last 30+ years to get checked

I was ignorant about PC and am now stage IV

Ultimately my responsibility but a little help from a friend or a DOCTOR would’ve changed my life

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