← Return to Experience with Triplet therapy followed by IMRT and SBRT

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Congrats on remaining undetectable! Did you do radiation to your metastases before you started hormone and chemo therapies? What did you experience during radiation? Did you have SBRT to mets?

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Replies to "Congrats on remaining undetectable! Did you do radiation to your metastases before you started hormone and..."

Yes. I had SBRT radiation to the bone mets to my spin and ribs before starting ADT, but while on Casodex for 30 days. The cancer manifested itself through intense pain in my back. That is why the doctors immediately started me on SRBT radiation. The radiation treatment for the first 5 cycles to the spin were easy. After 5 it got very difficult. I felt burned from the inside out and I struggled to eat and to keep weight on. The doctors forgot to radiate my ribs. So, after completing 10 cycles to my spin they immediately called me back to radiation the ribs for 5 additional cycles. I lost 35lbs. After the treatments were over, I would say 3-4 weeks later my appetite started returning and I was much better. But then I immediately started chemo. I was told by my doctors that starting chemo in the first 3 months of treatment was vital for overall treatment. My wife did some research before I started radiation and found Studies suggest that blueberry extract may enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy in treating certain cancers like prostate cancer. I do not regret getting radiation - but it was probably the most difficult treatment in my journey. Others that get radiation to the prostate bed do not have the same experience. It is much easier. I have a friend who just finished radiation of his prostate and prostate bed and he says it was easy. I think when you have radiation to the spin and ribs it is going to the organs and stomach which cause more challenges. So, in fact I have had quadruple therapy - radiation, ADT, ARSI (i.e., Nubeqa), and 10 cycles of Chemotherapy. Oh, I also get a shot of Xgeva every 6 weeks for my bones. July 27 is my birthday and the day I was diagnosed. I just want to get past it as I do not celebrate that day anymore. Again, treatment is between you and your doctor. Everyone's cancer is different. That is what scares me. It is unpredictable. Do not listen or accept anything on the internet. Many men with stage 4 prostate cancer live past the cancer and die of something else. Overall survival depends on several factors, how effective your treatment is, your age, and your overall health. My first doctor told me I could live, 5, 10, even 15 years with this disease. Another said he had people living with this disease 15, 20, and 25 years long but the average was about 6 to 7 years. Those stats were before triplet therapy and Nubega (i.e., Darolutamide). Right now the doctors do not know hw long men who have successfully completed triplet therapy will live. Because we are all still alive.