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Anyone following a wait and see with a Gleason 3+3
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Aug 27 3:11pm | Replies (20)Comment receiving replies
Hi Jeff, before the cancer the testosterone injections took me within the normal range for men my age. I was off the T for three months and suffered from the symptoms of low T.
I just started back, and the Doc is expecting the PSA to rise some. But this alone is not an indication that the cancer is accelerating. Even without prostate cancer, I am told that testosterone injections cause PSA to rise some. I asked him if any of his patients on this regimen have seen an acceleration, and he told me that it is not statistically significant. The prevailing school of thought is that testosterone is to prostate cancer as gasoline is to fire, based on a study in the 1940's. However their are emerging studies that are showing this is not necessarily the case. He is one of the few Urologists that do this and he has had good success. Most urologists stop testosterone, or prescribe medicine that lowers testosterone levels when prostate cancer is detected. There are men who are ok with low T, and there are others who suffer more severe symptoms. Pretty much only places that will prescribe T for men with hypogonadism and early stage cancer are at these cancer researcher centers.
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Considering that everybody else on active surveillance has normal testosterone levels, It sure shouldn’t harm you to get yours normal again.
It definitely sounds like the doctors are overreacting, If they don’t think you should have testosterone when other people have it, in the same situation.
While I understand your dislike of low testosterone. The fact is that was the most effective way to stop prostate cancer from growing and spreading for people that are just getting started with prostate cancer recurrence or having Metastasis at diagnosis.
A lot of doctors don’t immediately put people on ADT when they have prostate cancer, it depends on the treatment they pick and where they go for it. A couple of months before radiation they frequently do put them on it because it reduces the size of the tumors and stops them from growing . It seems that when it comes to surgery, there’s a mixed result. I know before surgery I didn’t have ADT but before radiation they gave it to me, but just one shot.
I have been on ADT for eight years, Sure, there are some side effects, Hot flashes drive me nuts, and there are so many other things, but it sure has helped to keep my cancer under control.
It is true that in the last couple of years Darolutamide and Enzalutamide have been used without ADT and worked very well for many people. The studies that showed they can be used alone are very recent. We didn’t have a lot of choices just a few years ago. The Enzalutamide Arches Study did show that people had longer progression free, survival with ADT plus Enzalutamide.