Connect
← Return to Lupron Treatment Duration: How long were you on it?
Discussion
Lupron Treatment Duration: How long were you on it?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Aug 25 4:26pm | Replies (166)Comment receiving replies
I am a very frustrated wife, retired RN, and have followed his PC much more closely than all his Drs, it seems. We are 77, married 60yrs, but I feel more like about 60! He's been to a couple Urologists & several oncologists since 1st told his wait/watch PC had spread according to 1 CT. He was told he would live only 5yrs tops if he didn't have the Lupron shot! And so since 3/2021, it's gone on: PSA < 0.1 since that 1st shot. I remember > $5,000 is charged to Medicare every 3mos for over 4yrs, and I can't find anyone that doesn't want to continue "until it quits working"! I don't mean to ramble. Thanks for any support!
Replies to "I am a very frustrated wife, retired RN, and have followed his PC much more closely..."
Connect
What you’re facing is what happens to almost everybody on ADT. At some point, their PSA starts rising and they become what is called castrate resistance. It took me 2 1/2 years, which is the average. Once you hit Castrate resistant, you then must go on an ARSI (Zytiga or a Lutamide) Which then can keep your PSA down for even longer.
The thing is, they have found that if somebody goes on a lutamide like Apalutamide or Zytiga it can delay castrate resistance for more years. Your husband should discuss this with his doctor and maybe consider getting on an ARSI.
The median overall survival once you become castrate resistance is a little over two years. That means as many people last fewer than two years as last longer. I am six years past that point, But my cancer case was not as aggressive as your husband, and that is a major factor in longevity.
I’m also 77 now and started this when I was 62. I have the BRCA2 genetic problem, Which prevents my body from correcting genetic errors. It can lead to much shorter survival. As your husband been tested for genetic issues. You can get it for free at.
Prostatecancerpromise.org
It can make a big difference, knowing if you have a genetic problem there are drugs for certain genetic issues.
Somebody telling you you’re going to live only five years is absolute nonsense. I know so many guys with very serious prostate cancer cases that have lived Twice as long, and longer, than their estimates.
Do you know what your husband‘s Gleason score is? That is very important to know what the future can bring. Also, the details of the biopsy are very critical for understanding how critical a case is. If any of these were found in the biopsy intraductal, cribriform, Seminal vesicle invasion or ECE they make the cancer much more aggressive.
Hope this helps.