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Metastic prostate Cancer Survivors - longevity and quality of life
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Sep 1, 2023 | Replies (124)Comment receiving replies
The diagnosis is hard to hear but medicine has come a long way. I was diagnosed over 8 years ago with stage 4 cancer. I am treated at Mayo Rochester and they always seem to have something new. I have had my prostate removed, 7 weeks of radiation, 5 weeks of radiation, SBRT 2 different times. I have been on Casodex then Lupron/Eligard since the beginning. I have taken Zytiga for over 2 years and when it quit working I started doing chemo treatments. After each treatment I live my life and hope for the best. This is my new normal but I don’t let cancer stop me. Everyone is given trials in life and this is mine. I don’t give up.
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Your situation sounds very similar to mine. 8 years of fighting this cancer. Anytime I go off treatment it comes back.
Early 2015:PSA 19. Gleason 9 with CT and bone scan clear. Radical Prostatectomy MD Anderson.
Early 2016 Biochemical reoccurrence and went into clinical trial at MD Anderson with Zytiga and Leuprolide for 8 months when CT and bone scan negative.
2017 off treatment with PSA slowly rising.
2018 PSA 3.5,scans still clear,crossed over to Leuprolide alone for 8 months(big mistake,I should have left that place)
Early 2019 off treatment with PSA again rising. Left MD Anderson for Mayo and first PET scan done(Choline) and received summer of salvage radiation with the ADT of course when cancer found in prostate bed.
2020 off treatment but as soon as testosterone started up so did the PSA.
2021 another summer of radiation and ADT when choline scan found some spots higher up. Then in
2022 testosterone did not recover well at all but when it barely did in January 2023 PSA up to 0.37 and choline scan showed spot on rib so received my 3rd. round of radiation to that area,one time dose. PSA 7 weeks later(today)
0.47 so I guess there’s still active cancer somewhere.
Anytime I have a testosterone level the PSA rises. The radiation treatments were a piece of cake but the drugs are knocking me on my ass despite my continued exercising. Back to Mayo in 6 weeks for my first PSMA scan.