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Anyone take a Treatment Holiday? Intermittent use of ADT (hormone Tx)
I wish there was more info. on 'drug holidays' or 'intermittent use of ADT', with or without concurrent or prior surgery or radiation; especially as may relate to ADT 'orally alone' emphasizing Quality of Life, which may be a consideration particularly in order (over 75) men. I see plenty of discussion about side effects (common between ADT regimens it seems, whether injections or pills, which have lower long QT heart risk); but I see nothing dedicated to 'Orgovyx alone without any other treatment; and then 'if' one stops; and restarts... meaning is there an 'end point' of the course'; and then a patient does nothing more.
Maybe I saw one study in Japan; but not U.S. .. Again no discussion on say an older guy (over 75) taking Orgovyx … as ADT alone… without surgery or radiation. IE: QOL concern given it seems longevity is about the same (statistics don't help much; as once someone hits 80, longevity won't vary much regardless of treatment). So I'm wondering if 'ADT alone.. mono therapy' is a wise course. Also, is there info. on after successful year of treatment with Orgovyx and then PSA pops up a bit (say from .1 to 3. ..) will another few months restarted treatment be sufficient, and then 'do nothing' beyond. Or just skip it after going through a year of Orgovyx with the usual side effects (hot flashes etc.. )
May not be what supports clinics; but wonder if it's a quite reasonable choice (for 'localized' PC, Gleason Score 8; not metastasized). I have conflicting views from doctors; one for 'radiation' despite pacemaker; another: 'just pause the Orgo. and restart'; to lastly another doc: 'you had a course of Orgo; let things stabilize; enjoy life and don't think about it".
I realize there's no perfect answer; would appreciate reflections on this topic…especially if you did Orgovyx alone and stop and restarted or not. Thanks! I appreciate Coleen's efforts to help this group! (Lurking so far; my first post here ever.)
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Understanding Intermittent Hormone Therapy, Dr. Mark Scholz, Prostate Cancer Research Institute...
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2 ReactionsFor those of you who have been on an initial round of ADT for 6, 12 or 18 months (or whatever time period), and have then taken a break, how long were you able to stay off ADT before your PSA rose to the point where you had to resume ADT? I am Stage IV oligometastatic and my oncologist wants me to take a break from ADT after six months. Have also been through SBRT. Thank you in advance!
I know a lot of people that have done this and there is no one answer. Has your PSA been below .1 For a long time? If that’s true, then taking a holiday can make a lot of sense.
I know a few people that have taken more than one holiday. A couple of them have ended up with a few metastasis after the second time, but it’s been manageable for them. Some people don’t have to come back for many years, others have their PSA rise too much within nine months to a year and then have to get back on ADT.
Because you were metastatic You could have your cancer come back, but if you worked with Doctor Scholz, seen at PCRI, He would just zap whatever came back and send you on your way. He feels that Zapping whatever comes up is the best solution. Check out the last hour and a half of the most recent PCR I conference on YouTube and hear him talk about it.
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7 ReactionsI was on ADT for 4 years. Got down to 0.06 and then I took a 1-year vacation from ADT. It shot up to near 2.0 in one year, so I'm back on it.
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4 ReactionsOne year vacation is nice, Hope I get that lucky. ADT side effects are no fun. On my 5 th month of no ADT- all is well so far.
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3 ReactionsThat’s great!
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1 ReactionI was on Orgovyx for two full years, started with my salvage radiation treatment. For the last 18+ mos of that time my PSA was < 0.006, been on "holiday" for almost a year now (knocks wood) still < 0.006 at last blood test.
Best of Luck to you!
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3 ReactionsHow many radiation zaps do you typically need for a lesion ?
On Holiday- a treat from the Almighty!!!
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1 ReactionThey zapped me three times for a lesion on my L4 in the spine. They could’ve done it with one, but they wanted to use a little less radiation because of how it was wrapped around the L4.
So the number of zaps does vary, dependent on the lesion size and location.