Can anyone share their experience with Pluvicto?

Posted by vcash @vcash, Apr 22, 2024

My 85 year old dad has prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. Zytiga is no longer effective. He is considering Pluvicto. I would appreciate input from those who have used Pluvicto.

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Profile picture for jamesjjc @jamesjjc

I am heading to Rochester tomorrow for my #6 Pluvicto treatment. My journey started in March of 2020 with a PSA of 31 and 13 of 13 cancer positive specimens from the biopsy. 4+5 9 Gleason with seminal vessel involvement. My PET scan showed no metastatic spread. I started on ADT with the monthly injections. My PSA went down to a 1.0 and we then had Brachytherapy down at University of Nebraska Medical Center. My PSA was undetectable for another 2 years while I continued the ADT and added Zytiga for the final year. Went off the therapies in August of 2024. Had a PSA check in March of 2025 that showed the recurrence. My PSA showed an 8. Waited another 3 months for another PSA and it showed an 8.4 PSA. Went down and had a PET a month later that showed bone mets in 5 different places. PSA was 9.4. They basically told me I had 3to 6 years to live. I decided that wasnt going to cut it and I went to Mayo Clinic and Dr. Kwan. Started the ADT back up with Lupron and Nubeqa. Started Chemo Oct.1 2025 and finished mid January 2026. PSA went to undetectable within the first couple treatments. Although I showed undetectable, the PET still lit 3 mets. The team decided to go with Pluvicto to clean up the lesions for good. My PET in a month and a half should hopfully be dark. I am a 67 year old dude that is in pretty good physical condition. I have now been on ADT for over 4 years and have tolerated it very well. Pluvicto has actually had more side effects for me than chemo had. I have had more fatigue and food and drink dont taste great. Choke down a beer every once in awhile. My response to all my treatments has been the key. I have never had any pain in connection to the cancer (even the Mets, and I had a large lesion on my spine) and my liver, and kidney numbers are awesome. My PSA was already undetectable when I started Pluvicto so I am not the typical. My team says lets get this sh*t while the getting is good !

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@jamesjjc
I see you are on ADT but are you also on an ARPI now? You definitely should be on one based on the standards of care. If You have a choice Nubeqa Has the least side effects most people have none. If you’re still on zytiga And it’s working for you without too many side effects Then you could continue it. I personally would want to switch after having been on Zytiga for 2 1/2 years and Nubeqa for 3.

The two drugs together could keep you undetectable for a long time and make your doctor eat his words. Doctor should never tell people how long they’re going to live with prostate cancer, It is so frequently wrong.

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I am heading to Rochester tomorrow for my #6 Pluvicto treatment. My journey started in March of 2020 with a PSA of 31 and 13 of 13 cancer positive specimens from the biopsy. 4+5 9 Gleason with seminal vessel involvement. My PET scan showed no metastatic spread. I started on ADT with the monthly injections. My PSA went down to a 1.0 and we then had Brachytherapy down at University of Nebraska Medical Center. My PSA was undetectable for another 2 years while I continued the ADT and added Zytiga for the final year. Went off the therapies in August of 2024. Had a PSA check in March of 2025 that showed the recurrence. My PSA showed an 8. Waited another 3 months for another PSA and it showed an 8.4 PSA. Went down and had a PET a month later that showed bone mets in 5 different places. PSA was 9.4. They basically told me I had 3to 6 years to live. I decided that wasnt going to cut it and I went to Mayo Clinic and Dr. Kwan. Started the ADT back up with Lupron and Nubeqa. Started Chemo Oct.1 2025 and finished mid January 2026. PSA went to undetectable within the first couple treatments. Although I showed undetectable, the PET still lit 3 mets. The team decided to go with Pluvicto to clean up the lesions for good. My PET in a month and a half should hopfully be dark. I am a 67 year old dude that is in pretty good physical condition. I have now been on ADT for over 4 years and have tolerated it very well. Pluvicto has actually had more side effects for me than chemo had. I have had more fatigue and food and drink dont taste great. Choke down a beer every once in awhile. My response to all my treatments has been the key. I have never had any pain in connection to the cancer (even the Mets, and I had a large lesion on my spine) and my liver, and kidney numbers are awesome. My PSA was already undetectable when I started Pluvicto so I am not the typical. My team says lets get this sh*t while the getting is good !

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Profile picture for rosedl @rosedl

Following this as my 81 y.o. father just received injection 1 of 6 today. Wondering if anyone else has been a caretaker with someone currently unable to walk due to metastases and how you handle/handled the 3 feet distance and what precautions or extra steps you took or suggest as most of the guidelines are simply impossible and were advised to do the best we can. Thanks in advance for reading.

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@rosedl how’s your dad doing

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Profile picture for kathyk46 @kathyk46

@colleenyoung
Thanks for the concern Colleen. Pluvicto treatment will not be done. He recently feel & broke his hip-he now has a matched set-other hip replaced due to fall in December 2025. He is still in rehab. My hope and prayer is that he embrace life & live each day as best he can. At 86 and myself at 80 life is good and I am very grateful for all we have.

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@kathyk46, life and its curve balls. So sorry to hear that he fell and broke his hip. Embracing life and living each as best one can is a good motto to live by. 💚

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Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung

@kathyk46, that sounds like a very challenging sitution and hard decision making. It sounds like your husband is determined to take Pluvicto. Has his oncologist been clear about the potential side effects of treatment keeping in mind his specific health status? Have you been able to find a 24 hour carer or nurse who can care for him for the 3 days after each treatment?

How are you doing?

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@colleenyoung
Thanks for the concern Colleen. Pluvicto treatment will not be done. He recently feel & broke his hip-he now has a matched set-other hip replaced due to fall in December 2025. He is still in rehab. My hope and prayer is that he embrace life & live each day as best he can. At 86 and myself at 80 life is good and I am very grateful for all we have.

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Profile picture for kathyk46 @kathyk46

Husband is 86 yrs old, pluvicto is being strongly recommended as all other treatments have run their course. He has ALL with Philadelphia Positive Chromosome which is in clinical recession, high blood pressure, depressive,
Diabetic, kidney disease, very low heart rate, anemia which he gets transfusions for, and is 100% incontinent. He is very fatigued due to medications for all of the above. Cath would be used but because of side effects making him more weak he needs a caregiver who would probably be in close proximity during the first 3 days while attending to cleaning him & flushing the urine down toilet & cleaning up any vomit or spills.
At 80 yrs of age I do not want the exposure to radiation nor do I have the physical reserve to empty cath bag every 2 hrs. Around the clock for 3 days.
Has anyone had any experience on managing all of this. He wants to stay at our camp home for the 3 days but Dr. said he needs a caregiver & I cannot do it. Not sure how quality of life will improve with Pluvicto treatment & hoping he can find a caregiver as he wants the treatment.

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@kathyk46, that sounds like a very challenging sitution and hard decision making. It sounds like your husband is determined to take Pluvicto. Has his oncologist been clear about the potential side effects of treatment keeping in mind his specific health status? Have you been able to find a 24 hour carer or nurse who can care for him for the 3 days after each treatment?

How are you doing?

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Husband is 86 yrs old, pluvicto is being strongly recommended as all other treatments have run their course. He has ALL with Philadelphia Positive Chromosome which is in clinical recession, high blood pressure, depressive,
Diabetic, kidney disease, very low heart rate, anemia which he gets transfusions for, and is 100% incontinent. He is very fatigued due to medications for all of the above. Cath would be used but because of side effects making him more weak he needs a caregiver who would probably be in close proximity during the first 3 days while attending to cleaning him & flushing the urine down toilet & cleaning up any vomit or spills.
At 80 yrs of age I do not want the exposure to radiation nor do I have the physical reserve to empty cath bag every 2 hrs. Around the clock for 3 days.
Has anyone had any experience on managing all of this. He wants to stay at our camp home for the 3 days but Dr. said he needs a caregiver & I cannot do it. Not sure how quality of life will improve with Pluvicto treatment & hoping he can find a caregiver as he wants the treatment.

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Profile picture for cencalwife @cencalwife

That's so inspiring, thanks for sharing!! Are you still on any type of treatment?

I can see you're a fighter and that makes (at least in my eyes) all the difference in the world. Yet, as we know, not everyone has that fight and I feel it makes the outcome or at least the journey much more difficult than it needs to be. Who am I? I'm not the one with the health issues, although I did have to have a radical nephrectomy only 3mos prior to his diagnosis, thankfully no treatment and no more cancer.

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@cencalwife Yes, I'm still on ADT (Orgovyx) and an ARSI (Erleada). And as you suggest, being willing to fight is only half the story, if that.

I had a childhood friend diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021, the same year I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. He fought hard too, and initially, he was doing much better than I was (he'd ride his bike over to visit when I could barely shuffle onto the front porch using a walker, and was even thinking about dating). But his cancer took him in 2023, while mine is in full (medically-supported) remission.

A lot of it is just dumb luck. I tolerate ADT and Erleada well —just the normal side-effects like hot flushes, weight gain, gynocomastia, etc. — and because of that, I've been able to stay on them for nearly 5 years now.

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That's so inspiring, thanks for sharing!! Are you still on any type of treatment?

I can see you're a fighter and that makes (at least in my eyes) all the difference in the world. Yet, as we know, not everyone has that fight and I feel it makes the outcome or at least the journey much more difficult than it needs to be. Who am I? I'm not the one with the health issues, although I did have to have a radical nephrectomy only 3mos prior to his diagnosis, thankfully no treatment and no more cancer.

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Profile picture for cencalwife @cencalwife

@northoftheborder

Thank you for the reply, it's always an "unknown," such is life, right?!

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@cencalwife Exactly. You never know.

I was diagnosed with de-novo bone-metastatic prostate cancer at age 56. I had just one metastasis (unlike your husband), but since it was on my spine and growing rapidly, it almost left me permanently paraplegic; they operated just in time, and even then, I wasn't walking unassisted again for about 2 years.

I didn't even know the odds of anything at the time, because events happened so fast — it was 2 days between

"The MRI shows a growth on your spine, possibly some type of cancer"

and

"Nurse, I just woke up from a nap and I can't move my legs"

so I didn't look like a promising case when I first met my oncologist (they wheeled me in flat on a stretcher, with a suction tube down my nose because my digestive system had shut down post-surgery and pin-pricks in my fingers due to steroid-induced diabetes). But I figured that because I was only 56, it was worth a fight, so I told the oncologists to give it everything they've got, and somehow, they believed I was serious, instead of just putting me on mild, palliative care to keep me comfortable.

Almost 5 years later, I'm still here … and walking again … and carrying my first grandson around, something I didn't expect to experience when they told me in 2021 I had 3–5 years to live (he turns 6 months old tomorrow).

So, forgive my French, but screw the odds.

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