Lupron or Not at 76?

Posted by tbgb50 @tbgb50, Aug 1 10:36am

Background - biopsy in 2022 was completely clean. Biopsy in 2026, Gleason 9. PET shows cancer is localized.

Had first appointment with oncologist yesterday. Recommended 5 weeks of Photon radiation treatments and 2 years of Lupron. I'm fine with the radiation but:

I was told the success rate is 80% for the radiation and another 5% with the Lupron. One problem is the 80% success rate is not based on age groups so it's difficult to decide if the Lupron is worth it because:

I was told at 76 the 'recovery period' for Lupron = the amount of time you get the treatment. So 2 years of treatment + 2 years of recovery = 4 years. I'd be 80 and I was told at this age you often don't see the side effects of Lupron reverse so it seems high risk for not much reward.

Am I thinking about this correctly?

Has anyone roughly my age gone with Lupron and really regretted it? Why

THANKS!

FWIW at this point I need to decided between:

Radiation only
Radiation + 1 year of Lupron (my idea)
Radiation + 2 years of Lupron (recommendation from urologist and oncologist).

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Profile picture for pesquallie @pesquallie

@paullvlc

Good move. I was in the same boat as you at age 82 and started Lupron after 44 radiation treatments. Side effects from the Lupron ADT were horrible and I thought I was going to die after just 4 months. It has taken 14 months and TRT (Testosterone Replacement Treatment) to get rid of most of the side effects. There is currently a big cloud over Lupron treatments especially if you are over 80 like me.

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@pesquallie

I was about 85 when I took only 2 shots of Lupron and stopped.

Four years later, I STILL have not recovered my normal walking mobility.

My nurse practitioner said that testosterone replacement might cause more cancer.

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