Lupron Treatment Duration: How long were you on it?

You may want to read "Radiotherapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy in intermediate risk prostate cancer." It says there is no advantage in Biochemical relapse free survival in patients older than 70 years old. Since you are 84 I thought you might want to read the article. You are much more likely to die from the Lupron than the prostate cancer.

I wonder why the age and general health of a person diagnosed with PC never seems to be mentioned as a factor for HT. In my case, at 84 I completed 28 days of radiation, started on HT about a month before the radiation. My care plan recommends a minimum of 18 months of HT, but suggests 24 months would be idea. For my age, my health is fair to good.

The question I asked the urologist - can an argument be made, because of my age, am I exposing myself to another risk? i.e. Injury from a fall because of my weakened muscles as the result of HT. (plus losing muscle strength because of aging) This would of course make my EOL experience more challenging. It seems to me, a patients age and general health don't seem to be part of the calculus. Your thoughts...?

Glad you are a Lions fan. I trained in Endocrinology at Henry Ford Hospital and I enjoyed my time in Detroit. Keep going. Trust God and stay positive. It’s a mind game sometimes fighting cancer.

Thank you for your reply. I’m in the process of buying a new house for my family. I would like to be able to enjoy it with them for a while. I’m looking forward to the Detroit Lions going to a Super Bowl 😀

Do not give up. Fight for yourself and your family. They need you around. You are young. Do not think about mistakes. That’s in the rear view mirror . Be positive and hope for the best. We all fight. I will pray for you. And others too. Never lose hope.

Hi @ronmcq1, I add my welcome along with @hbp and @kujhawk1978's helpful posts.

I moved your question about how long to take Lupron and if it is a treatment for life to this existing discussion:
- Lupron Treatment Duration: How long were you on it https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/lupron-treatment-duration/

I did this so you can see the previous experiences other members have shared and connect with them easily.

Lupron is a treatment that generates a lot of question in the journey with prostate cancer. When I used the Search in the group, I found over 60 Lupron-related discussions. I hope they are helpful as you continue to share your experiences.

I am myself diagnosed with PC and just did my 5th day of EBR today, and 32 more to go. I took the first shot, and the doctor told me that i'll have to be on it for at least two years. To which I told him about the side effects I became aware of. This pushed him to admit that there are side effects.

My goal is to avoid taking even the second shot. I did (and am still doing) some homework and use on NATURAL alternatives to using Leuproreline (same function as Lupron) and thus keep my body free from PC and keep my PSA low.

A friend of mine, who had cancer but is now cancerfree, recommended me to keep my body in an ALCALINE state. Cancer cannot prosper in an alcaline body. He (and now me too) uses Apple Cider Vinegar, two teaspoons everday in a cup of water. He and I drink it through a straw to go strait to the throath and avoid the bitter taste.

Next to that on a daily basis I make tea from Moringa Leaves and eat the beans (3).
Also I eat soursap and make tea from the leaves.

Yesterday in a conversation with a relative we found out that he had PC 5 years ago. He's using moringa beans and soursap leaves and it has kept his PSA under 4. This made his doctor remark that he doesn't know what my relative is doing, but it works. This for me is a confirmation that what I'm doing will help me achieve my goal, which is to be PC free and have a low PSA and not be on medicines and live a healthy life.

I have both a Moringa tree and a soursap tree at home. Thus I'm making full use of them on a daily basis. With the goal to not be needing to even take the second shot.

Google "Benefits of Moringa for Men"

I had stage 4 but with metastasis to 1 distant lymph node and several areas in the pelvis. My scan is now clean (after 16 months on Lupron, 6 rounds of chemo and radiation.)
…And I was told that I’d likely be on it 2-3 more years depending on my future scans an bloodwork and my tolerance.

You may want to consider throwing the BS penalty flag on that nurse.

Why would she say that...I would say long ago and far away that was the standard of care...no longer.

First question, based on the clinical data you provide in your post, is your medical team doing more than monotherapy? If not, do some reading about doublet or triplet therapy - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36058809/

Next, read the NCCN guidelines, those are the baseline or standard of care for the various stages of PCa.

Then, do some reading about intermittent versus continuous ADT, it may not be inferior in terms of overall survival and have some advantages, reducing the chance of becoming castrate resistant, quality of life when off ADT....https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26378418/

Rather than pre-supposing a lifetime of ADT, I would let the clinical data decide. Your initial treatment may be 18-24 months (remember the doublet or triplet, not mono therapy!), based on your response and the clinical data, you could discuss coming off treatment, actively monitoring with labs and conults every two to four months and decision criteria for going back on.

Here's my clinical history, my medical team knows not to throw "lifetime ADT" into their recommendations, neither should yours at this point in your journey, so old school.

Kevin

This advise is no surprise as I heard it many times and it probably will apply to me too,