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Lupron Treatment Duration: How long were you on it?
I have been diagnosed with Grade 3 prostate cancer with a 4 + 3 Gleason score of 7. This after having 2 PSA scores last year between 4 and 7. The cancer has not spread to the bones. I have received two Lupron injections 3 months apart and will complete 28 radiation treatments in the next couple of days. No surgery. I have tolerated the Lupron shots well with few but manageable side effects. I have an appointment to receive a third Lupron shot next month. My first PSA test after completing radiation won't be scheduled for 3 months. From researching Lupron, it appears that this is used for advanced stages of prostate cancer. From what I was led to believe, I was not advanced. My question: How long and how many Lupron shots might I need to go through? I will have this discussion with my urologist hopefully before proceeding with the next shot. Thanks for any information provided by the group.
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Lupron and general health question.
I've decided to terminate further Lupron at 1 yr post radiation. It's primarily a quality of life issue: gone is the healthy male body. Currently, I have gained and redistributed 12 pounds, 2 inches in the waist, and even an inch in my neck!. Muscles have shrunk. I have lost all muscle strength (particularly my legs), stamina, and lung capacity. It's really ugly. I want to go back to weights in the gym, but to be completely honest, I feel embarrassed by what has happened to me, and I suspect it would be a waste of time.
Here's my question, and it's hardly a new one. Is there much point in returning to the gym.? How much, if any, of my strength and stamina can I get back? In past months, I've really not seen encouraging or convincing replies to this question.
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For those who want details:
Lupron 3 months prior to Viewray radiation:
PSA went from 7 to 3 ng/mL
Testosterone to < 6 ng/mL (reference 200 - 1000ng/mL)
Five months later, having had my second Lupron dose, and now plus two months post radiation:
PSA < 0.01 ng/mL
Testosterone < 6 ng/mL
Diagnosis: PSA 7 after 3 years rising. Two lesions Gleason 9. Clean PSMA PET
76 years old, RP, Lupron and Erleada 12 months ( none of that was bad) . PSA .01, testosterone 19, feeling good and hoping to stay that way. Good Luck !
Xtandi has grants. I get mine for free for a year and they reimbursed me for the money we paid this year.
Blood analysis can identify and measure the testosterone and psa in the blood. Are there any blood tests to determine the amount of Lupron in the blood? It would be helpful to know this value in determining whether to discontinue or temporarily stop Lupron use .
You don't mention your age. It makes a difference if you are over 70 weather you really needed Lupron at at being that you have intermediate risk prostate cancer and since you are doing 28 treatments it sounds like you are having proton radiation. You can Google studies about the need for ADT in men over 70. The studies show it makes almost no difference in biochemical reoccurrence or overall survival.
I am facing surgery on Aug. 3 to cut the little basta-d our and am on Lupron for a month now. I am 70. This Lupron will stay in your body for a year or longer once you stop it so up to you bud. I don't like it at all but it does kill cancer or stop it a lot.
Yes, is the short answer.
To this nonmedically trained 73 yr old layperson, there are challenging decions to be made.
It seems that HT is being used in many ways today and for varying lengths of time, and intermittent treatment is one.
Why not try it?
Was 12.9 your highest PSA reading?
What diagnosis and tx path has lead you to this point?
Where are you being treated and what options have been presented to you?
Quality of life is an important issue for all of us with PCa.
As a G9 patient, I am concerned with aggressive growth without tx, and after BCR following RP, waiting/hoping for my HT side effects to diminish after salvage radiation and 4 mos of Orgovyx.
Would radiation be a tx option for you w/o HT, or with a short course of HT?
I think that you are asking the right questions, and all of us are seeking answers.
Best wishes.
This is perhaps off topic, but I have never noticed a posting about age being a factor when deciding to continue with Hormone Therapy. In Oct I will have had 9 months of Lupron treatments. Treatment plan is 36 months. My PSA has dropped from 12.9 to .09. Gleason was 4 - 4 total 8. Cancer confined to Prostate. I am 85 and in good health for my age (whatever that means) HT is affecting my strength and possibly short term memory. Additional leg weakness could put me in a wheel chair as I also have Peripheral Neuropathy. My question - being I am 85 and my life ahead is short, can an argument be made to do 12 months of HT and then if my PSA number goes up, return to HT? Thoughts???
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2 ReactionsIt is all about the money!!
I was diagnosed with PC in Oct 2020 and was given eligard that day. I started my first treatment of 44 with radiation. I have been getting eligard shots every 6 months since. Had my latest one in April 2023 and I think I'll get another in Oct this year. I have zero side effects and my blood count is .1. My VA Dr. said these shots will help keep me alive and I said "just keep them coming".
Hope this helps someone.
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