Started Hormone Therapy Today

This turns out to be more complex than one would hope. They want to give a certain number of Gy Over a certain number of sessions. The thing is, there’s no real consistency to the exact treatment since they use a formula to figure out the Gy and session, and there can be variation to receiving the same result.

How do radiation oncologists make sense of these numbers? First, it is important to note that both the total dose and the dose-per-fraction influence the overall intensity of the treatment. In fact, there is a formula that takes these two factors and computes a single number that quantifies the overall strength of the treatment. For instance, this formula predicts that for breast cancer, giving 45 Gy over 25 sessions is about equal to giving 40 Gy over 15 sessions. In other words, even if radiation clinic A uses the first combination of dose and session number while radiation clinic B uses the second combination, the overall effect of the treatment on the cancer is the same in both cases.

Jeff, I know you do a lot of research and I appreciate your answers. Here is the results of a study by Duke University, a very well known cancer research center. This may be great news for a lot of us!
https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/study-solves-testosterones-paradoxical-effects-prostate-cancer

It will work. Avoid the next one. Get Orgovyx, or if your insurance company is delaying it get a 3 Month Lupron or Eligard shot. It has no more side effects, I got them for six years and never really noticed the shot, unless I pressed right on the spot they put it in the first day. It goes in your upper thigh/hip.

That way after three months, you can probably get yourself on Orgovyx.

Hey Jeff. I'm sure you answered this somewhere in the history of this forum but ... did you ever become castrate resistant after 6 years?

Jeff, I know you do a lot of research and I appreciate your answers. Here is the results of a study by Duke University, a very well known cancer research center. This may be great news for a lot of us!
https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/study-solves-testosterones-paradoxical-effects-prostate-cancer

Have heard from doctors with regards to radiation that prostate cancer cells do not die until they divide. And it can take up to 2 years or more. This research says that testosterone is necessary for the cells to divide. So it sounds like letting testosterone rise during and or after radiation could help, assuming radiation got to enough of them.

It will work. Avoid the next one. Get Orgovyx, or if your insurance company is delaying it get a 3 Month Lupron or Eligard shot. It has no more side effects, I got them for six years and never really noticed the shot, unless I pressed right on the spot they put it in the first day. It goes in your upper thigh/hip.

That way after three months, you can probably get yourself on Orgovyx.

We are hoping to transition to Orgovox but local GU Onc is concerned insurance won’t approve - what is this about? Seeing the charge for Firmagon injection/insusioncenter visit is $6k+ each time, is Orgovix pill rhat pricey? I do know the Nubeqa is nuttyhigh price.

It’s not quite that simple, Testosterone Really isn’t essential.

While prostate cancer cells often rely on testosterone for growth, radiation therapy for prostate cancer doesn't directly require testosterone to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy works by damaging the DNA of cancer cells, leading to their death, regardless of their testosterone dependence. However, hormone therapy, which reduces testosterone levels, is often used in conjunction with radiation to enhance its effectiveness, particularly for cancers that are more likely to be sensitive to hormone manipulation like prostate cancer.

Combining ADT with radiation may enhance treatment effectiveness by interfering with DNA repair mechanisms and inducing a more effective cell kill within the radiated area.

Sounds like it’s testosterone dependent for the cells to divide and either die or survive.