Connect
Why Doesn't Chemotherapy (docitaxel) Kill All Cancer Cells?
Why does chemotherapy kill so many cells, but the prostate tumor itself (SUV) remains almost untouched and only shrinks by 10-20%?
I had six sessions and then two more, and the tumor still persisted. Only apalutamide, according to the PSA, weakened it.
The doctors told me that a cyst or something similar was forming instead of a tumor. The prostate itself has shrunk. This is all based on the ultrasound examination of the prostate.
Still, I wonder why Chemotherapy (docitaxel) Doesn't Kill All Cancer Cells?
Chemistry shoots sparrows from a cannon and misses? Right?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.
Connect
@heavyphil
Thanks for sharing that story - it is always so nice to hear about successful treatment of any cancer. 👍
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@clevelandguy Not everyone has those side effects from chemo. My husband had docetaxel, six rounds every three weeks, and never had nausea or mouth sores. He did lose his body hair and the hair on his head, but they grew back. His main side effect was heavy fatigue during the first week after each infusion; by the end of the third week after each infusion, he felt pretty decent. Of course then it was time for the next infusion....
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 Reactions@clevelandguy
There are a number of descriptions of chemo side effects.
Chemo does not change your life, Yes, while you are on it, it can be not too bad or a real pain, Again, no two people are the same. I was in an Ancan.org Advanced prostate cancer meeting and one guy came in and said he was doing chemo but after doing chemo, for 10 days, he couldn’t eat food, didn’t taste good. He lost a lot of weight then he’d have a few days where he’d recovered completely, ate a lot of food, then back to the next chemo session. The other people that said they were just uncomfortable for a few days after, had to rest to recover.
Some more personal experiences
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1379518/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1380026/
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionEveryone has their own opinions and know people that have been on it. Some have bad experiences, some tolerable. My next door neighbor had chemo, mouth sores, loss of appetite, loss of energy ect. My sister in law had chemo, hair loss, fatigue, blood playlet problems plus a bone marrow transplant. I don’t think that my sister in law would agree chemo does not change your life. If you look up some of the long term effects it’s not good. I can’t imagine what it is like to be doing chemo with ADT. I don’t think I would do them together, but each person is different.
Dave 3+4
Why? —> Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment - it circulates through the bloodstream to attack rapidly dividing cells throughout the entire body, shrinking and killing metastatic lesions by reaching them easily.
However, the primary lesion in the prostate often proves resistant because the dense, unique microenvironment of the prostate gland physically protects cancer cells and promotes chemotherapy resistance.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions