Great News Steve,

It looks like your odds for living 10 years have increased 2X to a 50/50
chance for living 20 years. Surely by then PCa will be controllable for
life - most likely cured.

Sounds like your going to be one of those people whose psa stays >0.1 for
numerous years or a decade.

Wishing you the best.

Dave P.

hi steve - that is very good news.  i remember when a person only had
about 1/2 the time (less than 5 years) and that was considered good.  

by the time you get 10 years down the road, they may have something else
developed by then that we don't know and it can knock the pca out as you
would a common cold.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."

This is great news, Steve!  I'm glad the Lupron seems to be working so well.

Question, though.  If the Taxotere will kill the few refractory cells that
remain, why not take the Taxotere along with the Lupron for a period of
time?  From all I read and hear, seems Taxotere shows a lot of promise!

Take care!
MikeH

Hi Steve...First of all congratulations on the great news and
prognosis!  One thing about this disease is that it can provide you
with times when you know what feeling good is all about!

There has been a lot of discussion over the years on the pros and cons
of HT versus IHT.  It's not clear that the "answer" is known at this
time, but a small, interesting study appeared about two years ago.
I've reproduced the abstract below.  The study suggests that there may
be a very significant advantage with IHT in terms of slowing disease
progression.  The nice thing about the study is that it was done in a
randomized manner.  Hopefully, as the authors note, follow-on studies
will track a larger group for a longer time...Best wishes and good
health, Ron

Clin Prostate Cancer. 2002 Dec;1(3):163-71
 
Intermittent versus continuous total androgen blockade in the
treatment of patients with advanced hormone-naive prostate cancer:
results of a prospective randomized multicenter trial.

de Leval J, Boca P, Yousef E, Nicolas H, Jeukenne M, Seidel L,
Bouffioux C, Coppens L, Bonnet P, Andrianne R, Wlatregny D.

Department of Urology, University Hospital, University of Liege,
Belgium.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of total
intermittent androgen deprivation (IAD) versus total continuous
androgen deprivation (CAD) for treating patients with advanced
prostate cancer in a phase III randomized trial. A total of 68
evaluable patients with hormone-naive advanced or relapsing prostate
cancer were randomized to receive combined androgen blockade according
to a continuous (n = 33) or intermittent (n = 35) regimen. Therapeutic
monitoring was assessed by use of serum prostate-specific antigen
(PSA) measurements. Patients in the CAD and IAD groups were equally
stratified for age, biopsy Gleason score, and baseline serum PSA
levels. The outcome variable was time to androgen-independence of the
tumor, which was defined as increasing serum PSA levels despite
androgen blockade. Mean follow-up was 30.8 months. The 35 IAD-treated
patients completed 91 cycles, and 19 of them (54.3%) completed > or =
3 cycles. Median cycle length and percentage of time off therapy were
9.0 months and 59.5, respectively. The estimated 3-year progression
rate was significantly lower in the IAD group (7.0% +/- 4.8%) than in
the CAD group (38.9% +/- 11.2%, P = 0.0052). Our data suggest that IAD
treatment may maintain the androgen-dependent state of advanced human
prostate cancer, as assessed by PSA measurements, at least as long as
CAD treatment. Further studies with longer follow-up times and larger
patient cohorts are needed to determine the comparative impacts of CAD
and IAD on survival.

P.S. I suspect the "91 cycles" might be >1 cycle...just a guess

Steve,

I'm glad to see you considering IHT.  My husband also is on Lupron
post RP and radiation.  His oncologist also recommended 2 yrs of
hormones but after being on them for 10 months and researching the
topic of IHT, we are going to approach the topic with our doctor.  I
think some doctors are hesitant right now to advocate IHT due to the
lack of long term data.  As you stated, attempts at regaining libido
is a large reason for IHT but there are also other advantages to be
gained.  During the off cycle, the hot flashes will lessen and
hopefully disappear.  You will be at less risk of osteoporosis,
hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.  Also, the energy level
will heighten and the weight will be easier to control.  I think the
continuous treatment is much more toxic to your body and there
potentially is a lot to be gained by giving your body a "rest". Just
my opinion!!

Sandi

Steve,

You must be one of the lucky ones for whom hormones work well. As you say, you
still have many good years to live. Congratulations!

Fernando