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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / November 2005A 5yr report
Greetings to everyone. I joined the group mid 2000.Besides the so called millennium computer problems for you PC people( Mac user here ), I had a tornado hit the town as well as confirmation of PCa. MDAnderson assigned Gleason 6 and T1C. Bracytherapy was selected but was aborted after problems with pubic arch. Due to age primarily, next up was cryotherapy on Dec 20, 2000 ( Merry Christmas ) by a full professor. Actually he was head of the clinic. “ All went well “ he stated in recovery room . However my PSA never nadired and it rose to 7.1. This was noted when I returned for a 6mos followup..The Professor immediately ordered staging biopsies , CT scan and bone scan . They were all negative .So he ordered my treatment on hormonal therapy. I have been on it since then and my psa has diminished to <0.1 assay performed by chemiluminometric method. I go to MDAnderson every 3mos for a psa and Zoladex injection. So that is what happened to me. I have followed Heather, Kramer, Meyers, Palmer, Freely ,as well as others since 2000. I have been impressed with the scientific knowledge as well as the practical advice issued by them as well as others. They have undoubtly helped many people. Best regards to all. Resp’y Scrapiro Hi there..... First of all, thank you for the kind words!! Even if you are a Mac user, lol. Your case sounds like Ron's. Except you don't say how long it was before you ran into the higher PSA problem. Ron was exactly one year. And his was soaring fast. His bone scan and CT scan also came back negative. But it was a sharp-eyed radiologist who spotted tiny lesions in his lungs. He went on Zoladex and Casodex immediately. Come to think of it, it was exactly one year ago that we got the bad news. First shot was Oct. 26th, 2004. Anyway....he is having some rather severe side effects (no energy or leg strength) and we are going back to the original rad onc for an evaluation on Nov. 8th. I am sure you saw my post. I have *fired* the local oncologist as well. I guess (on the positive side), the rising PSA was a blessing in disguise. He had absolutely no symptoms!! Others with lung cancer don't usually find out until it is further advanced. On the negative side, it metastasized...dammit. But I sure hope they can figure out why he is so weak. The chest x-ray in August showed no lesions at all in his lungs, so that was a relief. And he had a slew of blood tests, etc. and nothing abnormal really. Creatinine was a bit high. A lot of my medical knowledge comes from my father (a research veterinarian), who also used some of the old folk remedies as well. He always used to say that animals and humans get the same diseases....and he was right. Plus my sister and I looked after him for 4 years until he passed over at 90. I handled the medical emergencies, she handled his social life. He too had Pca....but I didn't realize that until Ron was diagnosed. Men of Dad's generation didn't talk about those things. But he did inform us (at age 80 or so) that he was going to have *his jewels removed*, but we didn't dare ask why. He died from general old age and congestive heart failure. Pca never entered the equation. Glad to hear from you again. And hope all goes well with you. Cheers....Heather > Greetings to everyone. I joined the group mid 2000.Besides the so called > millennium computer problems for you PC people( Mac user here ), I had a [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Resp'y > Scrapiro Heather, I am glad you have focused on your radiation oncologist. For what it's worth, I, too, have concluded mine is also the one to listen to (but I keep my eyes open and thanks to you and all the others on this group I can now do that). Let us know what the Nov. 8 report is. God bless you both, Stavros > Hi there..... > [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] >> Resp'y >> Scrapiro Thanks, Stavros.......we both feel much better now that we are going back to Dr.Loblaw and Sunnybrook's Cancer Care Centre. I have the utmost faith in that man!! He is brilliant!! Plus so much of the exciting new research is being done there and at your hospital, Princess Margaret. I hope that he can come up with an answer for the side effects.....but if not, Ron says at least he will know there is nothing that can be done and will have to live with them. We didn't feel that way with the oncologist out here in Brampton. Our impression was that he thought his middle name was G-d!! And I was just as outspoken and stubborn as he was, grin. Clash of the Titans?? (VBG) Our family doctor had a hard time keeping a straight face when I told him how we felt about the oncologist.....and I didn't pull any punches. When Ron went out to the front of the office, he took me aside and said that he agreed with me and to go back to Sunnybrook. Cheers....Heather > Heather, > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] >> >> Cheers....Heather Absolutely the right decision. Good for you. Wives seen to have the right instincts about these things. > Thanks, Stavros.......we both feel much better now that we are going back > to Dr.Loblaw and Sunnybrook's Cancer Care Centre. I have the utmost faith [quoted text clipped - 68 lines] >>> >>> Cheers....Heather Heather, my psa was 9.6 before cryoablation on 12/20/2000. Two mos later (02/2001) psa 0.7and on 8/15/2001 ( 6mos later)was 6.9.That is when the professor activated the heavy testing and put me on Zoladex and casodex.So I suppose it was 9mos. I think it took approximately 6mos to get the psa to <0.1.As for chest xrays, the preops screening was thorough at MDAnderson and was done by a different dept.Anyway if the Zoladex and Casodex knocked out the lesions in Ron's case, hopefully it performed a similar function for me.(if i had any)But thanks for the lead. I am a Mac user but I don't have an IPod.Thanks again for your courtesy in responding and sharing a bit of your family. Also thanks to Alan Meyer for his good wishes. > Hi there..... > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > you ran into the higher PSA problem. Ron was exactly one year. And his was > soaring fast. Greetings again and a follow-up. Six mos after my 5yrs had been completed, I journeyed to MD Anderson once again to continue my treatment. Every 3mos, a PSA and Zoladex injection. Simple sounding but complicated by somewhat limited mobility of self and wife. Driving is OK but when we arrive and are confronted with a mega hospital complex with sky bridges and shuttle carts that operate on these levels, I tell my wife that we are in the 21st century for sure. Our Rotary House interfaces with the Faculty Center and we have to walk through all of that to catch the shuttle.It's a very busy but everywhere, there is care and concern. One MD Anderson staffer practically insisted on a wheelchair for my wife who also has slight difficulty in breathing. However after breaking out her inhaler and thanking the staffer, she continued on to the shuttle. We meet lots of people who either have a form of cancer or are caregivers. Last night, we talked with a retired geologist from Albuquerque. He had cancer of the esophagus which had been removed. He now sleeps in a recliner until the evening meal is completely digested(abt 3am) and then can lie down. He knew the late Dr Frank Hibben, a well known anthropologist. My wife had been a student of Dr Hibben. My PSA was <0.1 and I received in the stomach muscles the 3mos injection. Nurse Nicole said she would see me in 3mos and treatment completed. >>Greetings to everyone. I joined the group mid 2000.Besides the so called >>millennium computer problems for you PC people( Mac user here ), I had a [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >>Resp'y >>Scrapiro Scrapiro, I wish you continued success. I visited MD Anderson once. It seemed like a city of hospitals. Glad you had such a positive experience there. Steve U Glad to hear that the HT is working so well for you. I hope it keeps working for decades. Alan |
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