From: richreilly@hotmail.com (Rich)
Yes..he was not in the best of mental states at the time..another issue.
He was going by junk mail that said it would spread the cancer "like
wildfire". But he was also on blood thinners and his primary told him
"she" would do the same thing if him.

Regarding HT, I have read some saying that combining Lupron or the like
with a pure antiandrogen can decrease "flare" and make HT a better tool.
This has not been brought up by docs. Is this idea new
or discounted?

=======

on your comment.....

He was going by junk mail that said it would spread the cancer "like
wildfire".

He refused Biopsy and has been getting Lupron cycles with lowering first
to teens then below 1 at which point a cycle was skipped. It's back up
to 8 now and just got another cycle.

=====>there are two points to consider.   first, you normally do not
skip a cycle once you start HT.     since his psa jumped to 8, let's
hope that it will drop back to below 1 again.

but because there are two basic types of prostate cancer cells.  hormone
sensitive and non hormone sensitive.   HT is only affecting the hormone
sensitive type.  the non hormone sensitive is still growing.  the good
news is that they are slow growing.   but there becomes a time when the
non hormone cells will large enough in numbers to produce enough psa to
override the effects of the lurpon shot and  to "wake" the hormone
sensitive and then your statement, spread the cancer "like wildfire"
makes more sense.

unfortunately, there is nothing known to stop the non hormone sensitive
pca cells except to remove them by surgery or burn them by radiation.

---------

on your comment..... Regarding HT, I have read some saying that
combining Lupron or the like with a pure antiandrogen can decrease
"flare" and make HT a better tool. This has not been brought up by docs.
Is this idea new
or discounted?

====> there is a doctor out in california getting rich off of pca
patients by offering triple androgen blockade.   you can probably do a
google and see the pros and cons about his activity.

all the best,

~ 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."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

On July 31, Rich replied to me:

"Junk mail" is an excellent label for that lawn fertilizer. The 'net is
infested with it. I do not presume to give medical advice, but can say
with absolute assurance that there is not a scintilla of evidence to
support that allegation. If it were true, just about every man who
develops PCa and has a biopsy (roughly 100%) would die from PCa fairly soon.

So far as blood thinners are concerned, once again I'm not a medic. But
I do know that that issue can be dealt with by a competent medic. Think
for a moment: most men who develop PCa are middle-aged or older. Many of
them are likely on thinners. But they have biopsies anyway. And survive.

When a man *first* starts androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), it is
normal to begin with a short course (around 30 days) of an antiandrogen
such as Casodex. This prevents the "PSA flare" that often occurs with
the LHRH agonist such as Lupron is started. The reason for the "flare"
is that the LHRH agonist causes an initial surge in testosterone (T)
production, which can encourage growth of the PCa tumor(s). If the docs
did not mention it or know about it, I would have to suspect that they
are not experienced in tx of PCa. A word to the wise......

Check out the PCRI website.

Regards,

Steve J

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every
victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the
enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
-- Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"