hi lewis - in january, hopefully, the psa will be <.01  

with clear scans, that is a very good sign.  hopefully, the male hormone
shots were the source as to why the extra psa numbers, since you said it
dropped over 10 points,  that again is a very good sign.

please keep us posted and a very merry christmas to you.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

Lewis,

Be aware that Lupron will drop the PSA but is very, very
unlikely to completely kill the cancer.

I wasn't sure from your post whether you thought that
radiation might turn out not to be necessary.  Unless
you're likely to die from something else before the cancer
gets you, it probably is necessary.

The Lupron (or whatever hormone suppressor you are using)
will probably make the cancer weaker and the radiation more
effective.  It is good to do the HT first.  But you need to
go on to do the RT also.

Had you opted for radical prostatectomy, the HT would
probably have been useless.  You don't need to weaken
a tumor if you're going to remove it.  But if you're having
radiation, the HT is thought to weaken the tumor cells
and make them more likely to die after radiation.

Good luck.

   Alan

Hi Lewis...You might already be aware of this, but I thought it worth
mentioning.  PCa biopsies are very difficult to read accurately.  It
is relatively difficult to grade PCa due to the diffuse, multifocal
nature of most PCa tumors.  There's not one big solid tumor to
examine.  It becomes even more difficult when all you have to examine
are small biopsy fragments.  That&#8217;s one of the reasons that PCa
biopsy slides should be examined by an expert PCa pathologist (there
are roughly a dozen or so around the US, see
http://www.prostate-help.org/cagleex.htm).  Because many people don't
have their Gleason Score determined by one of these experts, there is
a documented "under-grading" of Gleason scores from PCa biopsy
specimens.

It also sounds like you had your biopsy after receiving hormone shots.
Results from a recent large study have led a number of these expert
pathologists to suspect that hormone suppressors, such as Lupron,
change the shape and patterning of PCa cells.  The biopsy will be
misgraded if the pathologist isn't aware that hormone suppressors are
involved.  I'm wondering if taking hormones would have a similar
effect.  I don't know if anyone knows the answer to this question.  In
any case, if your biopsy wasn't read by an expert, that might be a
good thing to have done.  You should also notify whoever reads it of
the fact that you were taking hormones.  If your PSA really is
double-digit and should your GS be 8 or above (hence the need for an
expert reading), then it might prove wise to do further testing to try
and determine if the disease is systemic before you submit to local RT
treatment...Best wishes and good health, Ron