Hello everyone.

I know I haven't posted in quite a while. In November, after spending
two months back and forth to UT Med School, San Antonio and being told
that I was not suitable for any treatment there, I started going back
and forth to Houston to find out and treat the reason my PSA was
rising, and why it had never been below 0.3. At present it is 1,1.It
kept me so tired I didn't even feeling like keeping up with the
group.until now. I have also had to deal with a roommate that moved
out before the end of the lease period. Both have been pure he**,  I
have also been doing as much research as possible

By accident, because they were being reabsorbed into my body and did
not show up on the CT scan and were discovered when, during the
biopsies of the prostate bed, the new resident learning to do
ultra-sound biopsies pushed the sond in too far and discovered two
masses he had no idea what they were. The Urologist teaching him said
"Those shouldn't be there because the pathology says they shouldn't be
there. They are the seminal vesicles being reabsorbed by the body and
it looks as if they are being reabsorbed into the body. Take biopsies
of those as well."  The cancer was in the left seminal vesicle and the
Gleason was 4+3=7, up from 3+3=6. The s v's are about 80% of original
length. Legal action is being reviewed by several lawyers.

Two weeks ago Wednesdays I was given an overwhelming list of options
due to my osteoporosis and told by my oncologist that he didn' know
what to do, even though he had discussed my case in a weekly meeting
with all of the experts in all the treatment  fields where the most
difficult cases are presented for review. (M.D. Anderson's proton
center will not be ready until sometime in 2006.). One of the options
was to combine estrogen therapy with IMRT.

The question:::: I have decided on proton therapy at Loma Linda.
Should I also do the estrogen therapy suggested? I have read in a
couple of places that even short-term androgen therapies will produce
adrogen-resistant PCa later in the progression of the disease and I
want to reserve this option for later when/if I have metastasis
somewhere.. Is this true and if so is there something else I can do to
or take?

I want to do early intervention ASAP but I do not want my Gleason to
go up to 8.

Thank you for your thoughtful answerers and experience.

Jim

Jim (AKA BillyBob, but only to newsgroups!)  
jjoy_DONT_USE_THIS_PART@austin_DONT_USE_THIS_PART.rr.com

Pre-op. PSA: 5.1 11-2000. Age 56 then
Biopsy 1-3-2001: 3+3=6, only 10% diffused cells, left side only. Left Sem. Ves,1-8-04: 4+3=7, 20% difused cells
RRP: 3-12-01, 20%  diffused cells, 20% capsular penetration, neg lymph &
Sem. ves.
Erection - 6 weeks and earlier; 6 wks.; first decent one
PSA's - .5,1.1,.5,.3,.4,.7,.7,.6,.7,.7.,.9,1.1 Nov.4 03, 1.1 Jan. 8, 04
NO ONE, not even my med school Pathology Prof. Step-Sister
EVER said "radiation" - "Wait until it gets to 2.0, i.e. serious."
(Last - Quote of urologist who did RRP!)

Can't beat that deal at ANY price! AND I have a 30 year old car with only
26,000 miles on it that a little old lady only used to drive to church on
Sundays. Want to buy that as well?