Prev: Second post-op PSA result
Next: Surgery...NICK
From: jeff_B on 18 Jul 2008 12:06
My gleason is 3+3=6 my prostate is "huge" no nodules . I had
"wicked BPH", on catheter about 10 times and finally
discoved....FINASTERIDE 5mg ( the propecia thing for hair only much
much stronger) it blockes an enzyme/hormone that feeds the
prostate...been on it since feb/march 08 and have great results well
beyond my expectations: sleeping thru the night, full flow during the
day, less urgency, and ......my psa is now 3.9 down from 9!! My
prostate is shrinking, no longer impeding my capacity (bladder) and
ureathea flow. Do some reading and remember go onto it slowly (lesser
strength) to avoid dizziness.......I think it's a small miracle
drug!! Jeff
From: Alan Meyer on 18 Jul 2008 14:49
jeff_B wrote:
> My gleason is 3+3=6 my prostate is "huge" no nodules . I had
> "wicked BPH", on catheter about 10 times and finally
> discoved....FINASTERIDE 5mg ( the propecia thing for hair only much
> much stronger) it blockes an enzyme/hormone that feeds the
> prostate...been on it since feb/march 08 and have great results well
> beyond my expectations: sleeping thru the night, full flow during the
> day, less urgency, and ......my psa is now 3.9 down from 9!! My
> prostate is shrinking, no longer impeding my capacity (bladder) and
> ureathea flow. Do some reading and remember go onto it slowly (lesser
> strength) to avoid dizziness.......I think it's a small miracle
> drug!! Jeff

Finasteride and Dutasteride are now known to have positive
effects on prostate cancer. They are sometimes used in
combination with other drugs in treatment.

However, don't get complacent. You may still need
treatment for your cancer. Even with the drugs, your
cancer can continue to grow, albeit more slowly. If
you are young enough that you're not likely to die of
something else first, you should discuss whether
primary treatment (usually surgery or radiation) is
a good idea with your doctor.

I think that men who decide on "watchful waiting" should
always have a plan - if the PSA rises above a certain
level, or if some other event occurs that a doctor
can detect, take action.

Also, be aware that finasteride lowers PSA but does
not necessarily kill tumor cells. The PSA you are
seeing may be a less accurate measure of the extent
of your disease.

But I don't mean to be a wet blanket here. I'm glad
that this is working for you.

Best of luck.

Alan
From: Steve Kramer on 18 Jul 2008 16:02
"jeff_B" <jeff.bor(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3249874c-e53f-49b3-bbbf-e7e562e774b2(a)e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

> My gleason is 3+3=6 my prostate is "huge" no nodules . I had
> "wicked BPH", on catheter about 10 times and finally
> discoved....FINASTERIDE 5mg ( the propecia thing for hair only much
> much stronger) it blockes an enzyme/hormone that feeds the
> prostate...been on it since feb/march 08 and have great results well
> beyond my expectations: sleeping thru the night, full flow during the
> day, less urgency, and ......my psa is now 3.9 down from 9!! My
> prostate is shrinking, no longer impeding my capacity (bladder) and
> ureathea flow. Do some reading and remember go onto it slowly (lesser
> strength) to avoid dizziness.......I think it's a small miracle
> drug!! Jeff

Hi, Jeff. Welcome to our club. I am so sorry you have prostate cancer. I
am a little concerned that you appear to think you are being treated for it.

You have an enlarged prostate. Finasteride has been successful in reducing
the size of your prostate. That's what it does. Due to the reduction, you
can pee. That's normal as well. Finasteride is even somewhat responsible
for the reduction of your PSA.

But, no pill will kill your cancer. No medicine will cure you. Surgery
might. Radiation might. Supposedly freezing and blasting it with sound
might. But, if you decide not to treat it with anything but Finasteride,
you will die.

I apologize if I misunderstood your message.




--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08
Illegitimati non carborundum


From: jeff_B on 21 Jul 2008 11:17
On Jul 18, 4:02 pm, "Steve Kramer" <skra...(a)cinci.rr.com> wrote:
> "jeff_B" <jeff....(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:3249874c-e53f-49b3-bbbf-e7e562e774b2(a)e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>
> > My gleason is 3+3=6 myprostateis "huge" no nodules . I had
> > "wicked BPH", on catheter about 10 times and finally
> > discoved....FINASTERIDE 5mg ( the propecia thing for hair only much
> > much stronger) it blockes an enzyme/hormone that feeds the
> >prostate...been on it since feb/march 08 and have great results well
> > beyond my expectations: sleeping thru the night, full flow during the
> > day, less urgency, and ......my psa is now 3.9 down from 9!! My
> >prostateis shrinking, no longer impeding my capacity (bladder) and
> > ureathea flow. Do some reading and remember go onto it slowly (lesser
> > strength) to avoid dizziness.......I think it's a small miracle
> > drug!! Jeff
>
> Hi, Jeff. Welcome to our club. I am so sorry you haveprostatecancer. I
> am a little concerned that you appear to think you are being treated for it.
>
> You have an enlargedprostate. Finasteride has been successful in reducing
> the size of yourprostate. That's what it does. Due to the reduction, you
> can pee. That's normal as well. Finasteride is even somewhat responsible
> for the reduction of your PSA.
>
> But, no pill will kill yourcancer. No medicine will cure you. Surgery
> might. Radiation might. Supposedly freezing and blasting it with sound
> might. But, if you decide not to treat it with anything but Finasteride,
> you will die.
>
> I apologize if I misunderstood your message.
>
> --
> PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
> Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
> RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
> PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
> EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
> PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
> Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
> PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
> Casodex added daily 07/06
> PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08
> Illegitimati non carborundum

LOL, Yes you did misunderstand me, but not to worry. I find the
"available" treatments unacceptable!! My quality of life is a
priority. Given the pattern of my Dad's prostate cancer (discovered
at age 80; with radiation treatment followed by urinary and rectal
problems), he lived to 91 and died of congestive heart fail. The
results or lack thereof from the radiation, ficu, surgical etc is a
disgrace to the medical and political components of our
society...shame on both of them!! Finasteride appears to "mask" the
psa (and as we know we're not 100% sure of what it (psa) is telling
us). So it's "watchful waiting", a vegetarian oriented diet, and
remember that no one knows the long term effect of Finasteride!!
Thanks for your comments and compassion. I enjoy each day, am not
going to let the "cancer" thing take over my life and at 67 I'm doing
just fine. I've decided to take control of my treatment with my
urologist consulting/informing while I make an informed decision Jeff
From: Steve Kramer on 21 Jul 2008 16:00
"jeff_B" <jeff.bor(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a5cccc86-c007-4cec-ade6-ac5358109ded(a)t54g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...

> LOL, Yes you did misunderstand me, but not to worry. I find the
> "available" treatments unacceptable!! My quality of life is a
> priority. Given the pattern of my Dad's prostate cancer (discovered
> at age 80; with radiation treatment followed by urinary and rectal
> problems), he lived to 91 and died of congestive heart fail. The
> results or lack thereof from the radiation, ficu, surgical etc is a
> disgrace to the medical and political components of our
> society...shame on both of them!! Finasteride appears to "mask" the
> psa (and as we know we're not 100% sure of what it (psa) is telling
> us). So it's "watchful waiting", a vegetarian oriented diet, and
> remember that no one knows the long term effect of Finasteride!!
> Thanks for your comments and compassion. I enjoy each day, am not
> going to let the "cancer" thing take over my life and at 67 I'm doing
> just fine. I've decided to take control of my treatment with my
> urologist consulting/informing while I make an informed decision

Good to hear it, Jeff. My father also died of prostate cancer and I also
made some "decisions" about my treatment. I swore I would never go with
radiation, hormones, or chemo having watched how they wracked my dad. But,
then I found that they stopped using cobalt years ago, so I acquiesced to
modern particle accelerators. When that failed, I found they no longer use
estrogen, so I accepted Lupron and Casodex. When that fails, I'll take on
chemo for size. I found through reading books and this NG, I might have my
dad's cancer, but I'm not stuck with my dad's treatment options.

Oh, and having all those life-altering treatments for 7� years? I'm still
working full time, just finished wrestling with two of my grandsons that
came over after work, and am about to depart with some artifacts to a museum
at which I volunteer.

Largely, quality of life concerns are more a product of fear that education.
There are some who suffer from some of the treatments. They always have the
option of backing off.

With a PSA of 9 and Gleason of 6, you have a really good chance of a cure
with surgery (though, at your age, you may not be up to it) or radiation.

I hope you continue consulting and making informed decisions.




--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08
Illegitimati non carborundum



--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA <.1 <.1 <.1 .27 .37 .75 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04, <0.04, <0.1 2/12/08
Illegitimati non carborundum


 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: Second post-op PSA result
Next: Surgery...NICK