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New lower psa reading

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User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 18:02
Hi.... new member here so just thought i would like to hear from anyone in a similar situation to myself.

I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in Oct 2017. My symptoms were pain pretty much everywhere starting in March 2017..... I was treated for a trapped nerve for nearly 8 months until I could barely walk.... then they decided to take a blood test & discovered the cancer from my prostate had spread into my lymph nodes, lungs & most of my bones from the pelvis up over.

The treatment I have had since Oct is tablets, monthly hormone injections & chemo ( 2 sessions done with 4 to go) . My psa was 3925 when I was first admitted into hospital & the last reading I had it was 300.... so I am curious to know if this is pretty standard for most people or if some respond better or worse. I’ve been told I am receiving chemo as a palliative measure rather than to cure me & have been told I may have around 4 years left .... again I am curious to know if this is a pretty standard time scale & if some people have lived much longer with a similar diagnosis to myself..... Thanks

User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 23:12

Which tablets and hormones are you taking? Do they test your testosterone level when they do your PSA test? Your PSA seems to be staying a bit high at the minute and you could perhaps ask your nurse specialist whether they would have expected it to go lower by now. A testosterone test could confirm that you are indeed below castrate level and the hormones are working correctly.

Chemo doesn’t cure prostate cancer so it is palliative for all the men that have it - it makes the hormones work better and for longer, and can reduce some of the side effects of the cancer. Some people progress very quickly - in months rather than years - but we also have members who have done better than 4 years on HT. Look up Trevor Boothe who was diagnosed with a PSA of 13,000 and stayed with us for 7 years (I think), Si_ness who had terrifyingly extensive bone mets and is still here to tell the tale, Yorkhull I think has completed 7 years and hasn’t even needed to try chemo yet.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 23:19

PS it is worth checking that you have actually been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma rather than one of the rarer types of prostate cancer. It should be written on the diagnosis letter from your consultant to your GP.

There are at least 27 types of prostate cancer and some behave quite differently to others. Not all respond the same way to routine treatments and spread to lungs is not very common for adenocarcinoma.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

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User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 23:12

Which tablets and hormones are you taking? Do they test your testosterone level when they do your PSA test? Your PSA seems to be staying a bit high at the minute and you could perhaps ask your nurse specialist whether they would have expected it to go lower by now. A testosterone test could confirm that you are indeed below castrate level and the hormones are working correctly.

Chemo doesn’t cure prostate cancer so it is palliative for all the men that have it - it makes the hormones work better and for longer, and can reduce some of the side effects of the cancer. Some people progress very quickly - in months rather than years - but we also have members who have done better than 4 years on HT. Look up Trevor Boothe who was diagnosed with a PSA of 13,000 and stayed with us for 7 years (I think), Si_ness who had terrifyingly extensive bone mets and is still here to tell the tale, Yorkhull I think has completed 7 years and hasn’t even needed to try chemo yet.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 19 Jan 2018 at 23:19

PS it is worth checking that you have actually been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma rather than one of the rarer types of prostate cancer. It should be written on the diagnosis letter from your consultant to your GP.

There are at least 27 types of prostate cancer and some behave quite differently to others. Not all respond the same way to routine treatments and spread to lungs is not very common for adenocarcinoma.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 20 Jan 2018 at 13:39
Hi.... thanks for your response

I was taking bicalutamide for three weeks after I was first diagnosed..... Also I had one zoladex injection which has now now been changed to Degerelix which I have had one so far.

I know it seems strange but I haven’t asked many questions & this is the first site i’ve been on to ask. The cancer type is adenocaricnoma & my Gleason is 4+3 grade group 3..... I have no idea what that means btw.... so if you could shed any light on this I would be grateful ... thanks

 
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