Advanced prostat cancer part 2

Well it's nearly that time again we are off to see the Wizard tomorrow, my how time flies. Trevor has been down with his usual breathing difficulties for the last few days and is back on steroids this morning. I have to smile as our GP now asks me how many days I think he needs and would I like them reduced gradually or a abrupt stop. Who put me in charge.http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif

BFN

Julie X

I think the change in weather has affected a lot of people with respiratory issues, make you sure you stay snuggly warm xxx

Mo

Same here, hope all goes well !

Fiona x

Hoping everything went well. We have our visit to oncology on Monday - can't say I'm looking forward to it.

The change in weather doesn't help those with breathing difficulties, hoping Trevor's asthma is under control now.

Big love

Allison xx

sorry to read your news.I have written 6 replys and deleted them nothing I can say would help with how you must be feeling today.

As for blumicamide I agree with you.

Will be thinking of you both.

Best Wishes

Carol x

Edited by member 07 Nov 2014 at 22:50  | Reason: Not specified

To the Lady in the red hat who never sleeps thank you for that brilliant analogy (how did you get so smart)http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif .  Trevor showed no outward signs yesterday although I could tell he was devastated. On leaving the hospital  his first thought was his tummy and where we were going to have lunch he amazes me that he can eat and think of food at these times. I am sure if he had been fighting in the trenches in world war 1 he would have had a flag to raise to say stop Guys it's lunchtime.

So in M&S over his Penang Curry he paused mid mouthful , sighed and said" So it's up again " my reply was" Do you want half of this Turkey sandwich".

Getting back to food analogies Trevor is like an onion, brown and crusty on the outside with so many layers it is difficult sometimes to peel them back and get to the middle. You know what it is like when you have been with some one for so many years, you don't always need words to know how they are feeling.

BFN

Julie X

Ah my lovely friend, I'm not clever at all. But I have to train a lot of Head Teachers and learned many years ago that if you want them to understand something they don't want to hear, you have to use words of less than two syllables! I also use a LOT of puppets!

If you look back at previous members' stories, some have had a really good AAWR so perhaps use those stories to boost T's confidence. This time last year we were all worried about your boys and Christmas ..... I think this will be a good Christmas for you all.

I am worried about you though, particularly your eyesight or the resolution on your screen. The hat is pink :-0

Love Lyn x

I posted on here this morning but the website was wobbly and my post obviously got the chop! A few posts have come up since then.

I love that Trevor is still worried about his tummy, good for him.

I also commented on Lyn's great way of explaining the crisps and apples, one of these days we should get her to do the birds and the bees so we can use that with kids and grandchildren!!

will ring sunday evening

xx

Mo

Oh dear, note to self do not go out to a party and wake up with a hang over and try and make sense of this threat, but here we go 

Sorry to hear that Trevor is now allergic to Apples i  do not agree with Lyn that Trevor should now substitute them for crisps if it was me i would try bananas.

Lyn looks nothing like Chris De Burgh, not really sure where you get that from. but she should use spell checker what is AAWR it makes no sense to me at all.

Mo why are you on about wobbly you said you was going to the gym if that is the case then there should be no wobbly http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif

Julie only offering Trevor Half a sandwich when he has been out all day is bad http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif i will be ring child line.

I thought Trevor was having results, what was they!!! typical women yacking on about onions, apples, crisps just don't get it

Si xx       

Just found this Julie might be of interest

Si xx

I don’t understand why if I have hormone resistant advanced prostate cancer why the new drugs, Zytiga and Xtandi work. These drugs are still hormone therapies, is my prostate cancer hormone resistant? I recently received an email asking me this question and I thought it might be a question many people have, so I am going to answer this on the blog.

First, I want to be clear, yes Zytiga and Xtandi are both hormonal therapies that do work for many men when their cancer has been classified as hormone resistant.

The failure of Lupron etc. and Casodex does not mean that our cancer no longer is dependent upon testosterone. What it really means is that our cancer now has adapted itself and become more sensitive to lower levels of testosterone and is able to find alternative sources of testosterone. Simply put, the Lupron and Casodex are no longer powerful enough to do the job.

This change is the result of three different mechanisms. We have now found out that prostate cancer cells themselves are capable of making their own testosterone, making them independent of outside sources; the cancer cells often are able to modify their androgen receptor so that Casodex encourages the cancer growth by treating the drug as if it were testosterone. (This is why in many men stopping Casodex will initiate a positive response) and the androgen receptor becomes more sensitive so that it needs much lower levels of testosterone to continue growing.

To be accurate it is quite uncommon for prostate cancer to become androgen independent. This understanding of the progression of prostate has led us to the new forms of hormone therapy using Zytiga and Xtandi

Zytiga (given along with prednisone) was the first FDA-approved drug to respond to this understanding. Zytiga ‘s mechanism of operation is simple, it is much more efficient at blocking testosterone production then Lupron. Its most important difference is that it blocks testosterone production throughout the body; including the adrenal glands and the cancer cell itself. Zytiga is more efficient at lowering the levels of testosterone production in the entire body (not just from the testis).

The other new hormone therapy drug is known as Xtandi and it has a different mechanism of action from Zytiga and the other hormone therapy drugs. Xtandi has been called a “Super Casodex” because like Casodex, it binds to the androgen receptor, however Xtandi is five fold better at competing with testosterone for the androgen receptor than is Casodex. Xtandi uses different pathways that are used by Lupron and Casodex and is able to work even while Lupron and Casodex have failed.

The bottom line is that it is a misnomer to call prostate cancer that has begun to progress in the face of Lupron (etc.) and Casodex hormone resistant. In fact prostate cancer at this stage is still dependent on the androgens, but the cancer has actually developed additional pathways around these first stage treatments so that it can continue to progress. Zytiga and Xtandi respond to these new pathways, but they too only respond for a limited time as this cancer is able to develop even more new pathways.

Thinking of you both, not the results you wanted but lovely that everyone on the forum rallies round with love, advice and support, often what gets us through ! Now off for a dog walk having been gardening at 8.am ! Takes my mind off things though at this rate I'll be needing some of that sandwich soon to put on weight,

Lots of love, Fiona. x