psa going up after seeds

krismajp

my psa has gone up from 1.34 to 4.52 in 10 months. my doctor gave me the options of hormones or freezing the prostate. have any of you ever had the freezing done. how about the hormones? i know it is only a bandaid but it is supposed to hold the cancer in check. did any of you try hormones? has it been effective? thanks

kaiepooh

my husband had seed implant in sept 95 in dec 97 it came back and the psa rose. they did not want to give him hormones just yet cause your body becomes imuned to them. they did a experimental vaccine on him which kept it at bay till nov 93. i have heard of the freezing. but don't know much of it. please get a second opinion. if you live on the east cost there are several good hospitals to goto. one is memorial sloan kettering cancer center in nyc. also check out there web sit www.mskcc.org it may be helpful in researching it. just take one day at a time. also ask about external beam radiation. i hope this gave you some help and you get fast effective results. my prayers are with you.

Karen

Benji48

Hi,FYI I'm currently (past year) on Lupron (every 4 mo's)alive & kicking with an unreadable (.01) PSA.History = Initial psa 30,RRP,external rads,now Lupron after 6+years.
Yes, Lupron is only a stop-gap measure (2-20years)& depends on the individual.As I said I'm alive & kicking without any problems what-so-ever. If I didn't tell you I had cancer you wouldn't know it!
I don't know if external rads are appropriate,feasible,in your situation whatever but your doc can tell you.Least of all DON'T panic. It's not a death sentence!Good luck & God Bless.
Benji

2ndBase

I had a psa of 23 and Gleason 9 and then took 40 radiation treatments after a shot of Lupron in Jan.03. Now my psa is rising and am supposed to start chemo soon plus either more Lupron or physical castration. The freezing sounds like a good idea and the hormones could give at least some extra help. My life may be extended at least a couple more years due to my treatments and what more I take, so don't give up!!

nodawgs

Every case is uniquely different due to Gleason scores (aggressiveness) and other factors. However, I had cryoblation, but either the cyro failed to destroy all cancerous cells or it was already outside the prostate capsule. A year after cryo, PSA rapidaly climbed at an exponential rate to 147.4. MRIs and scans indicated well-established metastases in the right shoulder, neck, spine, and pelvis. My treatment was at a fork in the road and I was given a choice of (a) a treatment regimen with a poorer quality of life, but longer survival or (b) a treatment regimen with stastically shorter survival, but with far better quality of life.

I took (b). I am on a pill-a-day Casodex regimen. In the span of a month, my PSA dropped like a rock to only 10.7 (considered low for my stage of the disease). Casodex simply targets prostate cancerous cells and "blinds" their hormone receptors to the presence of testosterone...placing the disease in "suspension" (more or less). I feel as if I have nothing whatsoever and side effects are not worth mentioning. Long story shorter, I opted NOT to have total androgen ablation, i.e., chemical castration/cancellation of testosterone.

I was originally diagnosed in November of 2000, had cryo in April of 2001, and have been on Casodex now for over a year. I am 64 years old. Your onco should explain treatment protocol options and the pros/cons of each.

There's a caveat: some can remain on Casodex for months, others for years, before cell mutations of cancerous cells causes them to respond to the most minute amounts of testosterone seen through the Casodex "blindfold." When the PSA commences to rise, a salvage therapy protocol and/or trial would be the only option available at this time. I'll worry about that when the time comes.

Best of luck,

"Perry"

nutt

Kris,
Had seeds w/ Lupron B4 and after the seeds.
Benji is right, don't panic.
I too understand hormone therapy is a bandaid but seems to be effective.There are side effects and you should fully understand them.

Has the cancer been contained in the prostate?
This is a very important question.

If yes, then freezing, external radiation possibly all coupled with Lupron would be items I would consider.

IF, it is NOT containted (possibly never was?) I would personally would consider something that would be more expansive in area of treatment to discuss with doctor ie. chemo, extenal radiation and again coupled w/ Lupron?

Strongly suggest you consult with your doctor re: containment? From there YOU decide on how agressive and procedure. IF, your doctor is not agreeable to one treatment or another, it may be just as simple as he doesn't do it and you may need to seek another doctor.

Often, we tend to believe the doctor we ended up as part of our medical systems process verse our personal choice, only to find he is specialized and only wants to do what HE is trained to do!
As to freezing -- after having seed radiation, would freezing get to ALL of the prostate that is left ??

With your situtation, suggest a SECOND opinion.
God Bless
Joe