Is hormonal treatment the only way or method that works in reducing the size of the prostate?

mcin777

Are there other options for reducing the prostate?  I have now narrowed my procedure of choice to robotic or brachytherapy. My latest PSA is 5.39 dowm 4 points from May 2nd and about the same as it was in May of 2012.  I guess that is decent news.

 

Mcin777

VascodaGama

A change in diet

Mcin777

There have been investigations on the benefit of “supplements” in preventing prostate cancer but found to be good in reducing the size of the prostate. The most typical is the Saw Palmetto extract but Lycopene (in tomatoes), vitamin D and Pomegranate juice are recommended by several oncologists to treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Nutritionists recommend a change in diet giving preferences to veggies and low consumption of fat and red meat.

Mayo Clinic recommends medication or surgery depending on the needs of a case (symptomatic patient). Here is a link to their site;
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-gland-enlargement/DS00027/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

 

Wishing you luck in your “adventure”.

Best.

VGama 

 

tarhoosier

Why?

I wonder why this is an issue.

Hormone treatment, more accuarately anti-hormone treatment is the most reliable way to accomplish this. There are non durg ways to reduce psa. I have seen numerous men with small amounts of slow growing PCa reduce the psa with very low fat diets, rigorously followed.

Hormone treatment before surgery may cause some "stickieness" of tissue in the prostate, according to some surgeons. This is an unwelcome issue in surgery.

mrspjd

tarhoosier said:

Why?

I wonder why this is an issue.

Hormone treatment, more accuarately anti-hormone treatment is the most reliable way to accomplish this. There are non durg ways to reduce psa. I have seen numerous men with small amounts of slow growing PCa reduce the psa with very low fat diets, rigorously followed.

Hormone treatment before surgery may cause some "stickieness" of tissue in the prostate, according to some surgeons. This is an unwelcome issue in surgery.

"stickiness"

Tarhoosier's post contains exactly the same info we received when we were investigating PCa tx options (all forms and combinations of RP, RT, ADT, etc) for PJD's T3 stage cancer. During consults with several respected open RP surgeons, we learned that they preferred no ADT for their patients prior to RP. The surgeons we met with indicated that ADT can make prostate and surrounding tissue more "sticky" and thus more difficult to visually & tactilely differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue, even with wide cutting margins by the most experienced and skilled tactile uro-surgeon.  

Depending on overall patient health, fitness, tumor stage and prostate size, most open RP surgeries for PCa can be preformed on enlarged prostates. Some robotic RP docs will tell you its also possible to remove enlarged cancerous prostates.  But what they don't tell you is they'll have to slice it in pieces first in order to fit through one of the 6 one inch incisions. Certainly opinions vary and every RP surgeon (open or robotic) has his/her own preferences, as do their patients. 

In regard to several other questions in threads by the original poster: A number of recently published peer reviewed study findings conclude that a short term protocol of ADT combined with RT, especially for intermediate/high risk stages, has "improved long-term biochemical tumor control, reduction in distant metastases and prostate cancer-related death." Here's a link to one of the latest studies related to this subject:

http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(13)00165-X/abstract

Good luck to everyone. 

mrs pjd, Wife of a T3 Stage PCa Survivor

jwoodie

mrspjd said:

"stickiness"

Tarhoosier's post contains exactly the same info we received when we were investigating PCa tx options (all forms and combinations of RP, RT, ADT, etc) for PJD's T3 stage cancer. During consults with several respected open RP surgeons, we learned that they preferred no ADT for their patients prior to RP. The surgeons we met with indicated that ADT can make prostate and surrounding tissue more "sticky" and thus more difficult to visually & tactilely differentiate between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue, even with wide cutting margins by the most experienced and skilled tactile uro-surgeon.  

Depending on overall patient health, fitness, tumor stage and prostate size, most open RP surgeries for PCa can be preformed on enlarged prostates. Some robotic RP docs will tell you its also possible to remove enlarged cancerous prostates.  But what they don't tell you is they'll have to slice it in pieces first in order to fit through one of the 6 one inch incisions. Certainly opinions vary and every RP surgeon (open or robotic) has his/her own preferences, as do their patients. 

In regard to several other questions in threads by the original poster: A number of recently published peer reviewed study findings conclude that a short term protocol of ADT combined with RT, especially for intermediate/high risk stages, has "improved long-term biochemical tumor control, reduction in distant metastases and prostate cancer-related death." Here's a link to one of the latest studies related to this subject:

http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(13)00165-X/abstract

Good luck to everyone. 

mrs pjd, Wife of a T3 Stage PCa Survivor

Benefits of Hormone Therapy After Radiation?

Thanks for the info!

 

I am just completing four months of HT and eight weeks of RT, and I am trying to understand the therapeutic benefits of continuing HT for the next year or so. As it has been explained to me, HT shrinks/starves PC cells and makes them more susceptible to RT. Assuming the RT has been "successful" (PSA=0), what benefit would further HT produce? Or is it simply a precautionary or palliative measure?