THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2017 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
Elected radiation instead of surgery because biopsy indicated cancer was already outside the prostate area. Also remained on hormone therapy [ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy)] for one year. PSA remained in the 0.30 to 0.50 area for three years after radiation.
Approximately one year ago PSA started to rise (from 1.13 in March 08 to 9.97 in April 09) and PET Bone Scan has revealed two spots of metastasized cancer on bones in the pelvic region. Started hormone therapy again and PSA is back down to 0.32. Also, spots on bones have remained the same size for nine months and I remain asymptomatic.
Sorry I took so long with this Update. I am still doing very well.
In the three plus years since mets were discovered, nothing has really changed. I went back on Hormones for awhile then went off again. My PSA almost tripled in just two months so I went back on the hormones 8 months ago.
My PSA is currently 0.28 and has been holding steady. No further mets, no increase in size of original mets so I am extremely thankful. I did get hit by some depression but medication has taken care of that.
The only side effects I currently experience is hot flashes and some fatigue, although some of the fatigue can be attributed to a very busy work schedule. Thanks for asking, I consider myself an extremely healthy stage IV prostate cancer survivor.
Jim
Things are going fairly well. My PSA has fluctuated between 0.27 to 0.36. I am not as confident with my current doctors about creating a plan when hormone treatment fails. Within the next few weeks I plan to make an appointment at UC San Francisco with prostate cancer specialists rather than my urologist. I want to know what to expect and how to respond when the the expectation becomes a reality.(I believe that should be IF, not WHEN - there are many men who have used hormone therapy to succesfully manage their disease for many years.)
I recently became castrate resistant and will begin Enzalutimide treatment. I am greatly encouraged by the fact that the treatments I am receiving were not even on the horizon when I was first diagnosed. The team of professionals around the world are aggressively doing all they can to defeat this disease.
I have been on enzalutimide (Xtandi) for approximately one year now and my PSA continues to go down. In fact, my PSA is lower now than it has ever been in the last ten years. No new mets have been detected and I continue to be able to participate in all life functions with the caveat that I will often "hit the wall" and become extremely tired.
Jim's e-mail address is: jwbarring AT yahoo.com (replace "AT" with "@")
NOTE: Jim has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.