THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2014 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
The vigil began in September 2008 with abnormal DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) followed by PSA reading of 88.4. Biopsy showed Gleason 8/7. Bone scan & CT showed one "probable" metastatic site on pubic bone. Diagnosed as Stage T4. My health is otherwise very good and I'm physically active.
Sep 2008 88.4
Before initiating formal treatment I tried bloodroot for about three months. Bloodroot had cured my dog of metastatic mast cell cancer, so we tried it. I couldn't tolerate a high dosage and went on-and-off it. Even so, PSA dropped.
Dec 2008 77.2
Began Lupron (plus Casodex beforehand).
Mar 2009 6.5
May 2009 4.8
Decided to try bloodroot again, but as before could not tolerate consistent high dosage. PSA rose dramatically over three months.
Aug 2009 68.0
Back on Lupron.
Nov 2009 8.7
Feb 2010 6.0
May 2010 4.1
Sep 2010 3.1
Jan 2011 3.7
In Jan 2011 blood-work revealed the presence of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in addition to the prostate cancer, with no treatment of the CLL recommended by my Oncologist at present.
A second bone-scan in Jan 2011 showed no evidence of the previous pubic bone hot-spot. Consulted with Radiation Oncologist to explore possibility of EBRT (External Beam Radiation Treatment) as an adjunct to Lupron. He said the hot-spot on my pubic bone from 2008 was likely still there but not active due to suppression by Lupron. He said I also "probably" had metastasis at other sites as well, and that zapping the prostate with RT would cause the other sites to "compensate" by growing faster.
He said RT is useless in cases of Stage T4 with Gleason 8/7, cancer throughout the prostate gland, and bone metastasis. He said that no RO would do RT in my case unless they were after the money (except to relieve bone pain, which I do not have).
We are now considering getting a second opinion from another RO about the efficacy of external RT.
I take several supplements in addition the usual Calcium & Multi-vitamin:
Curcumin (turmeric extract): 1000mg
EGCG (green tea extract): 700 mg
Vitamin D3: 7500 units
Bloodroot: sporadic, as much as I can tolerate
QUESTION: Does anyone have experience with those supplements?
About one year ago the PC appeared to go refractory to Lupron. Rather than take on a more invasive treatment such as chemo we decided to go completely alternative supplemental & nutritional. I last saw my oncologist about 6 months ago and told him I would not be back until July, but I would continue getting 3-month PSA tests. I have not looked at the test results, but want them for history (the last one I saw had a reading of 25, I think).
I am eating as much raw, unprocessed food as possible including raw eggs, milk, and vegetables. I consume very little sugar, about 2 cups of coffee per day, and almost no canned food. I drink only filtered water.
I exercise extenisvely including weekly rigorous hikes (as much as 8-9 miles off-trail bush-whacking) and do weekly "hi-intensity" gym workouts (a la Doug McGuff's protocol).
Daily Supplements include:
EGCG (green tea extract): 2,000 mg
Pomegranate Seed extract: 1 gram
Super Bio-Curcumin: 1,200 mg
Quercetin: 1,000 mg
Bromelain: 750 mg
Vitamin D3: 10,000 IU
Astaxanthin: 4 mg
I still take 10mg of Terazosin for urination ease.
I've never felt better or stronger.
First, I should mention that in addition to PC I also have CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) with the genetic marker indicating more rapid progress. So I'm fighting cancer on two fronts.
Last September I experienced severe urinary blockage, went to ER for a catheter, then a week later required an emergency "reaming out" of the urethra by my urologist. I wore a catheter for about 6 weeks, which was very unpleasant. At the time I was on Lupron (and still am), although I had taken a 6-8 month hiatus from that treatment earlier in the year; I had also been taking terazosin daily for urinary relief. The urologist suggested we do the green light laser procedure to "vaporize" the prostate from the inside in order to forestall further urinary blockages and to eliminate the need for terazosin. Also, in his opinion, it would be a good thing to get rid of the huge number of PC cells infesting my prostate.
We did the green light laser about 7 weeks ago with great results. I urinate freely now and do not take the terazosin. I highly recommend the green light laser treatment if your urologist can do the procedure. It is not an "oncological" treatment (i.e., not an approved PC procedure) but a "urological" treatment for enlarged prostate & urinary blockage. My PSA has been running about 25 or-so, so it will be interesting to see if the green light procedure has lowered the PSA; my urologist thinks it will.
OK, then 3 weeks ago I had a hernia surgery, also to remove some swollen lymph glands to see if they were indicative of CLL (the cancerous white blood cells concentrate in lymph glands), which they were.
But despite all this physical trauma since September I remain healthy and physically active. I hiked a fairly rugged trail a couple of days ago, over 5 miles, so I'm nearly recovered from the hernia surgery. Normally, I hike 4-8 strenuous miles once a week (usually off-trail) and walk our dog for about a mile daily; I expect to get back to the longer, more strenuous, hikes soon.
I have not taken bloodroot for two years or more. I think it is effective, but it is also hard on the body if you take it in large therapeutic doses. So I am reserving that self-treatment unless I absolutely NEED it to forestall chemo.
My diet remains much as posted. Lots of raw vegetables freshly juiced. Organic food. Whole milk converted daily into kefir; raw free-range organic eggs. Unfortunately, our supplier of raw milk has ceased production so we have to use organic pasteurized milk to make the kefir. I make a breakfast smoothie from the kefir, two raw eggs, papaya (or some other healthy fruit), raw cacao powder, and whey powder concentrate.
I eat very little processed food, no added sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no GMO, no alcohol...just mainly fresh organic produce. I drink about two cups of coffee daily.
There are MANY ways to go regarding diet, and I just don't know what is best. Right before the recent surgeries we embarked on a radically different diet. The diet is designed to starve cancer cells by converting your metabolism from glucose to ketones. Research strongly suggests that cancer cells thrive on glucose metabolism but cannot metabolize ketones.
The diet is Low Carbohydrate, Low Protein, and HIGH Fat. This will quickly switch your metabolism over to ketones (i.e., fat-based metabolism), and hopefully starve the cancer cells. The fat content should come from organic sources including animal fats (e.g., butter, cheese, and meat), fish, avocados, nuts, coconut, and other "good" fats. I realize that this is radically different diet, so I'd recommend you research it on the 'net. The best site for nutrition & health information is <mercola. com> which you can register for daily email newsletter (no cost); I HIGHLY recommend it.
My daily supplements are:
EGCG
Super Bio-Curcumin
Astaxanthin
CoQ10
Propolis
I also try to do a fitness routine designed by Dr. Doug McGuff and I strongly recommend you look into it if you are fit enough for strenuous exercise (his book is "Body By Science"). And finally, I do a lot of meditation based on the Buddhist Theravadan tradition (called "mindfulness meditation").
Rod's e-mail address is: chayote AT gilanet.com (replace "AT" with "@")
NOTE: Rod has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.
