Prostate Cancer

[StinkyPete]

Chemo round 5 of 6 today.   The oncologist was very encouraging regarding how well I've been tolerating the treatment, and reckons it will take me three months to get over it after the final treatment on the 13th March.  I'm resting when I'm crook, and doing what I can when I'm OK.

[johnnyYTED]

 
that's good news for you Pete, keep up the fight mate, lQQks like you may be on the winning team.

[Dick B "Yewie"]

Chemo round 5 of 6 today.   The oncologist was very encouraging regarding how well I've been tolerating the treatment, and reckons it will take me three months to get over it after the final treatment on the 13th March.  I'm resting when I'm crook, and doing what I can when I'm OK.

You're going well Pete. Hang in there. Almost there.
Cheers
Dick and Ros

[perthcarpetcleaner]

Update on my Prostate Cancer
The new way of treating advanced prostate cancer is to hit it with hormone therapy and chemo at the same time, which gives much better medium and long term results.
I had my first session of chemo yesterday, which went smoothly, but the pre-chemo blood test was the wonderful surprise.
After just 8 weeks of hormone therapy, and before the chemo started, 99.5% of the cancer has gone, and it now close to an undetectable level.      
The oncologist and urologist both expected that the hormone therapy would kill off up to 95% so it has knocked off a huge amount more that anyone expected, and that's before any chemo.
I am advised  that the chemo will not totally kill off the remaining 0.5%  but with this fantastic result, I see a chance.
This is time for celebration for it's the first time in about 6 years that I've seen my PSA go down, even after two bouts of radiotherapy, and the drop is dramatic.
Once again thanks to my OzSTOC friends for the friendship and support for Chris and I during this journey.         

Wishing you all the best from the west. Just got up to speed with your fight and progress to date. Sending you strength and positivity for your remaining treatment.

Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk

[Rob Mc]

Its a bastard of a thing to get on top off. My PSA has been rising steadily now for a couple of years and my GP simply said it gets higher as you get older . My last visit to the GP was last December where it rose from 5.6 to 6.3 and again he said don't worry, to hell with that I insisted on seeing a specialist.
He gave me the finger test and all good , then said lets do another PSA in 3 months , again it rose to 6.5 not big jumps but he was not happy with the trend . So off I go for an MRI that is supposed to be 95% accurate, back to the specialist and the results were all clear.
Thank heavens the specialist was a belt and braces man and still was not convinced, so checked into the Gold Coast Private hospital for a full biopsy of the prostate, and there it was 5 of the 7 sample biopsies were cancerous .
His recommendation  was that with the new technologies of Robotic surgery I should have it taken out. The Wesley Hospital in Brisbane is now the state of the art for Robotic surgery and I had it taken out on Monday , went home Tuesday and walking around with little or no pain that afternoon.
The good news is that the surgeon rang me yesterday and all the cancer was contained within the prostate with clear margins all around.,
So after years of 6 monthly finger up the bum checks, 6 monthly PSA tests, a negative MRI test it took a full biopsy to find the bloody thing, so if your PSA keeps rising do not be put off by your GP , get to a specialist

[StinkyPete]

I keep reminding my friends that they should be getting regular tests and most are.  I was diagnosed at the tender age of 56 and had successful "open cut" surgery which took me weeks to get over, but my margins were clear as well.   However, something escaped at some time and I've been dealing with a small spot that's appeared on my right lung.

I wish you a speedy recovery, and "all clears" for years to come.   

[Biggles]

Excellent outcome for Rob- I guess GPs try not to be too alarmist, but my Urologist flinches at any increase.  I'm on Duodart for BPH (look it up- it might explain why you're taking twice as long to pee half as much) and that effectively halves the PSA counts.  So a return of 2 is actually 4, which is all you're allowed at "our" age.

[richo]

it is good to see the topics like this being openly discussed.  We males do have a tendency to do the wrong thing, ignore the symptoms and wait too long before we drag our butts into the doctors.   No one knows our bodies like we do as to what is or is not right.  We just need to listen to our bodies.   Well done guys

[StinkyPete]

I had my final round of chemo a couple of days ago.   Yay!!    In a couple of weeks I have some tests and scans  to determine the effectiveness of the chemo, and then see the oncologist on the 11th April for results.  Fingers crossed and expecting a good result.

[Cerebral Knievel]

Nice one Pete - fingers crossed for good results 

[Kev Murphy]

Good one, Pete... 

[Lionel]

Looking forward to catching up in a few weeks time. The dust should have settled by then.
 

[alans1100]

Hopefully all good for you both.

[Biggles]

I had my final round of chemo a couple of days ago.   Yay!!    In a couple of weeks I have some tests and scans  to determine the effectiveness of the chemo, and then see the oncologist on the 11th April for results.  Fingers crossed and expecting a good result.

Yep.  Should be good.
Just had a mate get 89 titanium miniscule canisters  inserted in about 25 locations.  He's not allowed to lift anything for 6 weeks.  That is ruining his riding style.

[ppopeye]

Thats all good Pete. Hope the scans etc give you a good result.

[richo]

I hope all the results are better than expected.   

[PC]

Good luck Pete hope it's all good

[Jdbiker]

All the best

[Scarlett Thunderbolt]

All the Best Pete. 

[Shiney]

All the best mate, I hope the results are great

[Sicman]

G'Day Pete- here's hoping all that WD40 they have injected into you has cleared the rust out for good 

[Bloodman]

Best wishes for a positive outcome. Looking forward to some good news 

 

[Shillas]

Keep it up Pete, catch up soon.

Cheers

[StinkyPete]

Hi all
Chris and I have just got home from seeing the oncologist for my "after chemo" review.    The news is all good with tests and scans showing that there is no evidence of cancer anywhere in my body.  PSA is undetectable, and the various spots on my lung have disappeared. The oncologist said that it's one of the best responses to treatment that he's ever seen in any patient.  He doesn't want to see me again, so I'll continue to have PSA tests every three months through my GP, and continue with the hormone therapy.    He's urged me to keep up with my exercise regime which he considers to be very important.     I'm so relieved as I've been very anxious about this result, more so than any previous tests.  I'm now even more inspired even more to get on with the business of getting fit, strong and healthy again, as I recover from the impact of the chemo on my body.  I'm starting to feel better, went back to the gym yesterday, and am working on loosing the 6kg that I put on during treatment.

[Cerebral Knievel]

Best news ever