Some Days are “Less Better” Than Others

Or maybe it just seems that way

Is it better to know or not to know? That, of course, is part of the great PSA debate I’ve talked about before, but also a question for those of us who are five or 10 years down the prostate cancer pike.

For the past nine years I have had a PSA exam at least once every three months. After surgery it told me that they didn’t get it all. My PSA doubled every three months for the year after surgery. Then there was radiation therapy and the same thing happened. Two possible cures that weren’t...It happened and I adjusted.

Since then I have tried experimental drugs (Clinical Trial) and a bunch of hormone therapy drugs—pills and injections. My PSA has slowly gone up and slowly gone down—generally within the rather small range of 2.5 to 4.8. Not bad as far as I’m concerned. So when there was a bigger increase over a short period of time it was a bit unusual.

My last PSA jumped (almost doubled over six weeks) a bunch. It was already on the rise so I shouldn’t have been surprised (but of course I was). I know some meds work for years, some for months, and some not at all. I really did know that. I also know that there are more meds to try and surely one will bring my PSA back down and my comfort level back up.

Would I have been better off had I not known all those numbers? Would I have been more comfortable just assuming all was well? Not a chance. Ignorance is not bliss. What do you think?

axman

Marketing 101 - The Prostate Cancer Way

Crass commercialism, prostate cancer, and selling books...

In a recent blog entry I shamelessly advertised the new book, Cancer Clinical Trials. That's the book Dr. Tom Beer and I wrote.

This entry will focus on my old book (2008), Real Men Get Prostate Cancer Too. I don’t seem to be able to find enough to do in retirement, so updating the older book seems like a good thing to do. And I can avoid my wife’s “honey do” list.

By 2008 I had been living with prostate cancer for five years and had gone through a few treatments and follow-ups. Now, four years later, there have been changes in prostate cancer treatment and a lot of changes in my treatment and experiences.

My main focus in the update is to be sure all the information about prostate cancer is correct—some “facts” from 2008 are no longer considered true. New treatments and types of treatments offer more hope to more men with incurable prostate cancer. In the past four years I have participated in two clinical trials, tried several different medications, and have managed to stay alive, active, and sometimes alert. I’ll tell you here first when the new (2^nd) Edition is actually ready. I’m even adding some new (and better?) cartoons.

axman

Cancer Clinical Trials are Going to the Dogs

Can that help you? It just might!

This isn’t specifically about prostate cancer but the process might be beneficial to us PC survivors in the future as well as a lot of others with cancer. If that happens, we may be thanking Max, Queenie, or Pal.

A team of scientists at the National Cancer Institute is conducting canine cancer clinical trials. Cancer is a leading cause of death in dogs. Why is this unusual‑‑aren’t animals used to test drugs all the time?

• The dogs are family pets diagnosed with cancer by their vets and referred to the clinical trials. More than a million dogs are diagnosed with cancer every year—and that’s just in the U.S.
• Some cancers in dogs are very similar to cancers in humans.
• Experimental medicines can be started sooner than in humans, if the owners agree. And results are known sooner because cancers grow more rapidly in dogs.
• Many owners are happy to get the newest experimental treatments for their beloved pets.
• The dogs that get treatment with experimental drugs are often helped and able to live a longer and healthier life with their human families.
• Unlike many animal trials, no dogs are purposely infected. These dogs are treated after they naturally contract cancer.

Canine trials have focused on bone cancer, lymphoma, and melanoma—also common cancers in humans. These trials have the potential to help both dogs and humans—a win-win if there ever was one.

axman

Good News for Men with Late Stage Prostate Cancer

An experimental drug—MDV3100—that has been in trials for several years has shown very positive results. There has been a significant survival benefit demonstrated in phase III studies. Nearly 1200 men who had undergone late stage chemotherapy participated in the double blind study—nobody knew who was getting the experimental drug and who was getting the placebo (neutral substance).

The principal investigator said that the MDV3100 study ‘exceeded our expectations’. Men taking the experimental drug lived significantly longer, had lower PSA scores, and the side effects were ‘well tolerated’ or what we’d call not so bad. Just about all cancer medications have side effects so a successful drug with moderate side effects is considered good. The trial was so successful it was stopped early and those men who were receiving the placebo were offered the MDV3100.

It has to be approved by the FDA before it can be prescribed by doctors. Many drugs never make it through the clinical trials process so this is seen as very important.

If you have prostate cancer, watch for further news. By the time it is approved it will likely have a new (and better) name.

axman