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Taxotere, to do or not to do!

The hormone theapy my husband has been receiving for several years is no longer working. (See discription of treatment in my post of Jan. 9, 2010.)  His PSA is now 2400 + and he is experiencing a great deal of pain in his chest area and back.  A bone scan confirms that the cancer has invaded his bones.  He is now taking Vicodin to deal with the pain.  It is somewhat effective, but doesn't do the job entirely. Taxotere seems to be the next option.  From what I have read it only extends life by a couple of months.  Since this is such an evasive procedure, I am wondering if putting him through the side-effects of chemo is a wise decision at this point.  He still has moments when he greatly enjoys getting out  and visiting with friends and doing some gardening.  We don't like it, but we are adjusting to the new normal.  What effect can we expect chemo to have given his current status?  What will happen if we choose to do nothing?
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Avatar universal
My father is currently on Doxatel. So far he has had very few sideeffects. He is on a weekly regiment.  Having read hundreds of articles I am quite sure that taxotere is the way to go. In many it will relieve pain as well as give them a longer life. True that the median survival rate only shows an increase of 2-2.5 months compared to other treatments. But remember that median says very little about actual time. For some it may be much longer. 17 % are alive after 3 years! Any extra time is a blessing, especially knowing that several new medicines are on the verge of approval. Well, I know everyone has to find his own way, but I just wanted to encourage someone to try. As I mentioned, the sideeffects have so far been mild and life quality good. I enjoyed this article: http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/prostate/faqs/chemotherapy.htm
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Avatar universal
Karern,  I am so happy you have joined our forum.  Like Klauren, my heart goes out to you having to endure this dreadful disease at such a young age.  

We are back from our trip to Riverside for the family reunion.  The reunion itself was wonderful.  One of the relatives worked as a hospice nurse for several years.  She helped keep Forest on an even keel regarding pain during the party.  The trip to and from Riverside, a 200 mile drive, was a different story.  The constant bouncing played havoc on his spine where some of the cancer resides.   On our way back we made it to the 100 mile mark and the pain was just too much.  By 10:00 that evening, having given him all the Vicodin allowed, and the pain intensity increasing,  I put him in the car once more for that day and hustled him off to the Emergency Room.  There they infused him with a magic elixir and broke the cycle of pain.  We drove the remaining 100 miles leaving at 6:00 a.m. the next day literally trying to outrun the next pain attack.

Yesterday and today he has been fairly comfortable, but I am using all the Vicodin that is safe to administer in a 24 hour period and have added the top dosage of Motrin. (The Motrin addition was the Hospice Nurses suggestion and worked far better than the Vicodin alone.) That combination keeps him pretty comfortable most of the time, but I am really getting worried about what all this is doing to his kidneys and liver, not to mention his stomach.  

Tomorrow we see the Oncologist in the morning, alas another 100 mile drive there.  I am hoping she will have some suggestions regarding pain control which is now our top priority.

Karern, I am curious about your hospice decision as we have been talking about that option.  Is you husband experiencing pain and does  being on hospice give him better pain control?  Our Oncologist is really pushing Taxotere and insists life expectancy can be increased by one or two years.  Everything I have read, including clinical studies, doesn't support her claims, but rather supports your doctor's opinion of 2 months added longevity.    It is so hard to know what to do.

My prayers are with you both,

Lee
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Avatar universal
Hi,
i'm sorry to hear your story, but it sounds as if you are both really enjoying one another and your new "normal".  Bravo to you both.
how is he doing now?  is he in much pain?  he is also way to young to be stricken with this awful disease!  how are you holding up?
God bless both of you
klauren
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Avatar universal
My husband is 51 and was diagnosed with Stage IIIb prostate cancer 2 years ago.  He had 5 weeks of external beam radiation and then 24 hours of internal radiation.   He was doing well on Lupron and Casodex, (and yes, with horrible hot flashes-he still gets them).  This past April after many tests we were informed that his prostate cancer had metastasized in his liver.  We were basically told that Taxotere would extend his life by 2 months.  With all the side effects we chose to go with hospice.  We've done alot of traveling with much help from our hospice team arranging to pick up meds in other states, etc, but it has been wonderful! We just got home from a week-long cruise to Alaska and Canada.  He gets tired more easily so we plan for rest periods.  

My history is so much like yours.  I married my husband, the man of my dreams and to whom I should've been with all my life, in 2003.  I have 2 adult sons that have so much love and respect for my husband.

For us, Hospice was the right choice because with the side effects of any type of chemotherapy, my husband wouldn't have been able to enjoy a "normal" life for the past 3 months, as he has.  

May God Bless you and your husband.
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Avatar universal
Hi Lee,
thanks again, for your input and advice.  I will most certainly look in to that.  How is your husband doing now?
I hope you both have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Best Regards,
Kim
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Avatar universal
Hi Kim

Thank you for all the info on your life.  You are right, your Michael is entirely too young to be struck with this horrible disease.  After I wrote last I realized that I didn't mention a new treatment, Firmagon, which is being used instead of Lupron and Casodex.  Please look into this as Michael may be able to tolerate it much better and other than site pain for a few days, has fewer side effects.  The results are impressive.  If you go to the American Cancer Society, Cancer Survivors Network, (csn.cancer.org/node/170142) there is a great discussion on Firmagon.  

My prayers are with you and Michael.  Please let me know what you think of above site.

Lee
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Avatar universal
Hi Lee,
thanks for getting back to me so quickly.  no, you're not being nosey at all!  My husband is only 54.  There inlies our greatest concern.  He is just way too young to be dealing with all of this.  And, to make matters worse, we just got married in August 2009.  I had been divorced and I finally met the man I should have met so many years ago.  I love him with all my heart and soul.  He is just an amazing man.  And he keeps me up!  He is so incredibly happy all the time and positive. I think i would just sit and cry if he weren't so "up"!  This awful disease has impacted his working ability and our intimacy, but we are dealing the best we can with our new "normal".  I just wish we had more answers about how this therapy will prolong his life.  No one seems to know for sure.  We would love to be able to do something like you and your husband did.  But right now, we both must continue to work and we love being here for our grandaughter (18 mos) and a new one on the way!  I have two children from my first marriage, son and daughter, 24 and 26.  my son is married and is thinking about starting a family.  My husband, Michael, has two children from his first marriage.  They are also a boy and girl, 24 and 26.  His daughter has the 18mo old and she is expecting another in September.  She is our little pride and joy.  We couldn't imagine being away from her.  Our plan is, if funds allow and Michael feels well enough in a couple of years, we would love to buy a large sailboat and just go....  god willing...we'll see.  
thank you so much for responding.  I wish your husband all the best.
please stay in touch.
Kim
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Avatar universal
Hello,
So good to hear from you.  My husband is 72 and was at your husband's stage several years ago.  Lupron and then Lupron and Casodex were very effective.  He had external beam radiation when diagnosed with PCa in 1997.  Went several years with normal PSA.  In 2004 his PSA started to climb and then he was on Lupon intermittently and, a couple of years later, an injection every 4 months.  Casodex was also added along the way.  The Lupron and Casodex were effective for 5 years as he had no outward symptoms until now and his PSA remained under 30.  My husband had the hot flashes also at first, but they did go away.  If I recall, the doc gave him something for that, but he didn't take it for very long.

A couple of years after the original diagnosis, we sold our home with the intention of taking a year to see the country in our RV and then settling down to live in a small condo.  Instead we spent 10 years on the road.  We got summer jobs to help with expenses, which turned out to be the greatest fun of all.  One summer my husband dressed as a cowboy helped put on gunfights in the streets of a small western town.  We worked at DisneyWorld and Adventure Land in Iowa to name but a few of our jobs.  Cooperating Urologists along the way gave my husband his Lupron injections.  It was the best ten years of our lives.  Each day was an adventure.  

I think there is great hope for your husband.  You need an adventure though.  Do something different that captures your imagination.  It will lift your spirits greatly and I believe add years to your doctor's prognosis.  

Please keep in touch.  You didn't mention your husbands age and would be interested in hearing more about your lives if I am not being too nosey..

my best regards,

Lee



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Avatar universal
Hi,
I am reaching out to you since your husband's situation sounds very similar to my husbands.  My husband had a radical prostatectomy in January 2010.  His post op PSA three months after surgery was 33.5.  His doctors started him on Casodex and Lupron injections.  He is miserable and sleeps most of the time with terrible hot flashes now.  We were told, with his condition, if he does not do anything, he could expect to live approximately 2-3 years.  He opted to go on his protocol in the hopes of extending his life, however, we have not seen, in all we have heard and read, that there is any solid evidence that it will do just that.  What do you know about hormone therapy and how long we can expect it to extend his life while waiting for some better treatment? We're presently waiting for his next PSA, which will be at the end of July.  If it has not come down, the doctor will start him on Taxotere therapy. I think we're in the same boat.  Can i ask, how old is your husband?  Did he have a radical prostatectomy?
I look forward to hearing back from you.  
my best regards,
Klauren
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