Ian
Vagg and Pam live in Queensland, Australia was 61 when he was diagnosed in August
2005. His initial PSA was 24.0 ng/ml, his initial Gleason Score was 8 and he was
stage as T4M. His choice of treatment was Hormone therapy - Androgen Deprivation
Therapy (ADT). Here is his story:
I was not watching my PSA despite
some warning signs as I was keeping an eye on my heart and blood preasure
I
was having iregular PSA tests and two years ago my PSA was 3.6 ng/ml although
it had been rising
I experienced some leg pain around six months ago and
believed it was caused by playing more golf and tennis than normal - the pain
would go away with rest and/or physiotherapy.
About three months ago the
leg pain got worse and after consulting my GP he prescibed Voltaren and sent me
to a bone specialist. He thought I might need a hip replacement but after an X-ray
said no. He arranged an MRI scan. Unfortunately this showed a small bone tumour
in the hip area. Further tests showed an enlarged prostate and a biopsy showed
that the tumour was prostate related. My PSA was 24.0 ng/ml.
After consulting
a number of specialists the Urologist explained only option would be Hormone therapy
. He aranged an injection of Eligard (a new drug)together with cyprostat acetate
to stop the flare. After four weeks my PSA dropped to 1.7 ng/ml and he took me
off the cyprostat tablets .
My side effects have been quite minimal -no
hot flushes and some tiredness -I am having accupucture and taking some supplements
as well as changing my diet. My libido has dropped but still functioning.
I
work as a tax accountant in my own business and am in the process of significantly
reducing my workload so I can concentrate on my health.
Have consulted
with a number of mentors and realise the medical profession can only do so much
and it will be up to me to handle this situation. Fortunately my wife has a number
of contacts in the complemenary health field and that is proving to be useful.
We
are planning to spend 10 days over Xmas in a Tao budhist health resort in Thailand
and believe this will be a positive experience.
My next PSA test is just
before Xmas and expecting my PSA to continue dropping -hopefully to below 1.0
ng/ml.
My bone pain has disappeared at this stage
Interested in
talking to mentors in a similar situation especially with an emphasis on alternative
and complementary treatment options.
I
had a PSA test just before Xmas 2005 and my PSA continued to drop from 1.7 ng/ml
to 1.0 ng/ml. I had expected a sharper drop but my urologist said the result was
good and it was important that the PSA stayed low for a period of time.He saw
no need to change my treatment at this stage and he is reviewing my PSA every
3 months.
I
spent 10 days at a Tao Buddhist health resort in Chiang Mai Thailand which was
an interesting experience. Concentration on good food, exercise, massage and Chinese
medicine. I need to go back for at least a month as I feel this type of treatment
could greatly assist.
Just
spent a month at a Chiang Mai health resort in Thailand and felt really good as
aresult -food was organic and plenty of exercise in morning and evening -no coffee
or alcohol allowed -had also treatment from a Chinese doctor who had plenty of
success with accupuncture on many of the guests -in my case concentrated on building
up my energy and immune system -also can eliminate any pain.
Everyone
was positive about everything -no negativity - PSA has remained at 1.0 ng/ml but
only receiving 3 monthly Eligard shot -no other medication -no real side effects
apart from low libido -no hot flushes -plenty of energy. Realise most men prefer
to adopt a more aggressive approach to cancer treatment but I intend to enjoy
my good quality of life whilst building up my immune ststem by whatever means
possible
Have
stopped work to concentrate on my health and also to eliminate stress.
Just
received my latest PSA test which has dropped from 1.0 ng/ml to 0.80 ng/ml - not
a big drop but a welcome one as the PSA had been holding at 1.0 ng/ml for around
four months - still only having three monthly Eligard injections plus plenty of
exercise and supplements and looking after my diet- hot flushes are increasing
and not having any treatment yet.
After
spending 5 weeks in Europe my PSA increased from 0.8 ng/ml to 0.9 ng/ml. While
my doctors were not worried about this it was the first time it had increased
since diagnosis. I then decided to have another test 4 weeks later and the PSA
went back to 0.8 ng/ml.
I
decided to see an Oncologist to review my situation and he said to remain on my
Eligard injections until my PSA started to rise.He also said there a number of
drug trials now available in Australia for advanced disease.he also said the average
time to hormone resistance was 3 years from diagnosis.
Off
to Thailand again for 2 months at the health resort in Chiang Mai. Hoping for
some PSA movement -it will be a good test to see the impact of diet and exercise
over a 2 month period.
Latest
PSA has declined to 0.7 ng/ml the lowest so far after nearly 2 years of hormone
treatment.
Have
decided to increase physical activity such as more golf,tennis and exercise and
also gym and swimming. I now have more energy and helps offset the effect of hormones.
Other
changes have been fish oil tablets and also drinking alkaline water -have installed
a unit in the house so the water is on tap. Have developed benign positional vertigo
which is apparently not a side effect but more annoying than anything - being
treated by a chiropractor and having some success.
My
doctor is happy with my progress but said I will have to remain on hormone therapy
for ever which is not a pleasant thought.
Just
celebrated Xmas 2007 with my family and still going OK -PSA 0.8 ng/ml in November
2007 after reaching 0.9 in August 2007 Had a scare a few months ago as hip problems
from playing too much sport - chiropractor was worried so had a CT scan but the
mets had disappeared and I had a small protruding disc on the right hip -cut back
the sport to only gym work and golf - so no more tennis
Back to Thailand
in November 2007 for a stay at our health resort - back into Chi Gung and good
food -it makes a difference -home for Xmas and then back again for a 2 month stay
in January and February 2008
Introduced into the Nutri
energetics system using a NES machine - had a test in Thailand and then came
back to Australia to get the products as none available there -saw an expert in
Australia and had another test - it all depends on the interpretation -the Infoceuticals
will hopefully boost my immune system and help fight the cancer have no idea whether
this will work or not but the doctor at the Chiang Mai resort is going to use
me as a case study - he is also looking at my diet and said I should go nearly
strictly vegetarian - also advised a detox program
Still only receiving
a 6 month Eligard injection and still OK after nearly 2 years and 6 months.
Arrived
back in Australia after nearly 3 months in Thailand at the health resort and pleased
that my PSA remained stable at 0.8.
Had
an appointment with my Urologist and received another 6 month Eligard injection.He
was happy with my progess and sugested no other treatment was necessary as my
PSA had remained stable for 2 1/2 years.
Had
no special treatment in Thailand apart from good food and exercise with an emphasis
on Chi Gung. I was interested to see that the health resort is promoting stem
cell injections mainly for rejuvenation purposes but can also be used to boost
the imune system.This is an exciting area of research which is not offered in
Australia .It will be something to consider if the hormone therapy stops working
although it is still regarded as experimental.
Still
having NES treatment in Australia but hard to measure the effectiveness at this
stage.
Ian's
e-mail address is: ian@vagg.com.au
