YANA - YOU ARE NOT ALONE NOW

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

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Stephen Taylor and Bin live in Thailand. He was 61 when he was diagnosed in June 2007. His initial PSA was 19.8 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was3+3=6 and he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was Hormone Blockade - ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy). Here is his story.

Diagnosed: June 2007. Aged 61. PSA 19.6. DRE negative.
Biopsy: June 2007; 2 cores of 18 positive.
MRI and Bone Scan: Negative.
Pathology: 5% of 1 core, "Small focus" in another core positive.
Gleason 3 + 3 = 6.
Clinical: PCa considered confined to prostate. Stage T1c.

Treatment: I was offered RP (Radical Prostatectomy) and then High Dose Brachytherapy but I was not convinced about the survival benefits of either after educating myself about PCa.

I was intrigued by the long term survival results by Dr Bob Liebowitz and Dr Steven Tucker for "Intermittent Triple Androgen Blockade Therapy (TAB)" and after consulting Dr Tucker in Singapore in July 2007 decided on a course of TAB for one year using Zoladex, Casodex 150 mg/day, Avodart 0.5 mg/day. I switched to generic Casodex and Avodart after three months.

Although not a cure for PCa I hope TAB will contain the disease for many years and hopefully in the meantime some new treatments will be developed.

Start PSA 19.2 (July 2007).
Current Status: PSA 0.018 (June 2008) - PSA nadir.
So far so good. I start 3-monthly PSA checks after 23 July 2008.

Steve.

 

UPDATED

July 2008

 

 

I completed the 1-year of Intermittent Androgen Blockade Therapy on 22 July 2008, and will now continue with Avodart alone for "maintenance" and monitor the PSA every 3-months.

The reason for this post is that I would like to follow alternative natural remedies for managing the PCa, and would be interested in hearing from others with a similar approach. I am trying to follow the BUDWIG PROTOCOL (flax seed oil + cottage cheese, etc), [What Steve is referring to here is part of the BUDWIG PROTOCOL which, as this link states is more complex than merely combining cottage cheese and linseed oil. As a matter of interest, Dr Budwig’s diet requires QUARK, not cottage cheese, which is different. You will see, if you link to the page above that there is a reference to CLIFFIE BECKWORTH’S “cure”. Cliffie was part of an on line group that I joined for some years and I have no doubt that he was a perfectly decent man and that he believed in what he said, but he was somewhat vague as to the details of his “Advanced Prostate Cancer” and whether he had ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) as well as the cottage cheese and linseed oil. It appeared that he had some form of intermittent hormone therapy.] plus a mainly VEGETARIAN DIET with no sugar, trans-fats, processed food. I also have a couple of glasses of VEGETABLE/FRUIT JUICE daily. I checked the drinking water I use and found it slightly acidic, so have changed to more ALKALINE bottled water and ionized water. I do moderate walking EXERCISE daily.

At present I am not big on supplements but might consider them in future. I'm taking a MULTI-VITAMIN plus additional VITAMIN D3 (I previously had my VITAMIN D3 level checked and it was on the low side)+ SAW PALMETTO (I have BPH) + ASHITABA liquid (a Japanese plant extract which is supposed to help the immune system).

 

UPDATED

August 2008

 

 

I've just completed 1-year of Intermittent Triple Androgen Blockade Therapy (TAB) using Zoladex/Casodex/Avodart, during which time my PSA reduced from 19.2 to 0.02. Now I carry on with Avodart alone, but I'm also continuing with the Budwig Protocol to see if it will keep the PCa under control.

In the Leibowitz study of TAB the PSA graph for 183 men is as follows. He reported a 99.5% survival rate over 8-years.

 

.

January 2009: Correction: this graph shows the results of the first 100 men in the Leibowitz study.

Steve.

 

UPDATED

January 2009

 

 

It's now 18 months since starting this journey in June 2007, and 6-months after completing 1-year of Intermittent Triple Androgen Blockade Therapy using Zoladex, generic Casodex and Avodart, in July 2008.

My current PSA on 21 Jan 2009 = 0.22 and my Testosterone has recovered to 312 ng/dl. PSA nadir was 0.01 in October 2008. I continue with the Budwig Protocol. For more info about this the best web site is Healing Cancer Naturally.

I switched from generic Avodart to generic Proscar (for no very good reason except the Proscar is cheaper and I know someone who's used it for years without apparent negative side effects). I continue with the few supplements I mentioned previously except I didn't notice any benefits using SAW PALMETTO for night time urination (remaining about 2 x a night) so switched to BETA SITOSTEROL 500 mg.

I've been lazy with the JUICING but should start again.

The increase in PSA to 0.22 from 0.01 3-months ago is very large in percentage terms but is still below the blue line at 18-months in the previous graph. Remember my prostate is intact so presumably the PSA will rise to the "normal" level even without PCa. I'll continue on the same track and decide what to do if the PSA rises too fast.

I want to avoid a RP, IMRT, Brachytherapy, or other standard treatments because I don't think they provide any survival benefit.

 

UPDATED

June 2009

 

 

I'm now coming on for 2-years since the start of my journey and 11-months since I completed a 1-year course of Triple Androgen Blockade Therapy using Zoladex, Casodex, and Avodart/Proscar.

Unfortunately, my recent PSA numbers do not look so good, as follows: 0.22 (Jan 09), 1.96 (April 09), 4.10 (June 09).

I stopped the Budwig Protocol in April 09 because of the PSA rise. I thought I was fairly compliant with the protocol, but admit to consuming some tuna fish which is not allowed.

Since then I have moved to a strictly Vegan diet with no meat, eggs, or milk, but the PSA continued to go up way beyond the blue line (see above graph) of the first 100 patients in the Leibowitz-Tucker study. I also stopoed taking the supplements except Vitamin D3. My oncologist is prepared to wait another 4~6 weeks to see if the PSA stabilises, but it looks as if the PCa is more aggressive than we hoped for.

That being the case, I will probably have to consider either Surgery or IMRT/Tomotherapy or High Dose Brachytherapy/IMRT (all with adjuvant Hormone Therapy).

I had hoped to avoid these treatments, but have to face the fact that the Intermittent HT did not last even 2-years in the off cycle. I welcome any comments from others in a similar situation.

Steve.

 

UPDATED

September 2009

 

Shortly after my PSA rose to 4.10 in June 2009, I decided to try the Chinese herbal tea from Dr. Chris Teo , together with a very strict Vegan diet (no meat, milk, sugar, cooking or other oils, refined salt, etc). Dr Teo is a retired Professor of Botany from a Malaysian University. The initial results are encouraging and appear to have stopped the exponential rise in my PSA. After 5-weeks on the herbs/diet my PSA dropped to 3.85 in July 2009, and then after another 6-weeks it rose slightly to 3.96 in August 2009. The PSA seems to have levelled out to form a plateau. I decided to wait 3-months for another PSA check and put any thoughts about radical treatment on hold.

Steve has written up his story in somewhat greater detail at the CA Care site. The relevant part, which brings his story up to date is:

I should make clear that during the rise of my PSA to 4.10 I stopped taking Beta Sitosterol and Multi-Vitamin supplements, but continued taking 1,200 IU / day of Vitamin D3. I had checked my “25-OH Vitamin D3” (Vitamin D3) level in March 2008 and the result of 33.18 ng/ml was lower than the optimal range of 65-90 ng/ml for cancer patients, so had started taking the Vitamin D3 supplement. A second check in July 2008 showed an increased level of 66.53 ng/ml and I’ve continued with the Vitamin D3 supplement and also try to have sun baths for a few minutes on most days. I also do moderate walking exercise for at least 30-minutes a day.

When I saw the local oncologist to get the test result when my PSA went down to 3.85, and even before I had sat down in his office, he exclaimed excitedly “Your PSA’s gone down!” and followed it up by asking “Have you been taking anything?” I said I had been on a strict diet and taking Chinese herbal teas. His response was “There must be hormones in the herbs” to which I replied I very much doubt that is the case (and note my testosterone level had actually increased). Dr. Teo and I had a good laugh about it when I told him the story. On the last visit to the same oncologist he said, without any justification at all, “I’m sure it’s due to the strict diet and nothing to do with the herbs” and tried to tell me (like talking to a complete idiot --- maybe I am, as a Chartered Engineer with a Physics degree!!) about how unscientific the herbal remedy was and how the medical profession requires clinical trials. I told him that he must know very well that the drug companies will not finance any trials if there is no money to be made from it. Just look at the exorbitant cost of the hormone medications.

My own thoughts about the current situation with the diet and herbs is that the results look very promising indeed, but despite the enthusiasm and kindness of Dr. Chris Teo who tells me I would be his first failure, I think that prostate cancer (and life) is too uncertain to say definitively that I have managed to overcome the PCa using the diet and herbs. It does give me great encouragement to carry on with the same protocol.

I have no regrets at all about doing the one year of Intermittent Hormone Therapy, which had successfully reduced my PSA from 19.6 to a very low 0.01 (before rising again), thanks to Dr. Steven Tucker. I’m also grateful that the doctors at local hospitals in Bangkok were prepared to carry out the routine checks and procedures as recommended by Dr. Tucker when they obviously did not agree with the therapy. During this time I sought advice from other urologists and two of them recommended (seriously) an orchiectomy (removal of the testicles) as an effective and cheap (!) treatment option. I politely but firmly declined the offers, and wondered if the same urologists would still recommend a lobotomy to cure psychological problems!

As part of the Intermittent Hormone Therapy I took Avodart, and after I completed the one year on hormones I have continued taking Avodart (later Proscar) as so called “Finasteride Maintenance” according to the Leibowitz-Tucker protocol. In August 2009 I have decided to discontinue the Proscar. This medication is known to reduce PSA values, so under normal circumstances I might expect my PSA to rise somewhat after stopping taking Proscar. We shall see.

 

UPDATED

December 2009

 

 

My latest PSA on 26 November 2009 was 5.88, a rise from three months ago when it was 3.96, having formed a plateau at around 4.0 for several months. The rise is not entirely unexpected since I stopped taking Proscar (Finasteride) after the last test and Proscar is known to suppress PSA values by up to 50%. I will continue the strict Vegan diet plus herbs from CA Care and get another PSA test in three months. At present I take no medications at all, and the only supplements I have are 1,200 IU of Vitamin D3 a day, plus occasionally I use a Vitamin B-12 skin patch (vegetarian diets can result in a Vitamin B-12 deficiency).

Please see a comprehensive review of my story including videos (not for those with a nervous disposition!) . .

 

UPDATED

September 2010

 

 

Thought I would update my YANA story, since my last update was December 2009. Current PSA = 9.84. Treatment = Diet and herbs.

In February 2010 my PSA had risen to 7.79 from the previous 5.88, and so I decided to stop taking the CA Care herbs and I started taking some Thai herbs developed by a local university, while continuing the strict Vegan/Macrobiotic diet. I checked my saliva hormone levels at ZRT Labs w and found my testosterone and DHEA were low, so I also started testosterone and progesterone supplementation using transdermal creams, and DHEA supplementation using 25 mg / day of DHEA.

I'm well aware that most doctors would throw up their hands in horror about using testosterone supplementation for PCa patients, but I think the evidence against its use is weak, especially after reading Testosterone For Life by Dr. Abraham Morgentaler. I also started taking various supplements including DIM, CoQ10, Beta Sitosterol, and others, as recommended by Roger Mason at Young Again™. See his eBook The Natural Prostate Cure and other articles on his web site.

I also started using a home-made Rife machine, and while I don't have much faith in these type of devices, I know that Chris Teo from CA Care has had surprisingly good results with late stage cancer patients, so I figured it was worth a try since I could assemble the Rife machine using my PC and an audio amplifier.

In April 2010 I decided to have a Transrectal Ultrasound, and this did not detect any abnormalities or tumors, except an enlarged prostate. I had found images of PCa using transrectal ultrasound on the Internet, so I'm encouraged that at least I don't have any obvious tumors, although of course the sensitivity of the test is limited.

By April 2010 my PSA had risen to 9.73, but had dropped to 8.03 in June 2010 (encouraging !). However, after another two months to August 2010 the PSA had risen again to the current 9.84. I still don't have any symptoms and feel fine, except for a couple of night time bathroom visits. The following graph shows the state of play to date.

 

It does look as if the PSA is continuing to rise and the 8.03 PSA in June was a fluke result, but I'll give it some more time to see if I can stabilize the PSA. [PSA results can be influenced by a wide variety of causes - see PSA 101 for more information] If it reaches (say) 12 I may consider trying PC Hope from Nutrition2000 . [PC Hope is a clone of PC Spes (Spes meaning Hope in Latin) and is considered to be dangerous. The most likely active ingredient is DES (diethylstilbestrol). DES can be used effectively as part of an ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) but needs to be closely supervised because it can cause thromboses to develop.] I spoke by phone to a couple of PCa survivors in the US who have used PC Hope and they were very positive about it.

The only other option I would consider right now is Transurethral Hyperthermia of the prostate by one of several German clinics, or as a last resort go back on Intermittent Triple Androgen Blockade Therapy using Zoladex, Casodex, and Proscar.

Steve.

Steve's e-mail address is: taiping194@gmail.com