Relief (I hope)

By gumbohead1

2 min read

ADT hormone therapy as prostate cancer treatment

After undergoing hormone therapy (ADT) and external beam radiation back in September, I had a PSA test this morning and received my results. My last PSA was 9.4; today it was <0.1. I have my first follow-up with my oncologist on Tuesday, but I was excited to get the results in advance. So excited that I burst into tears and couldn't stop crying for several minutes. Ugly crying. I have such a mixture of emotions -- relief, thankfulness, and hope, but also fear that it's a mistake, or maybe just a temporary reprieve. I'm not a religious person at all, but I prayed that it was a significant respite, and I thanked all my ancestors for watching over and protecting me.

Adoption and unknown family history

I'm adopted and don't know anything about my birth parents, so I've never known my medical history. Found out I had Type 2 diabetes in 2008 and the cancer diagnosis came last spring. It came out of the blue and had me pretty depressed for a while. I spoke with my urologist, who recommended I speak with a radiation oncologist to explore all my options. After second opinions and discussions with friends (and friends of friends, some of whom chose surgery as their best option), I went the radiation route.

Blessed with caregivers

I never thought I would have cancer. Somehow figured I manage to dodge that particular bullet. But now I have so much empathy and love for everyone who has to deal with this stupid f-ing disease -- the ones who have it, and the ones who support them. Not sure what I'm trying to say here, but right now I feel so blessed to have a strong and kind wife and supportive family, some seriously skilled doctors, and oncology staff, and I'm hopeful things will continue on a positive note. To everyone struggling with their diagnosis, how to treat it, or wherever you are on your journey, I feel you and wish you a mountain of strength, an ocean of peace and a galaxy of love. Hang in there.

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Sue Franke Moderator & Contributor
How wonderful and awesome that your psa results were less than 0.1. I understand the "ugly" crying both as as caregiver for my husband (prostate cancer), my daughter (breast cancer), and myself (breast cancer). I fight the tears but at some point they come and they are cleansing and freeing. I will take your wishes for a mountain of strength, an ocean of peace and a galaxy of love for myself and my family, and wish the same back for you and yours.
kjfnjy Member
While I am now (thankfully) off of ADT, during my period of treatment my hot flashes were quite different than those described in this piece. First, they impacted my whole body, leaving me feeling almost like I was on fire. Not only my face, but my torso and even my arms, legs, hands, and feet would sweat profusely and literally feel hot to the touch. (My wife would sometimes respond with a 'wow' after touching my skin during a hot flash.) Second, while they would sometimes last only 20 minutes, it was much more common for my hot flashes to last 90 to 120 minutes. Third, hot flashes were just one side of the coin. I also experienced cold flashes when I felt I was freezing and simply could not warm up. The cold flashes were less frequent than the hot flashes, but were not rare either. One aspect of the hot and cold flashes I discussed with my oncologist was the impact that they had on temperature readings -- an important factor during the time of routine temperature screenings under CoVid protocols. As she explained, hot flashes are not just a perception; they are real. While internal core body temperature tends not to change during a hot flash, skin temperature can vary drastically. This was very inconvenient since a routine forehead temperature scan could result in a reading of anywhere between 87 (during a severe cold flash) to 105 (during a severe hot flash). On my oncologist's advice, I always warned the screeners at the entrance to the hospital where I receive care that my skin temperature varied wildly as a result of the cancer treatment I was on and that they may need to use an oral thermometer to get an accurate reading. Luckily, that worked, albeit not always smoothly. (One medical tech was worried I was in severe shock when his forehead thermometer registered 87 F even after multiple readings.) Needless to say, I was very happy when the hospital dropped the requirement for temperature scans before entering the building.
Richard Faust Community Admin
Hi <inline-mention username="gumbohead1" user-id="6685024"/>. That is great news. You mentioned not knowing your family history, so I want to note that if you have children you may want to get tested for the BRCA genes. They can be a precursor for both prostate and breast cancer. This article goes into more detail on risk factors: <a href='https://prostatecancer.net/risk-factors' target='_blank'>https://prostatecancer.net/risk-factors</a>. Wishing you continued undetectable PSA. Best, Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)