I Really Want To Live
So its a positive world out there. I can tell you this, Larry. When people come to me and say Dennis, I hear you had some good success with people whove had stage 4 cancer and Ive got this, what do you think? And I simply say to them, You know, one of my requirements is that Ive got to have you answer one question for me first. And they say Yes, what is your question? And I wait purposely quite awhile. I want them to kinda get thinking in their mind What the heck is he gonna ask me? Because I want them really thinking about it.
Then I said Okay heres the question: Do you really want to live?And I dont say another word. And when I get that positive exciting response like Yes, Yes Denny. I really want to live! I really want to live! And I get that kinda response from a lot of them. And I said I want to tell you something. Youre already half healed. Your body is gonna work with you if you give it the right stuff. And I said I got just the stuff that you need to take.
Stage 4 Prostate Cancer Survivor Urges Every Man For The Sake Of All Who Love Him Get A Screening Life Is Precious
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or seek care at an emergency room.
Euvon Jones admits he took his health for granted. “I had great health all the way into my late 50’s,” says the Accokeek, Maryland resident. “I worked, went to the gym, and had an active life. I didn’t think it was necessary to check on my health or get screenings.” But when a limp from hip pain and diminishing appetite and energy levels could no longer be ignored, he went to the doctor. The news was not good. At age 59, Euvon was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. “Getting that diagnosis just about floored me,” he says.
Euvons PSA was 398. A normal PSA is 4 for a man his age. Euvons cancer was most likely silently growing for years, and a screening could have caught it. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. One in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis during their lifetime, but most will make a full recovery when the disease is caught early. Being aware of your risks and ensuring timely PSA screening can make all the difference.
Ultimately, Euvon choose immunotherapy, a process that stimulates a person’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively.
Focus On Hope And On What You Love
Billy has also found it heartening to support and encourage others with cancer by sharing much of his own experience with the community that regularly gathers on Connections.
I try to live each day as if I dont have this terrible disease, he says. My advice to others living with metastatic cancer is to focus on the things youve always loved doing. You dont have to try to find a reason to keep fighting cancer, but instead you need to see the reasons that are right there in front of you. His personal joys include cooking and vacationing in Cape Cod with his wife and friends every year and, as of 2012, spending time with his granddaughter, Collette.
Colette being born was one of the happiest moments of my life! he says. Maybe Ill survive to see her go to kindergarten or even graduate from college. I know it sounds ridiculous to entertain such unlikely hopes, but when hope is what sustains you, you just hope. And hope. And hope. Nobody lives forever, but Ill take every second of time I get. I live for the times I see her.
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When Surviving Cancer Means Living With It
Chuck Rose, creative director at NCI, shares his story about living with metastatic prostate cancer.
I saw a doctor after thinking I had some symptoms they mention on TV drug commercials, said Chuck Rose, a creative director at NCI. I didnt expect cancer.
He was 53 when he got the news: metastatic prostate cancer. What followed were multiple surgeries, monthly treatments, and radiation, which led to other physical issues he had to treat. In addition to emotional and physical effects stemming from their diagnosis and treatment, many survivors experience a new vulnerability as they look ahead. Advances in survivorship science have increased our understanding of and ability to prevent and reduce these effects, but theres still more to learn and put into practice.
Chuck is one of 16.9 million Americans who are cancer survivors and part of a growing number living with cancer. Someone is considered a survivor from the moment theyre diagnosed, but there are different ways to experience survivorship. If you ask Chuck, hed say hes a survivor in lifelong containment. Although the cancer is gone, he continues treatment to keep it dormant.
How To Be Your Own Best Advocate
Alan Gelband has an undetectable PSA. Two years after robotic prostatectomy for organ-confined prostate cancer, he has come through diagnosis, treatment and recovery, and life is good. But he will never forget what it was like during that time, and because of that, he shares what he has learned with. Read More
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The Beginning Of The Journey
And so the journey started. I was put on hormone therapy treatment almost immediately.
Waiting for the result of a bone scan was particularly difficult. It was all clear, with no spread an enormous relief! The family, including our son who lives in Canada, were over the moonWow, the emotion of it all. Already, the highs and lows that can and will arise were there. More to come undoubtedly!
The early proposals for treatment from our oncology consultant were, following the hormone therapy, two forms of radiotherapy- brachytherapy and external beam. That doesnt sound so bad was my initial reaction, despite having little real understanding of the implications! However, before that even started, our consultant proposed the addition of chemotherapy, to which I thought oh no I dont like the sound of that The proposal was based on experiences from the STAMPEDE trial, and statistics indicated an improvement in outcome. My daughter, a doctor, said firmly Dad youve got to do it! In a slightly bizarre way I felt encouraged that I was deemed to be fit enough, even at age 71, to be able to cope with all that was being proposed.
Prostate Cancer Is Common With Aging
After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. About 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. And these are just the men who are diagnosed. Among very elderly men dying of other causes, a surprising two-thirds may have prostate cancer that was never diagnosed.
Only 1 in 36 men, though, actually dies from prostate cancer. Thats because most prostate cancers are diagnosed in older men in whom the disease is more likely to be slow-growing and non-aggressive. The majority of these men eventually pass away from heart disease, stroke, or other causes not their prostate cancer.
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Where Do These Numbers Come From
The American Cancer Society relies on information from the SEER database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute , to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer.
The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for prostate cancer in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by AJCC TNM stages . Instead it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages.
- Localized: There is no sign that the cancer has spread outside the prostate.
- Regional: The cancer has spread outside the prostate to nearby structures or lymph nodes.
- Distant: The cancer has spread to parts of the body farther from the prostate, such as the lungs, liver, or bones.
Is Stage 4 Cancer Always Terminal
More severe cancers are more likely to be terminal. However, that is never a certainty. For example, the American Cancer Society say the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer that spreads to distant body parts is 27%, or 86% when it only spreads locally.
Determining the severity of cancer and its stage is a complex process. Doctors are still learning about all the factors that affect how cancer develops and affects the body.
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Survival Of Men With Metastatic Castration
There has been regular discussion here and elsewhere about the degree to which new forms of therapy have impacted patient survival since the original approval of docetaxel for treatment of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer . The one thing that has always been clear is that one couldnt just add up the median survival benefits of all the new drugs and assume that the total would be the degree of absolute benefit.
We had not noticed this at the time, but as of February 2018 we have had some much more concrete information about this topic from one of the very best cancer centers in the world: the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
At the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, earlier this year, Francini et al. reported data from a total of 583 patients, all diagnosed with and treated for mCRPC at DFCI and whose data were compiled in the DFCI Clinical Research Information System.
Francini et al. subdivided these patients into two cohorts, as follows:
Here are the core study findings:
- Average follow-up was
- 10.6 years for patients in Cohort A
- 4.6 years for patients in Cohort B
Prostate Cancer Survivor Does His Homework
When Kent Lawrence, now 77, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, he didnt know much about it. He jokes that he didnt even know how to spell it. But he and his wife quickly got up to speed by reading books, articles, and Web sites that described the many different options in prostate cancer treatment. When it was time to meet with a team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, they were prepared. The treatment recommended by the team matched what the Lawrences had already determined would probably be best. That helped make them feel confident in their decision.
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Genentech Provides Update On Tecentriq Us Indication For Previously Untreated Metastatic Bladder Cancer
South San Francisco, CA November 28th, 2022
Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the company is voluntarily withdrawing the U.S. indication of Tecentriq® for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and whose tumors express PD-L1 or are not eligible for any platinum-containing chemotherapy regardless of PD-L1 status.
Genentech made this decision following consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , in accordance with the requirements of the FDA’s Accelerated Approval Program. The Phase III IMvigor130 trial was designed to evaluate Tecentriq plus platinum-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of people with previously untreated advanced bladder cancer. IMvigor130 was the designated postmarketing requirement to convert the accelerated approval to regular approval, and it did not meet the co-primary endpoint of overall survival for Tecentriq plus chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone. These data will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.
This decision does not affect other approved indications for Tecentriq in the U.S.
Genentech will work with the FDA over the coming weeks to complete the withdrawal process and notify healthcare professionals in the U.S. about this withdrawal. Patients in the U.S. being treated with Tecentriq for previously untreated mUC should discuss their care with their healthcare provider.
Im Sorry Your Mother Is
Im sorry your mother is dealing with such an advanced stage of cancer. Usually, the Stage is determined after surgery but the results of the tests must be indicative. How treatable it is, will depend a great deal on the type of uterine cancer and the Grade of her cancer. The waiting is very difficult no answers, no information. The gyn-onc will be the most informative. Your mother is most likely quite fearful of what this all means and the most you can do is be there for her and be as supportive as you can. Feeding her a highly nutritious diet will help her stay in best condition for any upcoming treatment.
I was Stage IVb following surgery four years ago with an aggressive cancer, UPSC. I continue to be in treatment for recurrences but I am still here! With these diseases each case is unique and will follow a specific treatment plan which can include surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy and this can be affected by any other health issues she may be dealing with.Take care and let us know how she is doing.Annie
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Find A Treatment That Suits You
Hank Curry doesnt take life lying down. He hauls hay and competes in roping competitions. So when the Gardnerville, Nevada resident was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December 2011, he adopted the same approach to fighting cancer.
Currys doctors encouraged him to have surgery. After all, the cancer was pretty advanced. When he had a biopsy, doctors checked 16 places on the prostate for the presence of cancer. All 16 came back positive.
They said they felt there was a good chance the cancer had spread out of the prostate itself and into my abdominal cavity. They told me we could remove it, but there was no guarantee they would get it all, he says. If youre going through the inconvenience and surgery and the pain to have that surgery and it still might not eliminate the cancer, I realized that wasnt the surgery for me.
Instead, Curry underwent 9 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week. He then received Lupron injections to keep his body from producing testosterone that could fuel a recurrence of his cancer. He started his treatments in January 2012 and ended them 8 months later in August.
During his treatments, Curry maintained a regular physical regimen, ate well, and tried to keep his body in shape. This helped him regain his strength and continue with hay hauling. I dont feel like Im a wimp or anything.
Stage 4 Prostate Cancer
Hi all,
Am new to this and unsure where to even start. Husband has had a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Gleason score of 8, MRI suggested spread to some lymph nodes and bone scan initially clear. Subsequent PET scan has revealed a suspected spot in his lower spine. Feeling utterly terrified after some initial googling on survival rates. He has begun hormone therapy and will have chemo. Has anyone been through similar and defied the odds? Any advice on where to find clinical trials? Am grateful that it only seems to be in one small area of bone and hoping this means it can be stopped in its tracks? He is in general good health and not feeling unwell.
Thank you so much for reading,
Fran
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Alternative And Traditional Therapies Tried
Larry: And the pH Therapy is the only thing you did when you found that out?
No, they also did some Fermagon, 3 shots.
Larry: For your prostate?
No, for the bone cancer.
Larry: For the bone cancer.
Three shots, a month apart.
Larry: Yeah and there were no conflicts or anything with what you were doing?
No Family History Lots Of Family Support
Lawrence never expected to get cancer because it didnt run in his family. It was at the doctors suggestion that he began getting an annual prostate-specific antigen blood test in 1993. Hed been having the tests for 11 years when his PSA level jumped to 5 times what it had been the year before. Additional tests confirmed that he had an aggressive kind of prostate cancer. But there was also good news: it had probably not yet spread to other parts of his body.
When Lawrence found out he had prostate cancer, his family and friends rallied around him. His wife theyve now been married 54 years gave up many activities to be with him at his medical appointments. Lawrence said, It meant the world to me to have her by my side.
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What Happens Now This Doctor Wants To Help Survivors Navigate The Answer
In her work as Director of the Cancer Survivorship Division at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and beyond, Dr. Melissa Hudson is helping ensure that pediatric cancer survivors are able to get the care they need.
She rolled up her sleeves and said, I know I gotta do this, said Dr. Melissa Hudson, about a mother whose child survived a complicated brain tumor. She was able to get the care her child needed, but it shouldnt have been so difficult, said Dr. Hudson, director of the Cancer Survivorship Division at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. We need to do better at connecting pediatric cancer survivors to care and resources.
A better understanding of cancer biology and treatment gained over the past 50 years has contributed to an increase in pediatric cancer survivors. Studies looking at whether treatment intensity can be reduced without making it less effectivecalled de-escalation trialsled to changes like radiation being reduced or eliminated because we realized we were overtreating, said Dr. Hudson. Diagnostic and clinical care improvements also emerged, such as using imaging instead of surgery to determine the stage of Hodgkin lymphoma.
Ultimately, its vital to not only reduce the negative impact that cancer treatments can have on a persons quality of life, but also ensure cancer survivors have access to the care they need, so that they can do more than just survivethey can thrive.