Why?????? was....... lupron shot

[Guest guest]

if what you have written here reflects

accurately what your doctor has told you then I’d say the sooner you get

someone who knows what they are talking about the better.

#1. It is not possible to make any

decision treatment based on a single PSA reading of 11.8 ng/ml. Because PSA is

NOT prostate cancer specific a reading at this level can be from any number of things,

none of which are going to cause your death in two years. PSA at this level

MIGHT have some prognostic value if it is the last in a series of rapidly

increasing numbers that might point to an aggressive disease. So if your

doctor truly said <snip> …. the only number that matters is the psa.

<snip> then he is also saying “I don’t know enough about this

disease to give you good advice. Go to another doctor.”

#2. The ONLY way that it is possible to

make a reasonable assessment of the aggressiveness of any tumour is to know

what grade it is. The system used for prostate cancer is the Gleason system and

tumours are scored by the total of two grades identified by a pathologist. The process

is subjective and therefore has a degree of inaccuracy. ALL Gleason Scores

should be checked by a competent pathology laboratory. You are entitled by law

to a copy of your pathology report (you may have to pay a small fee for the

cost of copying it) and if you are to be involved in making any decision abou

your future you should get hold of a copy of this as soon as possible. In refusing

to give you this information the doctor is underlining the fact that you should

go to someone else.

#3 Once you have the information about

your Gleason Score and if you can tell us what your PSA numbers have been doing

for the past year, we might be able to suggest to you a plan of action for

discussion with a competent medical advisor. That is when you need to decide

if Lupron is what you need.

#4 Unless your Gleason Score is 8 or

above, delaying any action for some time (up to two years suggests one study)

is NOT going to make any difference to the outcome of your disease or the

appropriate treatment. You have time to make a sensible decision. use the time

well to get the data you need.

#4 It is ESSENTIAL to remember that there

is only one Person who knows when you are going to die, and He ain’t

telling – and although many doctors tend to confuse themselves with

gods, they aren’t.

All the best,

Terry

Herbert in Melbourne, Australia

Diagnosed ‘96: Age

54: Stage T2b: PSA 7.2: Gleason 3+3=6: No treatment. August '06 PSA 27.4

My site is at www.yananow.net

As a

physician, I am painfully aware that most of the decisions we make with regard

to prostate cancer are made with inadequate data: Dr

“Snuffy” Myers.

From: ProstateCancerSupport

[mailto:ProstateCancerSupport ]

On Behalf Of CHARLES DAVID

CRAYCRAFT

Sent: 18 September 2006 12:02 AM

To: ProstateCancerSupport

Subject: lupron shot

hi,

i was diagnosed with prostate cancer aug 21 from biopsy. i passed

the ct scans and bone scan. so the cancer is in the

lower right third of the prostate.i'm 59 , psa is 11.8 . i asked

for the t counts and other numbers ,but the dr says that

those the only number that matters is the psa.

we currently live in florida and planning on

moving back to ohio

to retire in two years because of the increased living

expenses.

the dr wants to take out the prostate, but there are some issues:

1. i have no insurance to pay for this (estimated from hospital

45,000+)

2. i have heart disease, so the issue of my ability to survive

treatment is in question.

3. at our last meeting with my uriologist, he said i have to leave

florida now (sept 06) for ohio and get into

the welfare system with the chance of treating this before it

spreads.

4. my prognoses is 2 years or sooner and maybe a year after that

before i'm dead.

5. so he wants to give me a shot(lupron) to put me in to remission

for 3 months at a cost 2500.00 so that

i can have some time to find help in ohio.

6. columbus ohio has an excellent cancer center, its

just finding

the funding to pay for it.

7. i choose to get treatment in ohio,because

we have family there

for support.

my question is about this shot.

1. are the side effects going to impair my ability to move or should

i wait till after i move delaying the shot to

mid nov 06. he wants to give me the shot sept 26.

any ideas or thoughts would be a great help.

thanks

davecraycraft