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New Year, new direction

Abiraterone, Advanced Prostate Cancer, David Emerson, Provenge, PSA -

Tomorrow is my 28 day appointment with my Oncologist. Due to the holidays, time flew by and I really find it hard to believe it is time to return to the cancer center.

I’m not sure what to expect with my PSA score. Regardless of what the results will be, we have to make a decision this week regarding the next treatment. We are still pursuing Provenge in New Jersey as well as Abiraterone in Los Angeles. Even though it will require a fair amount of travel, we are leaning towards Abiraterone. The reason we are favoring Abiraterone is that we believe I will have a much better chance of reducing my PSA and that is what we need to focus on at this point. This is not to rule out Provenge or to even say we don’t do both. I’m not sure that doing both simultaneously is even possible, but you never know.

The holidays were great. We saw a lot of family and enjoyed each other’s company. I think subconsciously we may be trying to store up the energy required for what lies ahead. This is a very brief update, more details over the next few days.

2 Responses to New Year, new direction

  1. You will see immediate and positive results with Abiraterone. Not so with Provenge. While Dendreon pushes the overall survival benefit in their PR, as more men are being treated it looks like there are a substantial number who have a difficult time during the treatment process and don’t see a PSA drop or symptom relief within even a few months.

    My experience was not what I expected. After my second Provenge treatment I had a huge flare-up of pain and my PSA tripled from the previous month. After the third and final treatment, another pain flare — and I didn’t even ask what the PSA was. However, this reaction and the flu-like symptoms do mean that your immune system is going crazy, which is what they expect.

    When I finally made it past the side effects of the third treatment (which included a full day flat on my back, shivering and in pain), it appeared that at least my PSA stabilized again and my pain went back to pre-Provenge levels. If I had been able to do Abiraterone I would have done it first to get pain and PSA managed before starting with Provenge.

    Best wishes however you proceed. And thanks as always for all you do, David