Hospital has no clinical trials and no insightful treatment possibilities | The Man I Love has Prostate Cancer | Forum

Hello, I'm writing on behalf of my father, who was first diagnosed in 2000 with prostate cancer (Gleason score 9). It was operated on then, but it recurred and tumours were discovered in his lungs in 2008. He has been going to a hospital without clinical trials here in Toronto. We are getting him a second opinion because the doc wants to start him on Taxotere now (there are numerous tumours on his spine and a increasing risk of spinal column compression, 1 tumour is getting close to 1 inch in size there now). I understand that there may be a drug available that can make Taxotere more effective against tumours with a high Gleason score. Is it reasonable to wait with using plain Taxotere? Or should he be starting that in any case, with the spinal tumours about to cause problems? What should we do – does anyone have any ideas for us? His cancer until now has not responded to hormone deprivation. Thanks, SI