One of the constant complaints I hear fro men with advanced prostate cancer that has become castrate resistant about Provenge (sipuleucel-T) is that the anticipated increase in overall survival is only 4.1 months and given the cost of $93,000 for the three infusions many men feel that cost does not justify the survival benefit. My [...]
One of the more common side effects of chemotherapy is anemia, or the lack of hemoglobin (red blood cells). Severe anemia is dangerous and will require the suspension of the use of chemotherapy as well as immediate treatment. In light of this the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that Amgen Inc. developed [...]
Everyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am a passionate advocate for increased funding in the fight against cancer, especially prostate cancer. However, sometimes it is a good idea to push back from the table and evaluate the true nature of a situation. The Harris poll has published a recent survey which concluded [...]
Can brachytherapy be a reasonable salvage option for men with a local recurrence after the failure of initial radiotherapy for prostate cancer treatment? A recent review of the literature evaluated the use of radiation as a salvage option after the failure of local-only treatment with radiation. The results were mixed. The researchers did a PubMed [...]
On September 27th Dendreon announced that it has enrolled and started its first patient with metastatic advanced prostate cancer that is castrate resistanr in a European Union based clinical trial of Provenge. Finally, men in the EU can hope that in the near future that Provenge could become available to them. The trial is hoped [...]
Spinal cord compression is not an uncommon occurrence in men with advanced prostate cancer. Bones are the most common target of advanced prostate cancer, including the spine. Sadly, there is often a delay in diagnosing spinal cord compression resulting from prostate cancer. These delays in diagnosis can influence the eventual functional outcome. Oncologists, primary care [...]
We all manage to accumulate prescription and non-prescription medications that we no longer need. They can sit in our medicine chests accumulating dust or even be stolen and sold for illegal use. Some people just throw them away in their garbage cans and others flush them down the toilet. Al three of these solutions are [...]
Genomic Health, Inc. has announced they have had positive results from a large clinical validation study of a biopsy-based prostate cancer test designed to predict adverse pathology in men with early prostate cancer. The study, performed in collaboration with prostate cancer researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), met its primary endpoint by [...]
Many of us who are fighting advanced prostate cancer struggle with the perplexing side effects of non-steroidal antiandrogens (like Casodex). These side effects include gynecomastia (breast enlargement) and breast pain. In most cases as we use these drugs our breasts grow, become very sensitive and/or painful. In my case my breasts have grown to the [...]
Yesterday, I was given the honor of being named as one of the ten “influencers” in prostate cancer. The honor was extended by sharecare.org (twitter- Sharecare ?@SharecareNow ). Sharecare is active in many health issues, their prostate cancer expert’s page can be seen at: I am joined by some remarkable people; John McHugh, M.D. - [...]
