Fall is quickly approaching, along with the colors it also brings the influenza. For most people influenza is a bother, but for cancer survivors it brings many unique concerns not shared with the general population. It brings serious illness, hospitalizations and possibly death! During an influenza epidemic, between 21% and 33% of cancer survivors who [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We all know that abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone provides a survival advantage for men with castrate resistant advanced prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have had prior treatment with a taxane based chemotherapy. New information has shown that abiraterone acetate offers a somewhat longer overall survival benefit than the data originally presented when the trial halted [...]
