Yesterday, November 11, 2009, I wrote that I appreciated knowing what my survival chances were after learning that I had a returning PSA, so I thought that this study was particularly relevant. At the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) conference, Dr. Buyyounouski and his colleagues from the Fox Chase Cancer Center reported on a [...]
A post-surgery increase of PSA (usually three increases) is the definition for a prostate cancer recurrence. The best response after these increases is to radiate the prostate bed in hopes for stopping any stray cancer cells that had escaped prior to surgery. Using salvage radiation is the only remaining treatment modality that might allow a [...]
I often discuss the use of salvage radiation after surgery has failed and the PSA begins to rise. Although often mentioned, but seldom used, men who fail radiation as a primary treatment can also benefit from salvage surgery. When I first was deciding what to use as my primary treatment modality I was led to [...]
A relatively new arrival on the cancer scene is a test called the circulating cancer cell test. Many of the major labs and hospital cancer cells are able to run the test, including Quest Diagnostics, which has named this test as the Cell Search test. Just like the PSA test, it is a blood test. [...]
I just read an abstract about using half-body irradiation (HBI) to control pain and quality of life (QOL) issues in cancer patients with multiple bone metastases (mets). I had never heard of HBI and since advanced prostate cancer commonly progresses to create bone metastases, I thought that it would be a good topic to explore. [...]