The following is a post from Chuck Maack on the Advanced Prostate Cancer Internet support group:

“It came to mind wondering how many patients and/or their caregivers prescribed Zytiga/abiraterone acetate have ever taken the important time to read all the details regarding the effects that may be experienced by patients and whether or not they and their prescribing physician are insuring that appropriate blood testing is being performed at appropriat intervals to be aware of the numerous effects that can occur in order to remedy those effects in short order or even realize, depending on blood level results, should stop continuing with this medication. Please take that important time to read the lengthy information in this paper:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130331142905/http://www.zytigahcp.com/prescribing-information.

If there are areas you don’t understand but appear important, write notes and take them with you to your next doctor appointment.

Zytiga is a remarkable medication for those who can tolerate the medication and whose blood levels remain within the defined appropriate levels. It provides at least a median of over 13 months effectiveness, and in my personal case has continued effectiveness for 20 months and continuing. “

As usual, Chuck is right on target. However, I want to add that this is true for all drugs we take, both drugs that treat advanced prostate cancer and drugs that treat a minor aliment.

Anything we put into our mouths, allow to be injected into our bodies comes with side effects, good ones and bad ones. Deciding to take a drug or treatment is always a decision which requires us to balance the positive possibilities against the negative possibilities.

We can only balance these by fully understanding what are the possible side effects that we might experience. When reviewing the information we also need to always keep in mind that the listed side effects are possible side effects. There is no way we have to predict what, if any, and to what extend we might experience a side effect, or even if the drug will work.

Become educated and make informed decisions. Do your homework and ask questions.

Thank you Chuck for thinking of us and pointing out this very important issue.

You can join the Advanced Prostate Cancer Internet Support Group by clicking on the below link:

https://healthunlocked.com/advanced-prostate-cancer

Joel T Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.