When we make treatment decisions we never know how effective the treatment will actually be for each individual and for how long that treatment effect might last. This makes all of our treatment decisions guess work. A recent study has demonstrated that counting circulating tumor cells in the blood can be used to predict prostate [...]
Go to a prostate cancer support group and I guarantee sometime during the conversation the issues surrounding diet and supplements will become a hot topic of conversation. My guess is that if you poll the topics of the “special guest lecturers” that speak at support groups, 15% of the topics will include diet and supplements. [...]
When we are diagnosed with prostate cancer, especially with recurrent prostate cancer, we shoulder the emotional burden of telling our loved ones. This burden comes at the very same moment that we too are managing our own emotional response to the news. When diagnosed, we face an uphill emotional battle. At the exact time we [...]
Once we develop metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer and experience disease progression after receiving docetaxel-based chemotherapy we have no approved treatment options. We have hit the proverbial wall! In the process of attempting to develop additional treatments, ImClone Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: IMCL), announced the beginning of a Phase II clinical trial for men with advanced prostate [...]
Coincidentally, when I experienced my PSA recurrence of prostate cancer my rheumatologist suggested that I have an MRI to check up on the status of spinal involvement from my arthritis. After going through the usual struggles with the insurance company, I did have the MRI. While still dealing with the emotional issues of learning about [...]
As my regular readers probably have noted from prior posts, I am a strong advocate for research and the development of a prostate cancer vaccine. A cancer vaccine is different from the more “common” types of vaccines that are familiar to us. The “common” vaccines (i.e. tetanus or polio) are administered prior to having an [...]
On August 9, Skip Ciccarelli, a 60-year-old prostate cancer survivor arrived at New York City’s Manhattan Kayak Company, located at Pier 66. He was greeted by almost nobody and without any representatives of the press to cover the end of his journey! Ciccarelli arrival at Pier 66 having completed his Olympian type marathon. His arrival [...]
We all know, or at have heard, that drinking grapefruit juice can increase the absorption of certain oral drugs. The result of the increased levels of absorption is the possibility that normal doses of drugs become toxic overdoses. At the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society there was a presentation that provided new [...]
Today’s New York Times had an article written by Jane Brody that discusses the painful issues surrounding the decision to stop treatment, and its negative side effects, and let a cancer survivor live their last weeks in relative peace. This is always a difficult decision as many of us wish to hold on to life, [...]
Last April HealthDay News ran an article about chemotherapy and patients fear about starting it. Most cancer survivors involved in a recent survey reported that they had been fearful of undergoing chemotherapy. The good news is that most also said the treatments were much less difficult than they had expected. The truly startling fact is [...]
