Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat, Feb 20, 2023
AnCan is grateful to the following sponsors for making this recording posssible: Bayer, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Janssen, Myriad Gentics, Myovant & Telix
All AnCan’s groups are free and drop-in … join us in person sometime! You can find out more about our 12 monthly prostate cancer meetings at https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/ Sign up to receive a weekly Reminder/Newsletter for this Group or others at https://ancan.org/contact-us/
Editor’s Pick:Let’s talk financial assistance … and a little mutation edcuation!! rd
Topics Discussed
PSA recurrence from mystery source; appointment made with a real GU med onc; what’s this TP53 index – allele frequency??; GU med oncs at MSKCC; chemo drives down PSA but no change in scans; buy a hard hat Dr. Kwon – Oliver Sartor’s inbound!; keep your hair with chemo; monitoring disease post salvage RT; finding financial assistance; when it comes to PSMA scans, mCRPC not the same as mHSPC; PSA up post chemo while abi challenges liver function; MPCP doesn’t provide patient feedback; PSA creeps up on IHT.
Chat Log
David Muslinsent · 6:25 PM
I did say that because he had a met in his girdle
Herb Courtney sent · 6:25 PM
Re the Axumin scan, I had a negative one at a PSA of ~6
sent · 6:30 PM
it took my brother well over a year before his post-radiation PSA started to drop
AnCan – ricksent · 6:42 PM
Bless you Norm!!!
George Rovder, Arlington VA sent · 6:54 PM
Thank you all. I have to go. George
Frank Fabish Columbus OH sent · 7:11 PM
Thanks guys for sharing. gotta go.
Herb Courtney sent · 7:16 PM
Thanks guys. Gotta go to dinner.
John A sent · 7:24 PM
Headache is getting to me so I have to go, but I want to thank everyone who wrote or called me with support since my head injury. If I wrote gibberish or wrote twice to someone sorry, I discovered I sent several emails in a blackout! If I forgot a message try again. I am slowly improving.
gary peters sent · 7:31 PM
I believe Rick may be referring to the Formula 509 trial
Don Eisner sent · 7:40 PM
Have to leave now
Phil Snyder (Houston) sent · 7:52 PM
Have to leave.
Jim – Tucson sent · 8:05 PM
Got to leave, thanks.
Richard Tolbert sent · 8:07 PM
Thanks Jim. One of my former reps works for Pfizer who markets XTANDI with Astellas is working with his leadership to see if they will provide assistance. In 2022 I had a grant from The Assistance Fund that covered both ORGOVYX. I was denied 2023 funding due to lack of funding.
Pat Martin sent · 8:17 PM
Gonna head out. See you all next week
Stan Friedman sent · 8:26 PM
Sorry, I’m fading and need to leave. Thanks for the input on possible MSK docs. Will keep you up to date.
Bob G sent · 8:31 PM
Thanks all. Gotta get up early for program where I’m matched with a cancer researcher. Going to his lab tomorrow morning.
Come float away with us, as we create colorful butterflies in this art class! Watercolor pencils can be found at Dollar Tree, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, any craft supply store. You can also use regular watercolor paints, crayons, and colored pencils. Don’t feel like you need to go out and purchase an entirely new set of supplies!
What you’ll need
Paper – watercolor paper if you are using watercolor pencils or paints
Art medium of your choice – watercolor pencils, watercolor paints, crayons, or colored pencils (if using watercolor pencils or paint)
Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat, Feb 14, 2023
AnCan is grateful to the following sponsors for making this recording posssible: Bayer, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Janssen, Myriad Gentics, Myovant & Telix
All AnCan’s groups are free and drop-in … join us in person sometime! You can find out more about our 12 monthly prostate cancer meetings at https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/
Sign up to receive a weekly Reminder/Newsletter for this Group or others at https://ancan.org/contact-us/
Editor’s pick: Prostatectomy and recurrence…in a Gleason 3+3. (bn)
Topics Discussed
Rug pulled out on his Xtandi and Orgovyx financial support; two great docs to choose from in Houston; options if you’re de novo, living on Maui, and have Kaiser insurance; 2016 prostatectomy for a Gleason 6 — and now PSA is climbing; nighttime leg cramps as radiation treatments end — try Theraworx, Caleb Treeze, pickle juice; EmbrWave still hot topic; Gleason 10 a decade ago and he’s still going strong; hyperbaric chamber report — ear issues and blood pressure but cystitis is improved; still battling fatigue 9 months post-ADT, though testosterone is back and he’s active; Antanorakis OKs a 6-month ADT shot; mailman won’t stop bringing pills; bladder bleeds during clinical trial but he’s sticking it out; for neuropathy, Voltaren and/or bumpy sandals; half-gallon-a-day drinker of corn silk tea for cystitis; radiation therapy might be OK with colitis.
Chat Log
Peter Kafka-Maui HI · 6:24 PM Dr. Eleni Estathiou at Houston Methodist or Dr. Paul Corn at MD Anderson
Rick · 7:14 PM No gents …. maybe micro Mx.. Pelvic girdle RT stilstan
Rick · 7:16 PM Still Standard
Rick · 7:17 PM High volume 3+3 can warrant surgery
Peter Kafka-Maui HI · 7:19 PM Theraworx
Harry Spila · 7:20 PM therworx is great stuff
Harry Spila · 7:20 PM it’s like a foam
George Wesoloski · 7:22 PM Epson salt (Magnesium sulfate) and soak in the bathtub
Ravi · 7:23 PM I have to leave now. All I wanted to report on was regarding what I am doing for my severe radiation cystitis. I am undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy 2 hours every day at 2.5 atm pressure of 100% oxygen. Had 10 treatments so far, about 1.5 more months to go.
Richard Tolbert · 7:26 PM For Leg and Foot Cramps: Proven Old Amish Formula.Caleb Treeze Organic Farms. 818.247.9600. Some health food stores carry , also try amazon.
Rick · 7:34 PM Stay away from 6 month shots
Rick · 7:35 PM Just check T in last 2mo N t hs
Pat Martin · 7:39 PM Capivasertib
Jim B · 7:49 PM Pat, What was the name of the arthritic cream that you use to relieve neuropathy?
George Wesoloski · 7:49 PM I could do an update.
David Muslin · 7:50 PM Prostotectemy praa · stuh · tek · tuh · mee
Pat Martin · 7:52 PM Volteran…diclofenac sodium topical gel 1% I’ve talked with a pharmacist that has concocted up to 5%
Jim B · 7:54 PM Thanks Pat! I’ll be giving that a try for the same neuropathy issues that I’m experiencing from chemo.
Frank Fabish Columbus OH · 7:55 PM got to go guys see you next week
Pat Martin · 7:56 PM I usually get the generic, usually right beside name brand, 10% discount
WEBINAR – ‘The Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: 13 years Later’: An Evening with Dr. Mark Scholz
By Howard Wolinsky, Peter Kafka and Ben Nathanson
Dr. Mark Scholz, author of Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers, drew a record audience to his AnCan webinar on January 30, 2023.
Registration worldwide was close to 1,000 — nearly double the previous record — with more than 600 watching live.
Scholz’s talk, “Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: 13 years later” discussed how prostate cancer treatment — and overtreatment — has progressed since the book’s original publication in 2010. The book took aim at a urological-industrial complex performing surgeries on hundreds of thousands of low-risk patients, leaving many impotent and incontinent.
Half those men, he argued, could safely have been followed without aggressive treatment. Scholz, a medical oncologist, coauthored the book with patient Ralph Blum. A new edition was issued in 2021.
While urologists today still unnecessarily “snatch” prostates, Scholz said, the number is far fewer since active surveillance was endorsed in 2007 as a safe and effective strategy. And he said radiation therapy, which he had criticized in the past, also has become safer and more effective.
Still, men come to him thinking they have only two options: surgery or radiation. In fact, they have more than a dozen options, based on the severity of their disease and their preferred balance of treatment and side effects. He urges patients to “obtain facts and apply principles” — replacing assumptions about cancer with informed decisions.
Even for the smaller, but significant segment of men diagnosed with more serious grades of prostate cancer including metastatic, Scholz explained that there has been so much progress in new treatment modalities with limited side effects that many men are living long productive lives living with their disease and not dying from prostate cancer. Dr. Scholz stressed that unlike other cancers, prostate cancer is much slower growing and the rush for treatment in most instances is not necessary.
After the talk, Scholz answered 40 minutes of audience questions.
AnCan moderator Joe Gallo produced the webinar, and moderators Peter Kafka, Howard Wolinsky, and Ben Nathanson relayed questions. Alexandra Scholz, CEO of Prostate Cancer Research Institute, the nonprofit education initiative run by Scholz, edited the video, and she and Peter Scholz lent production assistance.
Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat, Feb 6, 2023
AnCan is grateful to the following sponsors for making this recording posssible: Bayer, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Janssen, Myriad Gentics, Myovant & Telix
Dr. Mark Scholz revisited his indictment of prostate cancer overtreatment in our recent webinar, “Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers – 13 Years later!” The recording is still in post-production with PCRI and will be posted asap. Please follow YouTube – AnCan or sign up to our blog https://ancan.org/blog/ to receive notice when posted.
All AnCan’s groups are free and drop-in … join us in person sometime! You can find out more about our 12 monthly prostate cancer meetings at https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/ Sign up to receive a weekly Reminder/Newsletter for this Group or others at https://ancan.org/contact-us/
Editor’s Pick: If you shortchange your treatment, you may live to regret it … plus more anxiety issues (rd)
Topics Discussed
Remote UCLA facility may provide 2nd rate care; gent resistant to do what it takes; don’t worry about post-Pluvicto until you’ve completed it; win-win trial but anxious; AnCan’s PPI message carreid back to Myovant in person; stay off ladders!; pulmonary/carotid lymph node to be biopsied; prerquisites for Pluvicto; starting Orgovyx; low level recurrence – when to intervene?; do Variants of Unknown Significance become significant?
Get ready for a very painterly painting; We’ll squish some paint around to create a very abstracted water lily pond scene based on Claude Monet’s very famous water lilies. We’re looking for very brushy brush strokes! (say that 3 times fast!) The beauty of our virtual art classes is that they can be done anywhere, including for myself on the road in Arizona!
What you’ll need:
Canvas – 9in x 12in or larger
Acrylic paints – blue / brown / white / green / yellow / optional purple or any other color for water lilies
Brushes- flat 3/4in or similar / round size 6 or 8 / round size 4 or anything you consider tiny
Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat, Jan 24, 2023
Dr. Mark Scholz revisits his indictment of prostate cancer overtreatment in next Monday’s webinar, “Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers – 13 years later!” He’ll also field questions about all stages of prostate treatment — send questions now to Joe Gallo, joeg@ancan.org. Jan 30, 8.00 pm Eastern; register at https://bit.ly/3jN3wAk. Registrants will also get a link to the recording.
All AnCan’s groups are free and drop-in … join us in person sometime! You can find out more about our 12 monthly prostate cancer meetings at https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/
Sign up to receive a weekly Reminder/Newsletter for this Group or others at https://ancan.org/contact-us/
Editor’s pick: Radiation, surgery — or none of the above? (bn)
Topics Discussed
Gleason 9 at age 82, and both surgery and radiation look hazardous; cooling doc’s jets on immediate treatment; “triplet” therapy has a piece missing; do mets show up on PSMA PET even at low PSA?; UCSD or UCSF for Palm Springs resident?; biopsy for “unimpressive” lung nodule?; Crohn’s plus radiation therapy ends in severe rectal damage; triple good news on iron, neuro, cardio; puzzling over “0.9” score for P53 mutation; PSMA and genetic testing seem his best options; long after prostatectomy, urinary problems; pain gone after Herb Geller’s spine surgery; which doc for blood in urine?; new genetic test from Myriad; American Cancer Society’s numbers game.
Paul Freda · 6:45 PM If anyone has had experience with a spot on their Pancreas (NOT Prostate), please contact me. Paul Freda pfreda@gmail.com Thank you.
Jim Marshall, Alexandria, VA · 6:55 PM If anyone is considering ADT, ensure you ask for and get a Baseline TESTOSTERONE number. This will be helpful for when you come off of ADT. You will know how high you hope the the level testosterone should return to.
Les Schjelderup · 6:57 PM Agree with Jim.
Joe Gallo · 6:57 PM Adding to Jim Marshall – before ADT also get a DEXA Scan (bone density scan)
Julian – Houston · 7:03 PM Totally agree! This was the protocol I followed.
Joel Blanchette, Miami Beach, FL · 7:07 PM I am at 4 on Orgovyx
Frank Fabish Columbus OH · 7:09 PM Guys I got to get going. On Sunday Gail and I will be heading to Orlando for Myovant annual meeting to present our stories as a patient ambassador and caregiver ambassador for Orgovyx. I will update all in first Zoom in February.
Alan Moskowitz · 7:10 PM I was at 15 after 2 months of Xtandi and Lupron.
Joe Gallo · 7:14 PM WEBINAR – ‘The Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: 13 years Later’: An Evening with Dr. Mark Scholz It’s for those of us on Active Surveillance (AS), those considering AS, as well as everyone else with more advanced prostate cancer, and everyone in between. Dr. Mark Scholz, co-author of the groundbreaking 2010 book: “The Invasion of The Prostate Snatchers”, will be joining to discuss where we are 13 years later. Spoiler alert: Things are better but the invaders still are snatching and nuking large numbers of prostates unnecessarily. Join us for this fantastic evening Monday, Jan 30, 2023 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM EST Registration URL https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3476369222172706645
Harrison M. (Myriad Genetics) · 7:42 PM the number is reported at around 10-15% men
Harrison M. (Myriad Genetics) · 7:44 PM Tamsulosin
Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers: An Essential Guide to Managing ProstateCancer for Patients and Their Families by Mark Scholz, MD & Ralph H. Blum (Other Press, New York; August 2021)
Summary: “Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers” is a guidebook for prostate cancer patients and their partners. It is of great interest to patients with low-risk to favorable intermediate-risk cancers considering early disease Active Surveillance (AS) since it critically evaluates types of treatment. AS is close monitoring of lower-risk prostate cancers. A patient with prostate cancer (Blum) and a medical oncologist (Scholz) present information patients can use in making key decisions in their care throughout the prostate cancer disease path.
My experience: This book was a just-in-time godsend for me. It was released in August 2010. I was in a holding pattern awaiting a follow-up biopsy at that time.I wasn’t diagnosed until Dec. 4, 2010. My cousin, Maxim Schrogin in Berkeley, California, who was diagnosed in January of that year and was on AS, told me the next day that the first thing I needed to do was get this book. I had it in hand within minutes via Kindle. I devoured “Prostate Snatchers” as I prepared for a second opinion on what, if anything, to do about this cancer.
I went against my first urologist’s advice to go on AS and avoid the side effects of active treatment because AS was not the mainstream approach then. My first urologist tried to rush me into the OR though I only had a single core of less than a millimeter of very low-risk Gleason 6 cancer. That’s the lowest level of prostate cancer,
What I liked about the book: This book helped give me the courage to consider AS and go off the then unbeaten path. It helped prepare me to see Scott Eggener, MD, at the University of Chicago, he told me I didn’t need surgery and was “the poster boy for AS.” A new edition of the book, which came out in August 2021, covers these changes and more. The world has changed since 2010 as reflected in the new edition.” Now,,
multiparametric MRIs have been accepted as the first step when PSAs rise, followed by targeted biopsies. The interval between biopsies is generally longer. Genetic and genomic testing has become more common in the U.S. to help determine whether biopsies are needed and which cancers are likely to become aggressive.
Authors Ralph and Mark plus my wife Judi and cousin Maxim were my “support group” as I became an “active surveillor.” There were no support groups devoted to AS then. I would not meet another patient on AS for seven years. We now have support and educational groups devoted to AS, including those from AnCan and Active Surveillance Patients International.
AS patients are not so rare anymore. We now make up the majority of low-risk patients.
Tips from the book: The book is chock full of background on prostate cancer and actionable information. For example, Scholz weighs in on prostate-specific antigen blood testing: “A PSA is considered a ‘cancer test.’ One savvy patient’s advice is to think of PSA as a nonspecific indicator, like the ‘check engine’ light on your dashboard. An elevated PSA may be due to harmless inflammation, recent sexual activity or even a laboratory error. The first step toward investigating the cause of a high PSA is to repeat the test. If the PSA remains high, the next item to consider is that the prostate may be enlarged (BPH).” The authors point out that if PSA is rising, patients should consider multiparametric MRI and targeted biopsy. Back in 2010, those weren’t quite on the table for discussion.
Nitpicks: No book is perfect. The authors, I think, missed an important discussion on the pros and cons of transperineal vs. transrectal biopsies. Transrectal biopsies can lead to sepsis or other
infections and can miss certain areas in the prostate that may harbor cancers. Also, the authors stressed that patients should seek out MRIs with 3-Tesla magnets. To get into the weeds, some new models with 1.5-Tesla magnets can work just as well and are used routinely at the National Cancer Institute. Discuss these matters with your doctor.
In conclusion:“The Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers” provides a critical look at the prostate cancer “industry” and serves as a bible for newbies considering AS and a reminder to those of us who have been on AS for many years of just why we took the now mainstream approach to low-risk prostate cancer. You can live with these “lame” cancers and not die from them. But you need to maintain
surveillance to detect if your cancer is becoming more aggressive.
Reviewed by Howard Wolinsky, editor of TheActiveSurveillor.com and AnCan moderator
Join our other free and drop in groups: Men (Only) Speaking Freely …1st & 3rd Thursdays @ 8.00 pm Eastern https://ancan.org/men-speaking-freely/ Veterans Healthcare … 4th Thursday @ 8.00 pm Eastern https://ancan.org/veterans/
Editor’s pick: Pain … is it cancer or something else? And Prof. Herb explains proteomics (rd)
Topics Discussed
Welcome to Myriad; new man hospitalized for heart issues; capaversitib antiangiogetic trial; SBRT side effects; non PSMA sensitive lesions demand chemo; proteomics; pain – is it cancer or something else?; new PCa #s are a scandal in waiting; Brawley the bully; remembering Cal VanZee GRHS; RT proctitis/colitis causes fatigue and urgency; white counts don’t return post chemo; possible recurrence signals return to Center of Excellence GU HCPs … for TWO of our Gents!
Chat Log
Pat Martin sent · 6:31 PM capivasertib….NCT05348577
Bob G sent · 6:38 PM Doing OK – a little achy but that’s from trying Pickleball today. Visiting friends in Outer Banks. Nice to get away for a while. How are you doing?
Pat Martin sent · 6:38 PM I haven’t seen Jeff Marchi from San Francisco for a while…is he doing OK?
AnCan – rick sent · 6:39 PM Jeff is on today if you want to message him
Pat Martin sent · 6:39 PM Just checking on him.
Pat Martin sent · 6:45 PM From the hand out, “works by inhibiting the proliferation of tumor cells.”
Frank F · 6:59 PM Got to go guys. Thanks for the sharing.
John A sent · 7:00 PM goodnight Frank
Jim Marshall, Alexandria, VA sent · 7:18 PM My sister is 71 and just diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Wang Gao Shan – Panama sent · 7:19 PM My Mom was 73 years old when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Julian – Houston sent · 7:22 PM have to go for tonight – damn good conversations!!!
Pat Martin sent · 7:30 PM I use dicyclomine
Norm Pollock sent · 7:35 PM biogenesis intestinal support complex and doctor’s best pepzingi
Pat Martin sent · 7:38 PM What kind of chemo were you on?
AnCan – rick sent · 7:39 PM I believe it was only docetaxel
AnCan and The Marsh (well renown, long-established theater company with a large following in the Bay Area and venues in San Francisco and Oakland) collaborateevery 4th Wednesday of the month for Solo Arts Heal!
Claire is a poet who has published five volumes of poetry since 1998, most recently Ismene’s Survivable Resistance in 2021. (If you remember the Greek tragedy of Antigone, Ismene is the sister who was left behind to remember the trauma of it all). Claire has been a creative writing teacher and mentor for more than 30 years. She teaches not only at the university level but also dedicates herself to helping students at community centers to use writing to process trauma. In addition, she collaborated on an innovative research project, “Left / Write // Hook,” that uses writing and non-contact boxing to process trauma and led to her co-editing an anthology of participants’ writings. Claire’s work is rooted in her own trauma, which began in childhood, and experiences with physical ailments, which include “keyhole” surgery to mend a broken heart.
Claire read her poetry, which provides her with a survival tool to both navigate and move past experiences of abuse and disempowerment. It explored how survivors’ voices can enter public discourse and instigate lasting social and cultural change. People who have been traumatized may not have a linear narrative. Poetry is a means to integration through the placement of fragments, allusion, association and evocation. Poetry can hold what is too intense to keep internalized.
