As you could tell from my last post, I’ve really been focusing on the impact of any salvage treatment options on the quality of life (QOL), both during treatment and longer-term.
I stumbled across this 2008 study, Quality of Life and Satisfaction with Outcome among Prostate Cancer Survivors, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, but it shows the QOL impact after first-line treatment only.
Tables 2 and 4 in the paper are precisely how this data-driven, numbers geek would love to see the information on salvage therapies presented. Obviously, the categories measured may have to be modified and expanded to include the known side effects of the salvage treatments.
If Dr. Martin G. Sanda, et al., stumble across this post and care to build upon their previous excellent work, please feel free to do so! In the interim, I’ll keep searching.
Dan's Journey through Prostate Cancer 
All I can say , Dan, is you are well equipped to figure all of this out. While I think I hear some doubting I’m confident that when decision time comes, whatever decision needs to be made, you are very well equipped to make the best of it. I just think about all of the guys who are going through this who do not have your skills or abilities to reason and I think about them having to rely on what doctors are telling them. You don’t have to do that. You simply take whatever information you have and fit it into the puzzle. As an outsider looking in I can tell you that you are doing a magnificent job at putting this puzzle together. I think the only stumbling block now is doubt. My advise (Free) is to listen to your head and trust the numbers so to speak. Everything will work out. I’m sorry that you are having to go through this but I’m confident you are in good hands. Yours.
And I’m sorry I missed you in Chicago. I saw something on the wire about your pending trip and I thought, Hmmmm – be a good time to get over to Chicago. But then bang you were there and we were tied up and it didn’t work out. Sorry we missed it.
Hugs,
Steve
Compass Construction Co. 930 Yorick Path Wixom, MI 48393 (586) 291-5226 Cell
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Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comments and support, and I’m sorry we missed each other in Chicago. It was a quick (and frigid) trip. BTW, congrats on your new grandson!
You’re right about there being doubt. I’ll keep slogging away trying to find more data to support whatever decision needs to be made when the time comes. The good thing is that my PSA is rising so slowly that I don’t think I’ll have to make a choice until late 2018 or early 2019, assuming, of course, that the upward trendline remains steady. If the slope increases, that will likely force an earlier decision.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep moving forward, enjoying life.
Dan
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Dan, thanks for all of your posts. I may be on the same journey, my PSA started to rise just a year ago after 2 years undetectable and is now at .046. So your thoughts are very relevant to me.
I am on a forum, i am guessing you are aware of it, that is very active and robust, with some very knowledgeable and experienced people.
There is a thread that is ongoing with guys that are undergoing SRT and ADT, talking about their experiences. I dont know if you might not want me to post the link here, so i wont, but if you are interested, let me know , email me, whatever. Nothing like talking to guys going through it.
But i am guessing you are very aware of this forum, its probably one of the two most active for PC guys and their spouses.
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Hi Ken,
Thanks for your feedback on the blog, and sorry to hear that you’re on a parallel path. Not what either of us expected.
With all of the forums that are out there, it’s very likely that I may not be aware of the one you’re referring to. I’d be really interested in hearing from a group dealing specifically with recurrence, SRT, and ADT, especially if they’re more than a year out from the start of their treatment. I really want to understand how pervasive and how intense long term side effects are. I’ll email you separately for the link.
Thanks again and please keep me posted on your own journey. —Dan
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Dan, the STAMPEDE trial here in the UK does look at Quality of Life although I haven’t seen any conclusions published yet (they may be buried in some of the reports). There is a brief mention in this Patient Information Sheet (PIS!) http://www.stampedetrial.org/media/1762/06-stampede_additional_research_pis_v140_clean.pdf
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Thanks, Tim. I’ll do some digging and see what I come up with. Hope all is well with you. —Dan
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