Re: Curing PCa early?--Is it ever cured?

[Guest guest]

A discussion similar to this came up in the past. The medical term is "NED" which means No Evidence of Disease. Cure means one can prove a negative which is not possible in medicine. No one can prove that no cells are alive, he can only say that there is no evidence of them (scan, psa, biopsy, symptoms, etc). As long as NED persists we skip along happily. I seriously doubt a medical scientist writes the word "cure" in a file, only NED or some other similar term.I cannot recall where, but somewhere a few years ago I saw that some doctors said that even in "cured" patients (my term) that there are some circulating cancer cells still meandering about searching for their buddies in order to team up and constitute a problem. The inhospitable landscape, the immune system, the lack of a critical number, the weakness or indolence of the individual cells and other factors make this unlikely in many patients. Though some recur. This would be true of many, many diseases. I had chicken pox as a child and then shingles years later. (An experience I hope to never revisit). Sheila, Both my diognosing Dr. and the surgeon that did the removal said that the word "cure" does not exist in the world of cancer. As Glen said the only time you know your "cured" is when you die of something else. But then you don't know do you? Sorry. Rick Subject: Curing PCa early?--Is it ever cured?To: ProstateCancerSupport Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 9:38 AM Hi All, I have a question..I have read postings when men say the have cured their Prostate Cancer. I've been doing research since 2008 and with everything I've learned if left me with the thought that Prostate Cancer is never really cured..It can be like a sleeping giant if not watched and monitored. Is my understanding wrong??? My husband had 44 IMRT treatments and one year of hormones ( Zoladex) and now his PSA is slowly raising. I hope someone can straighten me out on this. I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. Have a nice day. Best Wishes, Sheila