Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Dana, Great news..thanks for keeping us posted. I'm keep you in my prayers. Best Wishes, Sheila Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its effectiveness?I trust that the doctors have found the magic bullet for you. What is next? Regards, T I became a patient of Dr. Myers (Charlottesville, VA) on Nov. 17, 2011. I have extensive bone metastasis but no bone pain.When I visited him, my PSA was 78.9, the highest it had ever been. Dr. Myers said if I followed his treatment plan, I had a 70% chance that my PSA would drop by 80% in the next 90 days. Such a drop would put my PSA around 16.Dr. Myers' treatment plan for me included changing to the Mediterranean diet, taking Ketoconazole, and a variety of supplements. My insurance requires me to mail-order my prescriptions, so I did not get the Ketoconazole until De. 13. I started it immediately, taking it every 8 hours.This week, I got my first PSA reading since beginning Dr. Myers' treatment plan. My PSA is 3.269. That is over a 95% drop in less than 30-days. I am simply amazed. I thank God for my results and for Dr. Myers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 What were you taking before you went and saw Dr. Meyer's? I became a patient of Dr. Myers (Charlottesville, VA) on Nov. 17, 2011. I have extensive bone metastasis but no bone pain.When I visited him, my PSA was 78.9, the highest it had ever been. Dr. Myers said if I followed his treatment plan, I had a 70% chance that my PSA would drop by 80% in the next 90 days. Such a drop would put my PSA around 16. Dr. Myers' treatment plan for me included changing to the Mediterranean diet, taking Ketoconazole, and a variety of supplements. My insurance requires me to mail-order my prescriptions, so I did not get the Ketoconazole until De. 13. I started it immediately, taking it every 8 hours. This week, I got my first PSA reading since beginning Dr. Myers' treatment plan. My PSA is 3.269. That is over a 95% drop in less than 30-days. I am simply amazed. I thank God for my results and for Dr. Myers. -- Emersonwww.flhw.org Every 2.25 minutes a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer.Every 16.5 minutes a man dies from the disease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Ketoconazole is usually reserved for patients with mets who have failed hormone treatment so I am not surprised. Arbiaterone works in a similar fashion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its effectiveness?I trust that the doctors have found the magic bullet for you. What is next? Regards, T I became a patient of Dr. Myers (Charlottesville, VA) on Nov. 17, 2011. I have extensive bone metastasis but no bone pain.When I visited him, my PSA was 78.9, the highest it had ever been. Dr. Myers said if I followed his treatment plan, I had a 70% chance that my PSA would drop by 80% in the next 90 days. Such a drop would put my PSA around 16.Dr. Myers' treatment plan for me included changing to the Mediterranean diet, taking Ketoconazole, and a variety of supplements. My insurance requires me to mail-order my prescriptions, so I did not get the Ketoconazole until De. 13. I started it immediately, taking it every 8 hours.This week, I got my first PSA reading since beginning Dr. Myers' treatment plan. My PSA is 3.269. That is over a 95% drop in less than 30-days. I am simply amazed. I thank God for my results and for Dr. Myers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 > Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the > Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or > masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan > show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or > will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to > cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its > effectiveness? As I understand it, Ketoconazole is a hormone therapy. It is primarily used for treating fungal infections but a side effect is suppression of testosterone. It can have undesirable side effects, it doesn't work for everyone and, as with other hormone therapies, it may eventually stop working. But it's often used as a " second line " hormone therapy after the usual therapies have failed, and it often works. As with all of the PCa drugs, it appears that mileage varies. Some patients apparently do extremely well and others don't get much benefit, or get intolerable side effects. Here's an article that explains how it works. It's technical, but there's enough non-technical info in it that I think it might be worth reading even for the non-technical reader. http://healthandprostate.com/prostate-cancer/the-role-of-ketoconazole-in-advance\ d-prostate-cancer Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks Alan. Prior to going to Dr. Myers, I had failed Taxotere and Jevtana. I have been on Lupron for four years. Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take another six years, God willing. > > > Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the > > Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or > > masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan > > show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or > > will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to > > cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its > > effectiveness? > > As I understand it, Ketoconazole is a hormone therapy. It is > primarily used for treating fungal infections but a side effect > is suppression of testosterone. It can have undesirable side > effects, it doesn't work for everyone and, as with other hormone > therapies, it may eventually stop working. But it's often used > as a " second line " hormone therapy after the usual therapies have > failed, and it often works. > > As with all of the PCa drugs, it appears that mileage varies. > Some patients apparently do extremely well and others don't get > much benefit, or get intolerable side effects. > > Here's an article that explains how it works. It's technical, > but there's enough non-technical info in it that I think it might > be worth reading even for the non-technical reader. > > http://healthandprostate.com/prostate-cancer/the-role-of-ketoconazole-in-advance\ d-prostate-cancer > > Alan > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 > Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was > sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report > is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He > is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. I learn something new every day. I had no idea that there was a genetic test that could predict response to ketoconazole. Myers' is quite a doctor! > Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some > serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter > medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any > Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur > > Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA > drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a > patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps > falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take > another six years, God willing. I hope you get another six, then six more after that, then six more and six more and six more. Best of luck. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Good news for Dana. Myers is an excellent doctor, but he does not have magic fairy dust. He uses known treatments with educated patients and he and his patients achieve good results because of the experience and knowledge that the good doctor has. I have seen the comments from Myers about his patients that Dana represents here. I believe that the "Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a patient death in almost 6 years" refers to men who are post-chemo and without other secondary hormonal manipulations in their past treatment history. This allows for Keto, estrogen, Leukine, and whatever else is up his sleeve to be used. For those men at that stage who respond outstandingly, as an undetectable psa would testify, then death from PCa can be delayed for some years. This kind of response is not the norm. I would bet some of those men have died of other issues in that time. He has been quoted as "losing" 30 patients a year. Thanks Alan. Prior to going to Dr. Myers, I had failed Taxotere and Jevtana. I have been on Lupron for four years. Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take another six years, God willing. > > > Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the > > Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or > > masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan > > show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or > > will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to > > cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its > > effectiveness? > > As I understand it, Ketoconazole is a hormone therapy. It is > primarily used for treating fungal infections but a side effect > is suppression of testosterone. It can have undesirable side > effects, it doesn't work for everyone and, as with other hormone > therapies, it may eventually stop working. But it's often used > as a "second line" hormone therapy after the usual therapies have > failed, and it often works. > > As with all of the PCa drugs, it appears that mileage varies. > Some patients apparently do extremely well and others don't get > much benefit, or get intolerable side effects. > > Here's an article that explains how it works. It's technical, > but there's enough non-technical info in it that I think it might > be worth reading even for the non-technical reader. > > http://healthandprostate.com/prostate-cancer/the-role-of-ketoconazole-in-advanced-prostate-cancer > > Alan > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 What supplements did you take along with the other changes you made? Thanks, Garry From: ProstateCancerSupport [mailto:ProstateCancerSupport ] On Behalf Of tm.poxon@...Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 1:32 PMTo: ProstateCancerSupport Subject: Re: Results with Dr. Myers Wow. Very impressive results. What is going on here with the Ketoconazole? What is it doing? Is it killing cancer cells, or masking the PSA test results? What will the bone density scan show? And will the bone density scan be a true indication or will the ketoconazole be preventing the dye from attaching to cancer cells in the bone? How do you confirm its effectiveness?I trust that the doctors have found the magic bullet for you. What is next? Regards, T I became a patient of Dr. Myers (Charlottesville, VA) on Nov. 17, 2011. I have extensive bone metastasis but no bone pain.When I visited him, my PSA was 78.9, the highest it had ever been. Dr. Myers said if I followed his treatment plan, I had a 70% chance that my PSA would drop by 80% in the next 90 days. Such a drop would put my PSA around 16.Dr. Myers' treatment plan for me included changing to the Mediterranean diet, taking Ketoconazole, and a variety of supplements. My insurance requires me to mail-order my prescriptions, so I did not get the Ketoconazole until De. 13. I started it immediately, taking it every 8 hours.This week, I got my first PSA reading since beginning Dr. Myers' treatment plan. My PSA is 3.269. That is over a 95% drop in less than 30-days. I am simply amazed. I thank God for my results and for Dr. Myers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi Folks,I was quite surprised to read these comments about Dr. Myers' preference of ketoconazole over abiraterone acetate. By the accounts I am aware of, ketoconazole is regarded as having a pretty high demand on the body. Zytiga on the other hand is a new drug that has been through the safety hoops for new drugs, with the cautions laid out in the drug information sheet. Is Tylenol / Paracetamol mentioned there ? Mention of reactions with over the counter medications, where the name Tylenol crops up is a bit worrying. In the UK Tylenol is known as Paracetamol, and is pretty extensively used for moderate pain management. Sam.Not doing too bad after an initial Dx@49 in 96 T3-T4 bPSA>50 > Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was > sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report > is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He > is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. I learn something new every day. I had no idea that there was a genetic test that could predict response to ketoconazole. Myers' is quite a doctor! > Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some > serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter > medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any > Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur > > Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA > drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a > patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps > falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take > another six years, God willing. I hope you get another six, then six more after that, then six more and six more and six more. Best of luck. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hello Sam, I'm glad you're doing well on your new treatment. I wasn't sure how to interpret Dr. Myers' advice to Dana. He sent him for genetic testing. It's possible that the decision to use ketoconazole was based 1) on Dana's specific genetic profile and/or 2) on specific over the counter drugs that Dana has to take for some reason. It's also possible that he plans to try Zytiga/abiraterone if and when the keto fails. Snooping around on the net I found this document that indicates that the FDA is requiring a drug interaction trial on Zytiga. It looks like it is aimed specifically at patients with hepatic (liver) impairment: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/appletter/2011/202379s000ltr.pdf See also: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/202379lbl.pdf It is my recollection that Tylenol poses risks for the liver. My interpretation of the above documents is that the risks can be magnified by taking abiraterone. So I'd think you want to stay away from Tylenol / Paracetamol while you're on Zytiga. Did your doctors warn you about this? I don't know if it's any different in the UK, but there are way too many doctors here in the US who don't bother to read the drug labels for the drugs they are prescribing. When the patient complains of new symptoms, instead of checking the labels to see if this could be a known side effect, they just think, " Naw, that can't be caused by the drug, I used it on someone else and he didn't report this problem. " Best of luck on your treatment. Alan > Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was > sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report > is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He > is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. I learn something new every day. I had no idea that there was a genetic test that could predict response to ketoconazole. Myers' is quite a doctor! > Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some > serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter > medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any > Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur > > Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA > drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a > patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps > falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take > another six years, God willing. I hope you get another six, then six more after that, then six more and six more and six more. Best of luck. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi Alan - thanks for your comments.Tylenol > Did your doctors warn you about this? Just the opposite really. Doctors seem keen to recommend Paracetamol / Tylenol. Its a bit of a worms nest. My dad (late '80's and unremarkable PSA / no PC treatment) has had lumbago for decades. After giving up on Tylenol he was prescribed diclofenac without a stomach buffer. You'd think they would learn something after Tylenol wouldn't you? Oh well. Sam.P.S did I send that follow-up email about Zytiga and Exercise ? Hello Sam, I'm glad you're doing well on your new treatment. I wasn't sure how to interpret Dr. Myers' advice to Dana. He sent him for genetic testing. It's possible that the decision to use ketoconazole was based 1) on Dana's specific genetic profile and/or 2) on specific over the counter drugs that Dana has to take for some reason. It's also possible that he plans to try Zytiga/abiraterone if and when the keto fails. Snooping around on the net I found this document that indicates that the FDA is requiring a drug interaction trial on Zytiga. It looks like it is aimed specifically at patients with hepatic (liver) impairment: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/appletter/2011/202379s000ltr.pdf See also: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/202379lbl.pdf It is my recollection that Tylenol poses risks for the liver. My interpretation of the above documents is that the risks can be magnified by taking abiraterone. So I'd think you want to stay away from Tylenol / Paracetamol while you're on Zytiga. Did your doctors warn you about this? I don't know if it's any different in the UK, but there are way too many doctors here in the US who don't bother to read the drug labels for the drugs they are prescribing. When the patient complains of new symptoms, instead of checking the labels to see if this could be a known side effect, they just think, " Naw, that can't be caused by the drug, I used it on someone else and he didn't report this problem. " Best of luck on your treatment. Alan > Dr. Myers arranged for me to have a bone biopsy. It was > sent to Cairisdx for genetic testing. The preliminary report > is that Ketoconazole is the best drug to treat my cancer. He > is calling me on Friday to discuss the results. I learn something new every day. I had no idea that there was a genetic test that could predict response to ketoconazole. Myers' is quite a doctor! > Dr. Myers prefers Ketoconazole over Zytiga because of some > serious drug interactions with Zytiga and over the counter > medicines. Even with the Keto, he warned me not to take any > Tylenol product. Serious liver damage can occur > > Thirty percent of Dr. Myers' patients have had their PSA > drop to undetectable. Of that group, he has not had a > patient death in almost 6 years. Here's praying my PSA keeps > falling. I'm 59, 7.5 years out from diagnosis. I'll take > another six years, God willing. I hope you get another six, then six more after that, then six more and six more and six more. Best of luck. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 > P.S did I send that follow-up email about Zytiga and Exercise ? I saw it. It appeared in the group emails. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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