Re: Testosterone Replacement after Prostatectomy

[Guest guest]

domihaa wrote:

> Hello,

>

> I was diagnosed at age 51 with prostate cancer and elected to have a

> prostatectomy in 2002.  I am now 60 years old and have had undetectable PSAs

> ever since.  My Gleason score was 3+3=6.  Post-op pathology showed the margins

> to be clear, and it was determined that the cancer was confined to the

prostate,

> itself.  Of course, there is never any way to be 100% sure that a rogue cell

> didn't escape the prostate.  But I've had no signs of recurrence yet.

>

> For the two or three years prior to my surgery, I was on Testosterone

> Replacement Therapy (TRT), as my T levels were found to be very low.  During

> those few years, I never felt better in my life!  I had energy and stamina.  I

> was more lean and just, overall, felt GREAT!  I'd like that feeling again.

>

> I know that there has been a long-held belief that TRT is a no-no after

> treatment for prostate cancer, based on some research done back in 1941.

> However, I also know that the thoughts and research on that data has been

> changing in recent years, and that more and more men are receiving TRT after a

> reasonable period of time post-surgery.

>

> I'm writing to ask if *ANYONE* here has used TRT after prostate cancer.....

> and if so, for how long, and what have been the results?  How often did your

> doctor check your PSA?

>

> I recently had my Total T checked and it was 214.  The average range is

300-600,

> so I am still LOW.  I am not sure if they tested for Free T, but will find out

> next week.  I also understand that Estrogen levels need to be checked, as us

> guys can sometimes get too much Estrogen build-up and that can cause issues,

as

> well.

>

> I will appreciate any input you guys can offer.  Thanks for reading!

>

> My best to all.....

>

> Mike

Mike,

I have no answers to your question but there is a fellow named Ed

Friedman who posts to the Usenet Newsgroup

alt.support.cancer.prostate who is something of an expert in

hormone biology.  He addressed a related question recently in

this newsgroup article:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.prostate/browse_thread/thread/\

d675a515c3b76dc6/38a4e2a9d0b6ae647

I'll have to caution you that, while Ed is a great guy, he is not

a doctor.  He's a professor doing theoretical research.  He

probably spends a lot of time talking to other experts and his

postings are highly technical - very difficult for a layman to

understand.

He also appears to be somewhat outside the mainstream.  He may

well understand the science better than most oncologists do.

However his point of view isn't necessarily what most oncologists

would agree with.

In the thread above he talks about dangers of testosterone

therapy for men with PCa, not for men who, like you, may not have

PCa.  However my reading of his postings is that he's not opposed

to testosterone therapy and may even endorse it under some

circumstances and when combined with other treatments that he

understands and I don't.

I suggest that you read the thread, search Google for other

postings by Ed, and perhaps post a question for him on that

newsgroup.

Good luck.

    Alan

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the tip, Alan. I will read the posts and see what I can figure out.

Take care!

Mike

> Mike,

>

> I have no answers to your question but there is a fellow named Ed

> Friedman who posts to the Usenet Newsgroup

> alt.support.cancer.prostate who is something of an expert in

> hormone biology.  He addressed a related question recently in

> this newsgroup article:

>

>

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.prostate/browse_thread/thread/\

d675a515c3b76dc6/38a4e2a9d0b6ae647

>

> I'll have to caution you that, while Ed is a great guy, he is not

> a doctor.  He's a professor doing theoretical research.  He

> probably spends a lot of time talking to other experts and his

> postings are highly technical - very difficult for a layman to

> understand.

>

> He also appears to be somewhat outside the mainstream.  He may

> well understand the science better than most oncologists do.

> However his point of view isn't necessarily what most oncologists

> would agree with.

>

> In the thread above he talks about dangers of testosterone

> therapy for men with PCa, not for men who, like you, may not have

> PCa.  However my reading of his postings is that he's not opposed

> to testosterone therapy and may even endorse it under some

> circumstances and when combined with other treatments that he

> understands and I don't.

>

> I suggest that you read the thread, search Google for other

> postings by Ed, and perhaps post a question for him on that

> newsgroup.

>

> Good luck.

>

>     Alan

>