Testosterone Repalcement Therapy

August 10, 2006

I am 52. I exercise a lot. I have low heart rate, blood pressure,

and cholesterol. I have BPH, which I treat with 12mg of Cardura/day.

I have prostate check-ups every 6 months. My PSA and digital exams

show no signs of cancer. There is no history of prostate cancer in

my family.

In Jan '06, my family MD started me on bio-identical T cream, along

with DHEA and Synthroid. My T serum level at the time was 470 ng/gl

and my free T was 7.4 pg/ml (which I understand to be within

the " normal " range?). Then, during my prostate check-up in Feb, my

urologist told me to stop the TRT because T accelerates the growth

of cancer, even though my PSA came back low and digital exam was OK.

In April, my T serum level was 531 and free T was 11.1.

Based on the research I've done so far, it looks like there is still

a lot moe uncertainty than certainty about both the benefits and the

risks of TRT. While there is no conclusive evidence that increasing

T causes prostate cancer, there is plenty of evidence showing T

accelerates its growth of you already have it. To that point, I

exchanged messages with a wife whose husband had an indolent cancer

that was awakened as a result of increasing his T. Just 2 months

after starting TRT, his PSA shot up and they found the cancer.

Ironically, had he not been doing TRT, he would not have caught the

cancer early. That seems like a risky benefit to me but I am glad it

saved his life.

All of this said, it sure seems like the potential risks out weigh

the possible benefits.

For now, I have stopped using the T cream. Am I being overly

cautious and too paranoid or is stopping the prudent decision,

especially since I have BPH and my original T level was in

the " normal " range?

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