What every patient should know about ADT (hormone) therapy

This video is a recording of Prostate Cancer Canada's April 2023 Coast to Coast Support Group meeting held over Zoom.
Dr. Richard Wassersug is a PhD research scientist and Co-Lead of the national ADT Educational Program (see: LifeonADT.com). He is also the lead author on the book Androgen Deprivation Therapy: An essential guide for prostate cancer patients and their loved ones.
Dr. Wassersug is speaking here on 'What every patient should know about ADT (hormone) therapy.'
He was joined by his Co-Lead of the program and Co-Author of the book, Dr. Lauren Walker. Dr. Walker is a registered psychologist, and holds an academic appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Psychology at the University of Calgary. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2013 and completed a Clinical Fellowship specializing in Oncology and Sexuality in 2015.
Dr. Walker attended the presentation and answered questions with Dr. Wassersug during the Q&A period.
For more information on Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (formerly Prostate Cancer Foundation BC), a nonprofit proudly providing leadership and resources in prostate cancer support, awareness, and research since 1997, please visit: prostatecanada.ca
The views, information, and opinions expressed in this video are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Prostate Cancer Foundation Canada (PCFC) or its employees. PCFC is not responsible and does not verify for accuracy any of the information contained in the videos available for watching on this site. The primary purpose of these videos is to educate and inform, but these videos do not constitute, or replace, medical or other professional advice.

[@ricknowak4582]

I think there's so much money involved with the pharmaceuticals. That's the Reason behind giving you these hormone treatments.

[@waynefoote3781]

hmmmm. I am going to remain EXTREMELY cautious! I don't like the sounds of this at all!

[@tommy..980]

I have prostate cancer that metastasize to my spine and before it did metastasized my Dr told me to do ADT did not mention one word about it so I filled my prescription and went home and decided to educate myself on this medication he gave me … After extensive research I told my wife that there’s no way in hell I’m going to take the medication…. So today I’m just doing radiation and my faith will get me through the rest….

[@charlesgair8608]

I Just Went Through This Same Situation My Cancer Was All Still In My Prostate ..I Had Gleason 8 PC In One Core 7,6 In Two More Cores .Other 9 Were No Cancer .PSA Was 4.5 .I Had 4 Weeks EBT .I Refused To Take The ADT Firmagon Shot And Had Permanent Brachy Seed Implants Last June .two Weeks Ago My Oncologist Told Me That My PSA Was O.6 And A Week Later My Cancer Was Undetectable .In Remission.

[@wendellrider1212]

Good luck and God bless.,

[@jpjp3873]

@@charlesgair8608congratulations on your remission! Have you suffered any incontinance or ED side effects?

[@EdWeibe]

@@charlesgair8608 thats great. Everyone is different. In my case for example, its genetic, so my dad died a painful death from ignoring it. I am chosing the other path. My son then can choose which he wants take when his time comes.

[@charlesgair8608]

@EdWeibe You are very right about that.Every man's situation with prostate cancer is different from the next guy.

[@brianouellette4645]

Thanks you for convincing me to stop my Adv therapy, and letting. ,

[@mray8519]

Speak or write English much?

[@MrTheherd]

The elephant in the room was that ADT side effects are long lasting . They can easily be countered by taking gtesosterone

[@robertknapp6746]

Very great points Doctor. On ADT since 2020. Stage 4 entered bones. Psa was 325 down to.225. Lift barbells and walk. Thank you for your information

[@bobwright3438]

I thought my PSA of 10.5 was bad

[@richardgrayson4006]

What you ALL have never faced (especially for seniors) is: why beat this disease, why not just keep it at bay ? Isn’t your quality of life the best if you just minimize or prevent metastasis? The East Coast has this “protocol” that a prostate of all Gleason “3”s must be radiated or surgically removed? For heaven’s sake WHY? 17:43

[@stitcheruk1150]

Hi. Just been advised of PSA at 310. What medication or procedures have you been on, or been given. Thanks

[@robertknapp6746]

I get a lupron shot every 3 months and take erleada tablets daily. Also calcium and vitamin d tablets. Stay positive get plenty of sleep get rid of stress. Hang in there good luck

[@timothyfay1209]

What are you talking about, I am confused, I never heard of Gleason 3 being radiated.@@richardgrayson4006

[@Marc_de_Car]

Thank you !!

[@ricknowak4582]

I'm going to start proton therapy pretty soon.And i'm frightful that them radiating in the area is just gonna disturb the cancer and it will spread. That's what I am a scared of. Then it will get worse. Everybody's story I hear it never goes away. Surgery, But radiation, A d t. It's a never ending process. That once the medical field gets their hooks in you they never let you go!!!!!

[@waynefoote3781]

This sounds frightening and is very discouraging. I am new to this and I guess I will have to just keep educating myself before I do anything else.

[@waynefoote3781]

How about Proton radiation? i heard that it made someone 11 years cancer free. Are you strictly talking about hormone therapy? I would really appreciate your answer sir.

[@davidoliver1523]

Doctors don't tell you nothing I had to figure things out on my own I am eating what ape's eat raw everything vegetables an fruit

[@brianouellette4645]

Thanks, you have convinced me to stop Avt, becaused the side efects are worthlessness.

[@jimforrest8796]

You never mentioned Cushing syndrome.

[@frankramos1364]

What about elevated liver enzymes?

[@timkbt]

I’m going to Duke, they never put on Vitamin D when I was on Lupron for one year now I have severe back pain. Cancer came back and they tried Lupron again. I can’t take it and I told them so. Gave it to me anyway. I’m now being treated at UNC with much better results.

[@EdWeibe]

I was told 1000mg vitamind and a1000 mg caclium. just what I was told. Your results might be different.

[@12superoo]

I have had just one injection of ADT. I have decided to not have the further scheduled 5 doses. I had a small though aggressive prostate cancer. Treated with radiation. My PSA kept rising after 12 months. The special PET scan indicates 4 nodes now have cancer spread. I have been prescribed hormone tre without any information given to me. The side effects appear to outlay the treatment. I have chosen keto diet, vit D and more active life with less stress. Do you think I am going down the wrong track?

[@ProstateCanada]

Hi @12superoo, we can't provide medical advice, but would definitely suggest that you discuss your treatment decision further with your doctor, or get a second opinion as to what's recommended in your case from another healthcare professional, if possible. While there can be many side effects from ADT, there are also effective strategies to manage them, including those you have suggested - exercise, eating a low carb diet, and Vitamin D - that you may want to consider trying in conjunction with your treatment before deciding to go completely off of ADT. I hope that helps.

[@Skwarek-wp8dc]

​@@ProstateCanadawhy Dr's speak against eating red meat when dealing with PC?

[@danl5592]

Let's face Facts, Hormone therapy is chemical castration.

[@briangreene4277]

Good info: can I get a copy of his briefing? Is any medical studies that speak to the association of ED with prostate cancer?

[@MrTheherd]

Frankly I was surprised that this talk focussed on living with the side effects of ADT. For those who only needed 6 month treatment of ADT, the focus should be on eliminating the side effects by appropriate medication such as testosterone replacement therapy. It is inadmissible that one six month shot can lead to well over three years side effects or even more for people over 70.

[@Dogg1512]

Excellent presentation 👏. Would love for you to do a series on PLUVICTO, as there seems to be substantially more benefits to a certain category of prostate cancer patients

[@ProstateCanada]

Hi there, we had Dr. Phil Cohen speak to us about Pluvicto in January. You can check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIDJYmSifrFknMU Hope that helps!

[@patricktrussell7465]

No better solutions than that ????????

[@ProstateCanada]

Hi Patrick, we'd suggest checking out Dr. Wassersug and Dr. Walker's full course on dealing with ADT side effects called Life on ADT. You can sign up and learn more at www.lifeonadt.com. Hope this helps.

[@mray8519]

You’re in the toilet, make the best of it.

[@dlindo8892]

So not only does the man get the bad news that he has prostate cancer, but “oh, by the way we are going to block your testosterone so you feel even worse!” You doctors need your heads examined! This sounds absurd!

[@mray8519]

Quit your pissing and moaning. You got a better plan than all the medical community across the planet then go for it.

[@NNNameless]

my dad is on ADT and had 10 injections so far. He has experienced a lot in life (fleeing from war, being in coma, divorce, etc.) But this ADT treatment is the absolute worst he has ever experienced! He changed to a complete different person and he is weaker than ever. lt is too difficult to see him suffering. He will quit soon because it's getting too much for him

[@dlindo8892]

@@NNNameless From what I understand there are other ways to approach this. Like block dht and make sure estradiol is in the low normal range. Do not block testosterone. There are doctors out there taking this approach. If your dad can’t find one he has to take matters in his own hands. A friend of mine is on ADT and now he’s also developed type 2 diabetes , because of the therapy. So now he also has to take metformin everyday. I’ve tried to tell him he’s making a big mistake following his doctors advice, but he won’t listen unfortunately. Personally I don’t trust the majority of doctors out there. I think they just want to keep making us more sick. Think about it, if we are well they are out of business. Prayers for your dad. 🙏

[@NNNameless]

@@dlindo8892 thank you for your suggestion l appreciate it

[@jameslyman1377]

Being on Lupron for 6 months. Will side effects go away?

[@wes613]

See my post. the longer you are on it the less chance you have. The odds are against you!

[@jameslyman1377]

Where is your post? @@wes613

[@simmomantua8910]

Don't listen to these idiots on these KZbin comments sections they're not doctors and they don't know what they're talkin about

[@mray8519]

No! But you get used to it and it becomes no big deal.

[@leonardola9161]

The doc say the side effects will go away in 11 months or more. I took the lupron shot for 6 months too

[@MrGuitar1458]

Not so sure I wouldn't rather be dead than try to 'beat' cancer with ADT. Also, cannot believe that a reputable physician would not take the time to educate patients/partners about all of the side effects before administering the drugs.

[@wes613]

You are completely right. These doctors experiment on you are not honest with you for there huge paychecks and then when it goes bad just throw you under the bus saying, "There is nothing more we can do, bye!!!"

[@YourNEBOSHguide]

Hi. I agree with you. I have had a recjfrence of my prostate cancer and docs are plannong ADT. The thing is with so much info on side effects already available on public domain, still when you aks thr doctor to discuss thr various side effects they try to present it as normal. They dont dwell at depth on all the various side effects these meds cause.

[@simmomantua8910]

​@@wes613what an asshole post

[@Brammy007a]

My first onconlogist completely downplayed the effects of chemical castration. She was recommending external beam radiation along with ADT and did not give me full information about alternatives. I was being treated as a CUSTOMER for their expensive radiation machine instead of a patient. Luckily, I educated myself and recently finished HDR Brachytherapy (two treatments). PSA tests will happen, so we'll see. But all I have to say is SHAME on my first oncologist.

[@timothyfay1209]

I don't find the side effects of ADT so difficult to deal with, I choose to live.

[@coveman5826]

Very depressing....... may want to rethink your presentation format these videos

[@seanw827]

Ridiculous. You should be fully aware of all of the impacts of Prostate cancer treatment including the use of ADT. It's not a Pep talk. Or you can just blindly trust your doctor, who will never present this information to you.

[@waynefoote3781]

This is unbelievably frightening and very depressing you are right man. I will seek other opinions.

[@jerrymunroe5593]

@@waynefoote3781 It IS depressing. Been on Luron for four months and dealing with all of the side effects and doing this while undergoing 44 external radiation treatments with all of the side effects that go with that (urinary and bowel issues) My Nightmare Summer of 2024 is continuing. Yes I am alive, but I do not feel alive.