A week ago I had a CT and a bone scan, followed a couple of days later by the usual blood test. (I had to leave a gap between them because one of the scans involved being injected with a radioactive tracer dye. This dye can affect a blood test if the latter comes straight after.) This afternoon we saw Dr P to see what all these tests revealed.

The PSA has continued to creep up — only about 0.7 from the previous result, however. The scans revealed a few new spots, something of more consequence. Fortunately, however, these are all in bone, something that is greatly preferable to visceral metastases. (The phrase used in the findings of the scan was “mild progression of bony metastatic disease”.)

Dr P said he thought it was time for an additional treatment, enzalutamide. (The link points to a post in the Harvard Health blog which gives a bit of context about this type of drug.) I had heard of enzalutamide, and know a few guys who are on it. Dr P is confident I will tolerate this treatment well, and that he can get my PSA down to zero on it. (The last time he predicted this, it came about.)

Obviously having new spots isn’t ideal. However, Dr P emphasised that the new ones are minor, and that I’m not (as he put it) “lighting up like a Christmas tree” in the scans. We are both relieved to be moving to an additional treatment. I will continue with the Zolodex until further notice; the next implant for this will take place in 6 weeks. (I have actually been on Zolodex for almost three years, an unusually long time. Zolodex is an androgen deprivation treatment — see another link from the same source for more information.) I will see Dr P in a fortnight so he can see how I am going with the new drug. All going well, we will revert to our usual 6 weekly consult. Enzalutamide is on the PBS, so it should not cost much.

Pharmacists don’t tend to carry enzalutamide, so we had to order it, but it will be availabIe tomorrow. I will obviously just have to try it and see how I tolerate it.