Leuprorelin/Lupron for Prostate Cancer. Necessary or Overkill

Hello all of you brilliant people! My father (71) was diagnosed with prostate cancer last February. He went in for his annual check up with bloodwork. The bloodwork came back witn a PSA level of 7 1/2 to 8. That immediately started the whirlwind of testing for cancer witn biopsies. In the testing they found 6 out of the 12 samples to be cancerous/pre-cancerous. His doctor at that time told him of his treatment options that included radiation and Lupron shots every 3 months for two years 4x a year and removal of the prostate. He didn’t know much about the treatments or side effects but when your Dr. tells you that you have cancer the fear from it will cause you to do anything they say. Thankfully he decided against the removal but agreed to the radiation and shots. The radiation treatments went ok but now he’s on the Lupron shot and having pretty awful side affects. I didn’t know much about the drug but I knew he was suffering and decided to look into it. This is what I found out:

Leuprorelin also known as Leuprolide is a manufactured version of a hormone used to treat prostate cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibrosis, for early puberty, transgender hormone therapy, or to perform chemical castration of violent sex offenders. It is given by injection IM. It is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue family of medications. It works by decreasing gonadotropins therefore decreasing natural testosterone and estradiol. Common side effects include high blood sugar, allergic reactions, hot flashes, unstable moods, trouble sleeping, headaches, and water retention/inflammation in joints.

He is experiencing all of these and then some! Especially the inflammation in his hands.

They look like cartoon hands some days.

Fast forward to today. He just got blood results back witn PSA levels that are barely registering.

But they are still recommending continuing witn the treatment.

My question is why do they want to shut down his testosterone? All of the information that I have read in recently published data shows that testosterone does not cause cancer. And that prostate cancer is a very slow moving cancer that rarely metastasizes unless the patient is in advanced age or metabolically very unhealthy. Is Lupron a necessary treatment for such a condition? And are there any other treatments that are more appropriate for this type of slow moving cancer?

I have been discussing and working with him on the basics on how to live healthier with better nutrition, exercise, and vitamins. But I know you guys can help with way more than that! I may be wrong, but I believe the treatment may by worse than the condition! Thanks all for your interest and any input or suggestions you may have. This is the only group of people that I trust and will tell only truth!

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