Dr. Meyers, I am a 13 year survivor who is facing a rapidly rising PSA (12 week doubling time) and doctors who now feel that the repeated intermittent hormone therapy (zoladex) contributed to numerous heart blockages. My RCA is 100% blocked(failed bypass) and not treatable. I am being see by David McLeod and Jim Gulley at CPDR at Walter Reed. My PSA was 8.2 last week and I will see Dr Gulley nest week, I just don’t know what to ask at this point. They have said that they do not want to do further ADT because of the heart risk and the latest plan is to treat symptoms rather than try to slow the disease any more.

First, I think that Dr. Gulley and McLeod are superb physicians with extensive experience in the treatment of prostate cancer and you are in good hands. However, this is a controversial area of prostate cancer medicine and experts do disagree at times. I would ask how aggressively your heart disease has been treated. The cardiovascular risks of hormonal therapy involve a drop in the good (HDL) cholesterol, an increase in triglycerides and an increased risk of diabetes. Finally, hormonal therapy can worsen systolic blood pressure. All of these problems can be aggressively treated. High-dose Niacin is the most effective at increasing HDL and will lessen triglycerides. Statins, like Crestor, Lipitor or Zocor (generic version is simvastatin) can lower LDL. Metformin can be used in combination with the statins to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetics. I would try to lower your LDL cholesterol as much as possible, certainly less than 70. We would also try to increase your HDL as much as possible. I have found the combination of high-dose niacin and Crestor to be most effective. All of these drugs have side effects, but I have a rather detailed program to reverse most of the side effects that might develop. Finally, I would tell you to eliminate red meat, dairy fat and egg yolks from your diet. With all of these tools, it would be uncommon for me not to be able to treat a 58 year old with intermittent hormonal therapy.

Ask Dr. Espinosa

Geo Espinosa, N.D., L.Ac, CNS, RH (AHG) is the Director of the Integrative Urological Center at New York University Langone Medical Center. Before joining NYU, Dr. Espinosa was a clinician, researcher and director of clinical trials at the Center for Holistic Urology at Columbia University Medical Center. He is a licensed naturopathic doctor, licensed acupuncturist, a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Registered Herbalist. Dr. Espinosa is an author of the naturopathic entry in 1000 Cures for 200 ailments, by Harper Collins; March 2007 and “Prostate cancer – Nutrients that may slow its progression,” Food and Nutrients in Disease Management - Maryland: Cadmus Publishing, 2009.

Ask Dr. Myers

Medical oncologist and prostate cancer survivor, Dr Charles "Snuffy" Myers was a key player in creating AZT, Suranim, and Phenylacetate while working at the National Institute of Health. With over 250 research papers published, Myers is one of the leading developers of today's prostate cancer canon on both the research and treatment side of the test tube. Former Cancer Director at the University of Virginia, Myers opened the American Institute for Diseases of the Prostate in 2002 to provide men with the kind of comprehensive care that saved his own life. Dr. Myers has long been popular among prostate cancer patients as a speaker because of his ability to explain science and medicine in easy-to-understand language.

Ask Dr. Latini

Dr. Latini welcomes your questions about the psycho-social dimensions of Prostate Cancer, particularly those presented by Gay and Bisexual men. Dr. Latini is an assistant professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine. Before joining Baylor, he spent six years in the Department of Urology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Latini is a clinical health psychologist whose work concentrates on cancer survivorship and symptom management for persons living with genitourinary cancer.