Asking for my father who had cancer. He had pancreatic cancer about 6 years ago and neck cancer (probably due to HPV) 3 years ago. The man has successfully recovered from both. He lost 2/3 of his pancreas due to a Whipple procedure while he had pancreatic cancer and he endured chemotherapy for the neck cancer. Doctors say he recovered from both procedures and there is currently no cancer. He is 60 years old and I’m sure he would have low testosterone. After we receive lab work and if it reveals that Testosterone is low, would he possibly be a good candidate for TRT? As far as I know, prostate cancer has not occurred in my family. Thanks.
Sorry to hear that your father suffered from the two cancers. And really happy to hear that he survived both of them! For pancreatic cancer this is really are rare occasion that the tumor is detected in an early enough state that still allows surgery. Lucky man, celebrate life!
Whether your father needs TRT or not can only be judged by lab testing of his T, freeT and SHBG levels (minimum). And this should be done and guided by a qualified physician. I wouldnt be aware that a previous successfully treated cancer is a contraindication for TRT, but I recommend also here to ask a qualified oncologist.
I cannot answer your questions but want to say really happy to hear your dad survived. My step-father passed 2 years ago from pancreatic. It’s a bitch watching them go through that and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
TRT doesn’t cause prostate cancer, Dr. Abraham Morgentaler destroyed that myth that TRT causes prostate cancer and now the wait is on for everyone to catch up to “current research” and not the old outdated stuff that was as flimsy as a twig.
In fact there have been men with prostate cancer on TRT for 20 years while being closely monitored and the results are no progression of prostate cancer in all of those men, and in some cases prostate cancer is no more, gone, disappeared.
Prostate cancer is an old man disease and if it runs in the family, whether your on TRT or not, you’ll probably get it anyways. Low-T equals inflammation, cancer is inflammation and so those with low -T have more aggressive forms of prostate cancer when compared with those who have high testosterone.
That’s a question for his oncologist and/or his urologist, not an Internet forum.
Really glad to hear he’s recovered, but some stuff you really need to go to the experts for. It’s almost a sure thing that he has low T, between his age and everything he’s been through, but there are certainly times when TRT can be contraindicated and the cons outweigh the pros.
In the meantime, focus on enjoying life and implementing the boring, basic health stuff - regular activity/exercise, diet, etc.
Thank you all for the info and kind words. Only trying to improve his quality of life.
Although this is a very specific problem that is appropriate to have with a physician; this Internet forum serves as a valuable platform where several (maybe thousands?) of people have different experiences. I am surprised that someone who has had cancer or someone who knew someone who had cancer did not chime in. Cancer is unfortunately a common illness that plagues our society. Perhaps I should have opened the conversation up more broadly to discuss cancer in general and TRT. Anyway, thanks for the info. I’ll watch that video.
While the principle statement that TRT appears to be safe with regards to the prostate, you again paint a black or white picture which is unfoetunately not supported by science.
The groundbreaking study by Rhoden and Morgentaler only had a follow up time of 1 year and the study with the longest follow up period followed patients for a median of 5 years. No study is unfortunately available that followed their subjects for 20 years.
Excerpt from the most recent review on that topic:
‘At present, there is no definitive evidence that administration of exogenous testosterone will increase the incidence of PCa. The absence of a large randomized clinical trial to address this topic is starkly obvious; such a study is vital before we can confidently counsel men who express interest in or harbor a clinical need for TRT. At best, we can provide these men only sub–level 1 evidence of TRT in relation to PCa, highlighting the ambiguity and dearth of high-quality studies.’
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