Bonner Natural Health
Integrative & Functional Wellness
Eddie,
I've gone through the full set of labs from your June 8th draw, and I wanted to put my thoughts in writing so you have them to read at your own pace and bring to our next visit. Overall there is a lot of good news here, your kidneys, liver, electrolytes, thyroid, and blood proteins all look healthy, and several of the numbers reflect that your prostate cancer treatment is doing its job.
Below I've summarized what stands out, what it means in the context of your diagnosis, and the few areas where I'd like us to put our attention over the coming months.
Your PSA is under 1.0 ng/mL. In the setting of prostate cancer treatment, a low PSA is exactly what we want to see, it points to good disease control.
Total testosterone of 17 and free of 2.0 are very low, and that is the intended effect of hormone (androgen-deprivation) therapy. It tells us the therapy is working as designed.
Kidney (eGFR 87), liver enzymes, and electrolytes are all within range, reassuring while you're on treatment.
TSH of 2.55 sits comfortably in the normal range.
| Test | Result | Reference | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA, Total | <1.0 ng/mL | 0.0–4.0 | Reassuring |
| Testosterone, Total | 17 ng/dL | 264–916* | On target for therapy |
| Testosterone, Free | 2.0 pg/mL | 6.6–18.1* | On target for therapy |
*The printed reference ranges are for healthy younger men who are not on hormone therapy. While you're being treated, the goal is to keep testosterone very low, so a result that the lab flags as "low" is actually the target. For that reason, raising your testosterone is not something we'd pursue right now; instead, we focus on managing the side effects of keeping it low.
Keeping testosterone low is the right strategy for the cancer, but it has predictable ripple effects on metabolism, blood counts, and bone. The next few items are common companions of hormone therapy, and the encouraging part is that they respond well to the kind of nutrition, movement, and monitoring we can put in place together.
| Test | Result | Reference | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Cholesterol | 210 mg/dL | ≤199 | High |
| LDL (Direct) | 146 mg/dL | <100 optimal | High |
| Non-HDL Cholesterol | 149 mg/dL | <130 optimal | High |
| HDL ("good") Cholesterol | 61 mg/dL | ≥40 | Good |
| Triglycerides | 76 mg/dL | 0–149 | Good |
| Hemoglobin A1C | 5.7 % | 3.0–5.6 | Borderline |
| Fasting Glucose | 113 mg/dL | 79–99 | High |
| Hemoglobin | 13.7 g/dL | 14.0–18.0 | Mildly low |
| Platelets | 89 K/uL | 150–400 | Low |
By standard cutoffs your cholesterol (210, LDL 146), A1C (5.7%), and glucose (113) read high, but on your ketogenic, lectin-free program, and with strong HDL (61) and low triglycerides (76), this is often a perfectly acceptable pattern. I’m reading these in that dietary context, not as a problem to fix.
Lowered testosterone gradually thins bone over time. This is worth getting ahead of with vitamin D, calcium, and weight-bearing exercise.
Your platelet count of 89 is below range. This can accompany cancer treatment, but I'd like to recheck it to confirm the value and watch the trend.
Hemoglobin of 13.7 is slightly low and is a frequent, usually manageable companion of hormone therapy. We'll keep an eye on it alongside your platelets.
Because you’re following Dr. Gundry’s ketogenic, lectin-free approach, I’m reading your cholesterol in that light, a total of 210 alongside strong HDL (61) and low triglycerides (76) is a pattern many people hold comfortably on this kind of program, so I’m not concerned about it in isolation and wouldn’t change your eating to chase the LDL number. My priorities are elsewhere: first, protecting your bones, since keeping testosterone low gradually thins bone, let’s make sure you’re covered on vitamin D and calcium, keep up weight-bearing and resistance movement. Second, let’s recheck your blood count over the next few weeks to confirm the low platelets and mild anemia and watch their trend, with a few simple follow-up tests (iron, B12, folate) if they stay low. I’ll also interpret your A1C (5.7%) and fasting glucose (113) in the context of your ketogenic diet, where a mildly higher fasting glucose is often a normal physiological response rather than a warning sign. We’ll plan to run other labs in three months to confirm you’re holding steady.
I'm glad to walk through any of this with you in more detail whenever you'd like. You're doing the right things by staying on top of your monitoring.
Warm regards,
Barry Bonner
Bonner Natural Health · Integrative & Functional Wellness