Bevan Davies and Michele live in Maine. USA. He was 64 when he was diagnosed in November 2005. His initial PSA was 9.3 ng/ml, his Gleason Grade was 3+3=6 and he was staged T1cN0M0. His choice of treatment was Radiation. Here is his story:

In November of 2005, a bloodtest revealed a PSA of 9.3. I then had a biopsy done, and of twelve "cores" taken from the prostate, tissue samples extracted through a needle, only one showed cancer cells. I then began a series of tests to determine whether or not there were cancer cells outside of the prostate: an MRI bone scan, a CAT scan, various sonagrams of the vital organs. No cancer was found outside of the prostate. My Gleason score was 6 (3 + 3).

My doctors and I chose a course of treatment consisting of a hormone shot to reduce the size of the prostate, five weeks of external beam radiation, and finally, radiation seed implant, or brachytherapy. This surgery was performed on May 3rd, 2006. I am still experiencing some unpleasant side effects from this, but am slowly getting better. The side effects can last as long as six months, but usually only last for one month to two.

 

UPDATED

September 2006

It is now 10 months since my initial diagnosis, and five months since seed implant surgery. My most recent blood tests have shown no detectable PSA readings. However, I still have some side effects from the radiation I received: frequent urination at night, and sometimes during the day, and urgency to urinate, especially at night. I also still have hot flashes from the hormone therapy which I received, but these are less frequent now.

Otherwise, I have regained most of my strength and continue to work in the gardening field, sometimes doing rather strenuous labor.

 

UPDATED

January 2007

The side effects from the hormone treatment I had have disappeared, having lasted for 6 months: no more hot flashes, no more sweating at night. I am now almost back to normal, this meaning before my diagnosis more than a year ago. Now I get up once or twice a night to urinate, sometimes more if I drink too much tea or coffee during the day. I no longer feel tremendous urges to go in the middle of the day, and I have better control when I do need to go. And, of course, the most important thing is that I have no detectable PSA readings.

The one thing that I can say about the amount of radiation I received is that the side effects lasted much longer than I had anticipated, not the one or two months that was predicted after the brachytherapy procedure. This varies among different individuals, but I have been told by my current urologist that these effects can last as long as one year.

I would recommend brachytherapy to anyone with the symptoms and diagnosis I had..

Bevan's e-mail address is : bevandavies@adelphia.net