David
Bashover and Nancy live in Colorado, USA. He was 56 when he was diagnosed in May,
2005. His initial PSA was 12.5 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 8 and although he
does not state his clinical staging, it seems he would have been staged T1c; he
says his pathological staging was T3a. His choice of treatment was Laparoscopic
Radical Prostatectomy. Here is his story.
In May of 2005, my wife and
I were getting ready to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to
Italy, where we had lived for 6 months in 1990-91. My father had prostate cancer
in his early 70s, so I had my PSA test done every July since I was 50 (in 1999).
I missed my 2004 check-up due to an accident my wife had, but since I was in good
health, I didn't worry about it.
I had no symptoms of prostate cancer but
had the PSA blood test in May of 2005 to get back on schedule. My doctor called
me with the results. In 19 months, my PSA had gone from 2.0 to 12.5. She urged
me to see a urologist immediately. A biopsy showed I had extensive cancer throughout
my prostate with a Gleason score of 8 (4+4).
Like most men, I was overwhelmed
with the news. Family and friends suggested all the available treatment methods.
I became extremely depressed. My family doctor prescribed Zoloft, which brought
me out of my depression and which I used for about 9 months.
A family friend
who is a medical doctor had had radiation treatment 4 year prior. He recommended
surgery vs radiation. In the perhaps naive hope that the cancer was still contained
within the prostate and hadn't spread, I chose surgery without even talking to
a radiology oncologist. My wife and I didn't like the first Urologist we met with,
but did like and chose the second one.
My surgery was scheduled for June
23, 2005. We cancelled our Italy anniversary trip. On June 3rd, I had a mountain
bike accident and broke my collar bone, two ribs, tore an ear and had a mild concussion.
2005 was definitely my Lance Armstrong year.
Before surgery, I asked my
urologist if I would be able to have sex again after recovery. He said No, even
though he had planned to spare one nerve bundle. I asked him if he could recommend
a diet, vitamins or supplements. He said no. This should have raised red flags
with me but it didn't immediately.
Surgery went well and I experienced
no pain and was released after an overnight stay. The hospital where the surgery
took place was in Denver, Colorado. Post surgery pathology showed my Gleason was
a 9 (4+5). I had a catheter for about 10 days and only needed a light pad for
about 4 days. I have had no incontinence problems for which I am very thankful.
30
days after surgery, I had a blood test which showed my PSA was 1.8. The urologist
explained that this meant the cancer had spread. He told me he would start me
on Lupron and Casodex and would think about recommending radiation to my prostate
bed to try and kill the remaining cancer.
The Casodex did cause severe
short term memory problems for me. When I stopped this drug 90 days later, the
memory problems stopped.
After 90 days, my PSA was undetectable at < 0.1.
My urologist said he would keep me on a 90 day schedule for Lupron shots and was
still considering recommending radiation to the prostate bed.
Note: I lost
about 15 lbs after surgery, going from 173 pounds to 158 pounds. I am 5' 11" tall.
On
December 30, 2005, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. We were devastated.
For the next 5 months we focused on her treatment and I put my concerns about
myself on the back burner.
When my wife was through her treatments, I decided
I had to learn a lot more about the disease I had, because it wasn't going to
go away and I was losing confidence in my urologist. I started reading more books
and articles about prostate cancer and joined an email support group (PROSTATE@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG).
My
urologist never told me that Lupron could cause bone loss. My primary care Doctor
ordered a bone density test and it showed I had osteopenia. She prescribed Fosomax
for me. I had asked my urologist for the names of oncologists he could recommend
as I wanted to make them a part of my team, but he wouldn't give me any, saying
it wasn't necessary. Another red flag that I was no longer ignoring.
As
I approached my one year anniversary of being on Lupron, I made appointments with
2 oncologists and 2 radiation oncologists to discuss whether radiation was the
next step for me.
Note: I gained about 15 pounds once I started on Lupron.
On
August 1, 2006, during my quarterly visit with my urologist to get my Lupron shot,
I asked him again about radiation. He said that he and his partners were building
a new facility and that they would have a radiation department in it. Therefore,
he wanted me to wait a year and get the radiation done then. I knew at that point
that this man was looking at me with dollar signs in his eyes. My wife and I left
and never went back.
I saw the 4 doctors within the next 2 weeks. All 4
said that the Gold Standard of treatment in cases like mine was to have the radiation
done within 4-5 months of surgery. None of them could believe my urologist was
stringing me out. I chose the radiation oncologist I wanted and he said it would
be 35 treatments to the prostate bed, 5 days a week for 7 weeks starting at the
end of September, 2006. I also switched doctors to a medical oncologist who specialized
in prostate cancer at the University of Colorado.
The first two weeks of
radiation went pretty easy, but the next 5 weeks were tough with daily diarrhea
and fatigue. At the point when I was most discouraged, I read a book by Dr Charles
Myers called "Beating Prostate Cancer
with Hormonal Therapy and Diet". I was so excited by this book that I read
it in one sitting. The book described Dr Myers approach to treating prostate cancer
with hormones, diet, vitamins, supplements and exercise. These were the things
I was interested in but couldn't find anyone in Denver to help me. The fact that
Dr Myers was a prostate cancer survivor increased his credibility with me.
I
had read one of his other books the year before. A friend who was being treated
by him recommended it. The book was about how our western diet was largely to
blame for prostate cancer and how to eat to help prevent it's recurrence.
After
my radiation was done, I went back to my oncologist in Denver on December 1, 2006
to get a Lupron shot (which turned out to be my last shot) and to talk to him
about Dr Myers approach to treatment. The oncologist was familiar with Dr Myers
and said "he was on the fringe of acceptable medical practice in this country."
I was furious with this doctor with his comments.
I kept thinking about
a comment from Michael Milliken that really impacted me. Milliken was the junk
bond king of the 1980s. In 1993 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and given
18 months to live. He was convinced of the correlation between diet and cancer.
He said that he didn't have the time to wait til science proved this. He went
on a very low fat diet. He is alive and healthy today (May 25, 2009). I felt that
with a Gleason 9, I didn't have time on my side either.
My wife and I discussed
it and she said what are you waiting for. Call Dr Myers and make an appointment.
Dr Myers lives and works in Charlottesville, VA. He only takes new patients after
they fill out a lengthy patient profile and then he only takes men that have serious
cases of the disease. I was accepted by him and my appointment was made for January,
2007.
We both flew to Virginia for the appointment. After examining me,
he brought my wife in to talk to the both of us. He said that if I was willing
to follow his recommended diet along with the drugs he wanted to prescribe, and
the supplements and to exercise, he thought he could have me in remission in 3
years. This is the first doctor that gave my wife and me any hope. We committed
to him to do just that.
As of today, May 25, 2009 my PSA is still undetectable.
I see Dr Myers once a year for an annual check-up and I see a local Denver oncologist
quarterly for blood tests. I have lost 17 pounds over the last two years and currently
weigh 157 pounds which is where I plan to stay. I eat a Mediterranean style diet,
and use the vitamins, supplements and 3 prescription drugs that Dr Myers wants
me to. I try and exercise daily by bike riding, skiing, tennis or on a treadmill.
David's
e-mail address is: jnjsq2@pcisys.net
