Douglas M. Lavery and Becky live in Ohio USA. He was 56 when he was diagnosed in Feb. 2006. His initial PSA was 3.5 ng/ml and his Gleason Score was 3+4=7. He does not state his staging but from what he says it seems it would have been T1c. His doctor's advice was to have ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy). Here is his story:

My wife was worried that we would not have insurance for very much longer. Go get a physical. I did not have a Dr. so I looked in the phone book Ray Mason sounded good. Not a thing wrong except persistent heartburn which I attributed to drinking to much. Also lower back pain. Blood work said PSA 2.5 ng/ml , CEA (Carcinoembryonic antigen) also just a bit high. I was referred to Dr. for a colonoscopy,yucko-bucko. But was negative. Then Dr. said go to urologist: DRE negative, but PSA was 3.5 ng/ml. Come back in six months.

PSA was now 4.5 ng/ml - We had better do a biopsy. You have got CANCER!! I flipped out. I don't need this. I went to the library and read every book they had. The way I saw it this was all a bunch of crap and just another way for them to bleed you dry. We had better do a bone scan. Something suspicious. MRI something on your right femur. Cat scan you better go see another Dr. - oncologist. It looks like it's in your bone. By now I am terrified.

Urologist says that we better start you on Zoladex at $2,000.00 a pop for 3 monthes. I don't suffer all that well. Every bone in my body ached. The more I read the sicker I got. I made out a will. I burned up the phone I called relatives I hadn't seen or talked to in years. I had hot flashes every 5 minutes, sweat poured out of me. Then I got colder than step-mothers kiss.I don't know which is worse, the hot or the cold. I couldn't sleep. Woke up at night with the sheets like somebody had thrown a bucket of water on them. It was a struggle to walk out to the end of the drive-way to get the mail. I was tired all the time.

Another CEA test was 219.9. Uro gave something for hot flashes and some crummy 2 mg. Valium I ate them all in a day or two. We have got to do a bone biopsy. A super-oncolgist in Akron did more X-rays looked everything over and said he didn't think it had gone to the bone, but we'll do the biopsy just to be sure. Uro gave me another Zoladex.

I went back to primary to try to talk my way out of this bone biopsy. No way. From what I could glean from the net they take a needle the size of a stir stick a foot long and gouge you in the ass. Matter of fact it wasn't all that bad. He said it was just some bone islands and not to worry about it. They had done all of those bone scan MRI, CAT tests a second time for a comparison.This was in June.

I went back to primary. He said to go back and get another colonoscopy. I said go to hell, they had jacked this guy around all they were going to. I was broke. I'm a rough framing carpenter and I hadn't hit a lick since they had put me on death's door. Primary sent me a letter to say I was fired, don't come back. Uro sent me a bill for $900.00 seems he wasn't on my insurance plan. Why didn't they tell me that at first? So I fired him.

Sept. 16 they wanted to give the Zoladex again. But I went to work as a Boilermaker in Conesville 7 days a week 12 hour days. Pain in my leg got unbearable, it was the other leg. Buddy at work gave me some Percoset and I got through the job. Laid off in Nov. and called to see oncologist to see if he could look at this leg. Receptionist said go to primary. Don't have one. So called another uro. June PSA after big Z was 0.07 ng/ml ,then 0.08 ng/ml in Dec. then 0.09 ng/ml in Jan. when I got to see new uro. I asked for another CEA which was 11.5. Got right in to see Gastro-guy. Mumbo-jumbo and wanting to do another colonoscopy. These people are really fastinated with my bum. Go back at the end of the month for another CEA.

At this point I am still in limbo and on the verge. Thanks for letting me vent. What do you think, the more I read on net the less I know. Kinda like Chinese Algebra.

Douglas' e-mail address is: sirdouglasm@msn.com