Gregg Dennington and Eva live in Miaoli, Taiwan. He was 50 when he was diagnosed
in November 2007. His initial PSA was 66.04 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7 and
he was staged T3bN1M0. His choice of treatment was EBRT (External Beam Radiation
Therapy) with neo-adjuvant ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy). Here is his story.
The first heads-up that something was wrong with my prostate was after
a DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) as part of a complete medical exam. (A gift
for my 50th birthday.) A couple of weeks later, the PSA results came back at 66.04,
and my prostate cancer journey began. Subsequent tests showed a Gleason of 7 (3+4)
and extracapsular invasion with seminal vesicle and lymph node involvement.
The
medical care here in Taiwan is wonderful, and I was able to get in with one of
the top prostate cancer doctors on the island. He immediately started me on Zoladex,
and after three months, I went through eight weeks of radiation therapy. (EBRT)
I should also add that I've altered my diet radically during this last year. No
red meat, no dairy, and very little fat. (Not bad when you get used to it!) My
PSA numbers dropped over the past year from the baseline 66.04 to 3.90, 1.73,
.59, and in December of 2008, .54.
The doctor is not real satisfied with
the last PSA result, so has decided to take me off the Zoladex for a time to see
what's going on. (I'm sure happy to be off that stuff. Pretty tough side-effects.)
So
that's where I am right now. I've got my next PSA test coming up in a couple of
weeks, and am looking forward to that. Thanks so much for the opportunity to share
my story here on this site. I feel that if anyone can understand what I'm going
through in this whole thing, it's guys like you.
Gregg's e-mail address
is: greggeva@hakkaministries.org
