Ian
Avila and Liora live in New South Wales, Australia. Ian was 61 when he was diagnosed
in April 2004. His initial PSA was 8.2 ng/ml and his Gleason Score was 3+3=6.
He was staged T1c and his choice of treatment was Watchful Waiting. Here is his
story:
Diagnosis came after regular checkups showed a rising PSA.
Of 22 biopsy needles a few showed 2 per cent prostate cancer in 3 areas. My urologist
urged quick action but a second opinion by a big city associate professor specialist
fully supported my desire to try alternative measures to at least keep it at bay.
In
the months since diagnosis, my PSA has dropped to 6.6 ng/ml, while the percent
free PSA has improved marginally to 15 percent.
I'm on no dairy, no red meat, organic chicken sometimes, fish any time, heaps
of fruit and vegetables and nuts, tomato juice and several supplements, plenty
of exercise. I do a simple chi-gong moving meditation with lots of visualising
and I get Reiki healing frequently from my wife.
So far so good. I am getting an ache behind the pubic bone which bothers me -
especially because the specialist warned that a falling PSA did not necessarily
mean anything good. But my wife can't detect anything that worries her in the
energy she is pretty good at detecting with Reiki.
I'm off to see a doctor in Perth in April who has achieved some measure of fame
at the number of people he has essentially saved from various sorts of cancer,
Naturally he has been scorned by his profession. He uses a specific frequency
of radiowave. If he accepts me for treatment(and I understand there are no side
effects with this treatment) I'll keep you posted.
My
Doctor (Assoc. Prof Stricker ) had agreed
with my wish re active surveillance and using all the alternative things I could
think of. He was very strong however about a follow up biopsy as the only way
of really knowing what was going on. He said herbs could keep the PSA low while
the cancer continued to grow. He said to get a 2nd biopsy after 12 months and
if that was ok to get another after another 4 years.
My
PSA did stay below 10 and from memory was sometimes in the 6's and 7's. I had
the 2nd biopsy after about 18 months and the cancer was worse occupying 75% in
some lobes and Gleason 3+4=7. I was suddenly anxious to get it out as soon as
possible and worried I had gambled with my life and lost.
I
was quickly in St. Vincents Private and getting it cut out. Luckily the margins
were clear so now its wait and see. He did have to take some of the nerves to
be on the safe side. He made a point of saying that a "skin" had grown around
the prostate which showed I had a good immune system. I took this as confirmation
of all the natural health efforts I had made.
In
retrospect I'm glad I waited in that I could research the problem, join a health
fund and contemplate which intervention I preferred. I changed from radiotherapy
to surgery as my preference. Also I had a good go at beating it myself. Following
surgery I learned that a lot of the side effects I had feared and read about were
more things of the past. I had the best surgeon I could find and fund cover to
afford him ( though there were still thousands to pay out of my own pocket).
I
have had no incontinence. I was back at work in 4 weeks and doing physically tiring
work after 5 weeks. I can get a weak erection and can orgasm. Doc says it may
take 2 years before really potent again. I do have a slow urine flow which bothers
me. I had a minor op to stretch the urethra where it joined the bladder and have
to catheterise myself about weekly. This should settle down as its still early
days.
My
life has settled down to normal . PSA is still below 0.01 ng/ml. I don't even
think about it much. Sex is an ongoing compromise. Waiting to see if the 2 year
prediction for regaining erections will happen. Six months still to go. For those
not covered by National Health and unable to afford the crazy price of vacuum
devices that work I recommend looking up "Noogleberry" on ebay. straightforward
and effective and less than 30 sterling.
Ian.
Ian's
e-mail address is ianav@nrahs.nsw.gov.au
