Tim
Wojnowski and Tricia live in Ohio USA. He was 39 when he was diagnosed in September
2008. His initial PSA was 68.0 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 9 and although he
does not state his staging, but it appears he was staged T3 or T4. His choice
of treatment was Hormone Deprivation - ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy). Here
is his story.
It all started with a physical for my job. The urine sample
I submitted in my physical indicated that I had a small amount of blood. The physical
was administered in late 2004. My doctor had me complete some more tests for lab
work, including blood and urine tests, all came up normal with exception of the
small amount of blood in my urine. My doctor referred me to a urologist to have
several more tests, They checked the inside of my bladder, kidneys, DRE (Digital
Rectal Examination), and more blood tests with negative results.
I went
on with my life and in 2006 I went thru another round of tests similar to what
I stated earlier, this also produced nothing significant. My PSA was about 3.1,
but the doctor I had said that it was within normal range, so, since I didn't
know what a PSA was I just agreed with him and said ok. (Big Mistake).
In
2007 I transferred with my job to Cleveland, Ohio and where they have great medical
care.(Cleveland Clinic). In early 2008 I started having trouble urinating so I
went to my doctor and explained to him what my last doctor did and what all the
results were. He checked my Prostate and stated it was normal. As the year went
on and my urinating became harder and after Flomax wasn't working my doctor sent
me to urologist. He ran me through a gauntlet of tests and checked my prostate
and also stated it was normal size for my age. He checked my PSA and it was 68.0
so he had a CT of my pelvic area. This is were he new something was wrong, my
lymph nodes were enlarged in the area of my prostate. He immediately scheduled
a Biopsy of my prostate, and a bone scan. The bone scan showed that I had something
in my pelvic area and the biopsy confirmed that I had Prostate Cancer that had
metastasized. That was the worse day of my life.
I slowly gained confidence
that I will fight this and win this battle and I am living a semi-normal life
with very few limits. I have a great Doctor at the Cleveland Clinic and have confidence
he will keep me going for years to come. My current PSA is less than 0.40 ng/ml.
Tim's
e-mail address is: twojnowski_2000@yahoo.com
