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Ken Vernon and Joan live in New Zealand. He was 77 when he was diagnosed in July, 2011. His initial PSA was 8.60 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 9, and he was staged T4. His initial treatment choice was ADT-Androgen Deprivation (Hormone) and his current treatment choice is None. Here is his story.

THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2015 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.

About three weeks before diagnosis I started to pass blood through the penis and also my legs and feet became numb. Prior to that I had been having an increasing amount of cramp in my feet.

I saw my GP who gave me a DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) and recommended that I saw a specialist urologist. The urologist also did a DRE and scheduled me for a biopsy which gave a result of 9 on the Gleason score. The score of 9 indicated an aggressive cancer, the specialist told me he thought he could keep me alive for 2 to 3 years with proper treatment.

I guess that's it.

UPDATED

December 2011

I am elderly (78) and not in a position to afford private treatment so I am being looked after at the Oncology Dept at our main area hospital, which is a very good hospital with a high reputation. I was diagnosed with a Gleason score of 9 (aggressive) PSA 8.6 and initially given Lucrin (Lupron Depot) injections.

After only 2 days I was getting attacks of severe shortness of breath and after 2 weeks a full scale heart attack. In hospital I was given an angioplasty to open up the blockage in my Right Coronary Artery. They were unable to place a stent. They tried again to place a stent a few days later but no luck. My coronary arteries it seems are very thin, calcified and with lots of bends which make it very difficult for them to work. This leaves me with not a great outlook, the Cardiologist said that they would try an angioplasty again only in severe circumstances and that would be "very risky".

I have now had three 1 monthly injections of Lucrin - the first time followed by the heart attack, 2nd time for a short time I had symptoms similar to one prior to heart attack and 3rd time 2 angina attacks. I think that all were triggered by Lucrin.

Yesterday I had a final discussion with the Oncologist and his staff. They would not offer me radiation because they don't think, at my age and condition, that I could tolerate it and additionally they considered that it would cause a major bleeding problem because I require to be on strong blood thinners to protect my heart. Other surgical options were turned down for similar reasons. I was given 3 options:

  1. Continue Lucrin injections "CAD".
  2. Go onto Intermittent Androgen Deprivation still using Lucrin.
  3. Go onto "Active Surveillance" where they would treat symptoms as they occurred.

It's not much of choice. I don't want to continue on Lucrin because I find the side effects so very difficult to endure, fatigue is appalling. Intermittent Androgen Deprivation would help in this regard and I am very seriously looking at that option but it would still mean taking the risk of another heart attack?????

This leaves Active Surveillance and this leaves me wondering. With a Gleason 9 and PSA 8.6 how long would it be before the cancer begins to spread and I suppose finally how long would I have left? The subject of "How Long" and the difficulties in establishing a figure are discussed in The Elephant In The Room.] Yesterday I didn't have the bottle to ask them that question. If anyone is able to give some idea on that and any other comments would be welcome.

UPDATED

January 2013

In an update, Ken wrote:

I am not well and I'm reducing everything to a minimum. I have severe heart problems and internal bleeding from an unknown source. Hope you had a lovely Xmas and best wishes for the new year. My PSA is 1.2

UPDATED

April 2014

In another update, Ken wrote:

I'm very, very ill with Heart Failure and Kidney Failure. I don't have long and I don't want to dwell on it. Thanks and hope all is going well for you.

Ken's e-mail address is: kenvj AT orcon.net.nz (replace "AT" with "@")

NOTE: Ken has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.


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