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

Hi. I'm Mike. I've been a cancer patient since July, 2008. I was just shy of my 56th birthday when I was diagnosed. My only symptom was difficulty peeing. Must have went to the bathroom 50 times a day. A routine yearly physical revealed a PSA of 6.48, which got me a referral to a Urologist. DREs (Digital Rectal Examinations) by both my family doc and the Urologist were normal. My urologist decided I needed a biopsy [note no pre-treatment of antibiotics for BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia)].

So, a week later I'm laying on my side with a telephone pole up my butt. Results came back positive for 1 of 12 cores. My first Urologist laid out treatment options very briefly, but covered Da Vinci in all it's glory. He did not perform Da Vinci, but his partner did. So, I met with his partner who steered me expertly toward surgery ("We'll cut the cancer out and throw it in the bucket. You won't need EBRT (External Beam Radiation Therapy) like you would with brachytherapy"). At the time, I was in a 4 month long relationship with a woman. We had a very healthy sexual relationship, sometimes augmented with Cialis and sometimes without.

Surgery day was Sept 17, 2008. In at 6:00 a.m., out by 7:00 p.m. Two days later, my surgeon called to check on me and drop a bomb: my pathology PSA came back with a Gleason 4+5=9. I was an emotion train wreck. Exactly two weeks after surgery, my girlfriend walked. More about this later.

Recovery went OK, I guess, except for the lingering leakiness and absolutely zippo in the erection department. My first post surgery PSA was in October and came back 0.10. My surgeon was pleased but wanted me to "work on getting that PSA even lower" Work on it? What did that mean? Sit-ups? Aerobic exercise? Maybe he should have worked on not leaving me with positive surgical margins.

My second PSA post op was in January, 2009 and I absolutely had a premonition that the news would be bad. It was: 0.18. I was referred to the radiation Oncologist who wanted to start radiation and ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) immediately. By now, I had read Walsh's book. I made an appointment with Dr. Joseph Smith at Vanderbilt for a second opinion. He was great! (I wish he had done my surgery). He recommended radiation, but not ADT until/unless my PSA hit 5.0.

So, in April, 2009 I started IMRT (Intensity- Modulated Radiation Therapy). 72 Gy total, ending the Friday before Memorial Day. At first, radiation was a breeze, but by week 3 the fatigue really set in. By week 5, they were frying my rectum. I had had hemorrhoids in the past and they started bleeding. The pain was 12 on a 0-10 scale. I had to take a break for a few days from the IMRT and seriously considered quitting radiation. It finally ended on Memorial Day weekend, which I spent in my jacuzzi with Epsom salts. At that time, I was still leaking urine many times a day, unrelated to position or movement other than being guaranteed to leak if I had one leg up and one down, such as when you tie your shoes. I still could not get an erection, but then, I had no one to have an erection with. I learned that, yes, you can have an orgasm without an erection, but I squirted urine when I climaxed. [This is technically climacturia and is a good deal more common than most men are told.] Another dandy little side effect no one told me about was that if I had a sexual thought, like, "Wow, she's got great ............ (insert: boobs, legs, ass, eyes, etc., etc.), I would squirt a little squirt of urine. My own little sexual "conscious".

My first post-radiation PSA was in August, 2009 and came back less than 0.06. Yeah! My second post radiation PSA was December 22, 2009 and again came back less than 0.06. My last PSA was in July, 2010 and again less than 0.06. I know I should celebrate my numbers, but I have fought depression for at least 10 months now. Let's see. Before July, 2008, I had a steady female companion, sex 4-5 times per week, no urinary leakage. Now: no girlfriend, no realistic chance of having a companion, I leak every day, can't get an erection. I squirt piss when I masturbate, squirt piss when I even have the thought of having sex. Prostate cancer sucks.

I've decided that I won't seek further (palliative) treatment if/when my cancer returns. Quality of life means a lot to me and quite frankly, it's not that good right now.

I can't remember when my last update was, so here goes. I had several PSAs drawn 6 months apart that were less than 0.06. The last was in July, 2010. I stopped having PSAs drawn until a routine physical in January, 2012. My PSA was 13.90! I couldn't believe it. I made an appointment with my urologist and had the PSA repeated a week later. PSA was 16.48. A repeat PSA a week or two later was 18.10.

I made an appointment with Dr. Charles "Snuffy" Myers in Virginia and saw him on March 1st. He requested further bloodwork and we discussed my prostate history thoroughly. I told him I was not interested in HDT and he didn't seem to be surprised or concerned. He was more concerned about my newly diagnosed diabetes and cholesterol numbers. He placed me on a number of vitamins/nutrients including curcumin, Vitamin D3, pomegranate extract, soy lecithin, and resveratrol. And Metformin for the diabetes, but also because it has been shown to have anti-cancer properties. He encouraged me to start the Mediterranean diet, which I started along with low carb intake.

My PSA in March had risen to 25.6, but was not rising as fast as Dr. Myers though it would be. I was diagnosed as a Gleason 9 following pathology examination, but Dr. Myers indicated that Gleason 9s that are metastasizing usually double every 2 weeks. He encouraged me to go to Sand Lake Imaging for special CT, PET, and faraheme MRI studies, which I completed 2 weeks ago. The thought was that if I had fewer than 5 metastatic tumors, I could undergo spot radiation to knock the cancer back and gain a few years of life. Unfortunately, my scans revealed "at least 10 or 11" lymph nodes with tumors in the lumbar area. My pelvic area, previously radiated with IMRT, was completely cancer free. So, my cancer had metastasized BEFORE I had salvage radiation.

Right now, I'm at peace with my decisions. I may consider an immunotherapy trial, but I'm not interested in HDT or chemotherapy. Amazingly, I STILL have no symptoms from my cancer, for which I started treatment in Sept, 2008. All of my symptoms are a direct result of the TREATMENT for my cancer. I'm scheduled for another PSA draw this week, so we'll see if the nutrients/Metformin have slowed the progression. I'm under no illusions here; I expect the PSAs to keep rising. I have faith in God, and if it is His will, then His will be done. I am not afraid of dying.

It's December, 2012 now. This is my first update since last April. My final report from Sand Lake Imaging showed 16 lymph node tumors (April, 2012). Dr. Myers' response to that report was "OK, time to start ADT". I refused, knowing full well where I was headed. I spent the summer riding my horse, playing a little golf, and taking my dog to the lake. My PSA has continued to climb, the latest draw at the end of September was 110.24. I went to Colorado in October on an elk hunt with cousins/Uncle without difficulty. I decided to take 3 months off from work, starting the end of July, and spent that time working around the house, golfing, enjoying my horse and dog (OK, the cat, too). But, if that time was meant to include finishing a bucket list, well, I don't HAVE a bucket list.

I went back to work November 5th, but every day has been a struggle. Sometimes not physically, but emotionally. I don't sleep well at all, partly because of things rolling around in my head, but mostly because of the ongoing incontinence. I'm good for 2 hours max, asleep. More than that and I'm swimming in my own golden pond. So, no REM sleep for the last 4 years. I have difficulty focusing and completing tasks.... any task. In terms of pain, I THINK I am just beginning to have pain from my cancer. And it comes and goes. One day, low back pain. Next day, rib pain. Next day, something else.

I joined an online dating service last summer, with very conflicting thoughts about what I was doing. I need a companion for me, but I know it's not fair for "her". I met one lady for breakfast, had a great conversation until it turned to our health. What's the answer to "how is your health"? Well....Dr. Myers told me he expected me to live 2, maybe 3 years. How do you say that to someone you've just met, who you might like to have a relationship with? Back to square one.

I've got no specific plans for the future, except to see Tommy Emmanuel live in Nashville in February. He is my guitar hero and I'd love to meet him and shake his hand. Maybe I have a bucket list after all.

Hi, again. It's early February, 2013. I had been having increasing back pain, so in December, 2012, I requested a bone scan from my primary care doctor. It came back negative, except for arthritis in my left knee and activity where I broke 2 ribs a couple of years ago. I was laid off from work January 18th, and started having pretty significant thoracic/lower rib pain on the right, the next day. It started out with pain tucking my shirt in, then unbuckling the seat belt, then bending over, then coughing, sneezing. I had a routine physical coming up, so I mentioned it to my PCP. He had a chest X-ray taken and complared it to last year's film. It appeared that I had a mass in my right lung, so I got a referral to my radiation oncologist for a CT scan. Met with him yesterday and the CT found no tumor in my lung, but many tumors in my lymph nodes along the mediastinum. He was uneasy about the presentation of lymph node tumors, wondering if I had lymphoma. I don't think I do, but we're going to do a PET scan next Monday. I have not changed my mind about systemic treatment: HDT or chemo. My thinking is that if tumors pop up that can be spot radiated and knocked back, well, maybe we'll do that until I've had enough. Not interested in more surgery, for any reason.

My PSA continues to climb, up to 155 now, but not as fast as Gleason 9 normally would. I really expected it to be above 200 this checkup. Maybe Dr. Myers was right, maybe it's not Gleason 9. But, that doesn't change the end game, does it?

I'm having pretty good back pain as I type this....maybe 6 on a 0-10 scale. I know now that I won't be returning to work in April as planned. I have trouble lifting anything of weight right now without increasing that pain. I am preparing as best I can for end of life; revising my will and living will. Trying to tie up loose ends. At the same time, I'm trying to live as normal a life as I can. I'm still riding the roller coaster of emotions, but just trying to hang on. One day at a time....

I'm still here. It's July now and I haven't worked since January. I stopped work on January 18th, a Friday, and by the following Wednesday, I was in agony. I had very severe, mostly low back pain. I was unable to get up and down out of my bed. I consulted with my Rad Onc doc and underwent 10 treatments of palliative IMRT. Getting on and off the carbon fiber treatment table was misery but I was able to complete all 10 sessions. By the time I was done, the lumbar pain was receding, but I started having really severe rib, thoracic, and sternum pain. CT showed my spine, ribs, cranium, and pelvis to be full of cancer. I requested something be done about the rib pain, which was horrible. I started 10 more sessions of IMRT, but getting on and off that danged little table was killing me. I had been started on Oxycodone 7.5 and 10s, which helped for about 4-5 hours. At the 6th radiation treatment, I couldn't get down on the table...way too much pain. I came back the next day, fully medicated and struggled to get on the table again, but made it. My ribs were absolutely killing me. They had trouble with the Linac and I laid on the table over an hour with my arms over my head. I was nearly crazy with pain and they couldn't get the machine to work right. I told them I was done with radiation THAT DAY. I met with the Rad Onc doctor and said I'd had all I could take. He understood and estimated I had 6 months, more or less, to live. That was in April.

Before January, I had virtually no pain from my cancer. Since then, I've not had a day without significant pain, usually quite a bit. I don't think about what new treatments might save my life; I pray for God to take me Home. My physical strength and endurance continues to dive. Right now I can only tolerate about 2-3 hours of "anything" a day. I have a horse that demands my attention twice a day and I can barely do the minimum to take care of him.

I applied for disability back in February and was approved almost immediately. However, I won't get my first penny of disability money until August 28th (WHY?) and I won't be eligible for Medicare for another 1 1/2. Again, WHY? I'll be 61 in August and will never see a single dime of my own social security that I've paid for the last 40 years. Who is going to get the money I worked for? My health insurance ended June 30th, but it won't matter. The next medical battle will be my last, one way or another.

Cancer sucks...

September 1st. I've gone down hill rapidly since my last update. My pain level hovers between 8-10 every day, even with Morphine and oxycodone. I am unable to do most physical activity. I can't lay down due to severe rib pain, so that leaves sitting or standing, all day every day. The tumor that is or isn't in my right lung has severely limited my respiratory capacity. I'm short of breath almost constantly. I can walk about 75 yards. I have had to give up my horse, luckily to a friend who will care for him the rest of his days.

I don't know why anyone would want to continue to live like this. I've just about stopped eating and have prayed for God to end my suffering. Whatever you do, avoid this stage of prostate cancer.

Mike's e-mail address is: mkane09 AT comcast.net (replace "AT" with "@")

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