First Post and the Whole Story...

My intention for starting this blog was to share my experience, and hopefully my strength and hope. I would like to share my story in the hopes that someone can relate to it and will help them to find proper treatment.

In early June 2009, I began a diet known as the HCG diet. This is a fad diet that requires daily injections of a synthetic hormone. Even though I did lose weight over the two weeks I took the injections, I felt uncomfortable with the idea of injecting synthetic hormones for the purpose of losing weight. After two weeks I stopped taking the injections. After about another week or two, I noticed a change in my urinary patterns. I had urinary frequency at night and a feeling of constriction and weak stream when I did need to urinate. I am not sure if the HCG was related or not. Since it had been about two years since my last physical, I made an appointment to see a general physician. My overall health checked out fine, including my prostate, but when my blood test results came back, my PSA was elevated to 30.5. A normal PSA is under 2.0 and many times, under 1.0. The doctor called me to retest my blood in case of lab error. I went in the next day and had my blood drawn again. This time my PSA came back a 31. I was immediately referred to an urologist.

The urologist checked my prostate again and it was determined that it was extremely tender and swollen, likely due to an infection. I was put on an antibiotic, Levaquin, for about six weeks. I went for follow up appointments during the course of this antibiotic, but it was still decided that this was likely prostatitis. My wife and I were worried that not enough was being done to rule out cancer, but that assumptions were being made that it was only infection. We decided, at this point, to see a naturopathic doctor who specialized in prostatitis.

We went to see the naturopathic doctor and he also determined that this was very likely prostatitis and cancer was a remote possibility, and likely not possible at all. He prescribed a tonic, supplements, and a testosterone boosting supplement, Orchic PMG. We asked several times if this testosterone booster was wise since we had not had a biopsy or determined that this was not cancer. He replied at my age, 39, and without family history that the likelihood of cancer was almost zero. We decided, since he was so insistent, that it would be safe to take Orchic PMG. After four or five weeks, the pain in my hip and lower back had become severe, my insomnia was intolerable, and my urinary symptoms had increased. I decided at that point to cease taking all supplements prescribed by the naturopathic doctor. My wife and I decided that we needed to get to a respected urologist to determine the best course of action, and to rule out cancer.

We were able to get an appointment with a new urologist based on the high PSA and the symptoms that I had. When we went to the urologist, he told us that he wanted to do a new PSA, check the prostate, and since the symptoms had been there so long, a biopsy. We asked my wife to leave the exam room and the doctor performed a digital rectal exam. He noticed very quickly that the prostate was extremely hard and nodular. It was at this point that he informed me that there was a very real possibility that this was cancer. He said, at this point, that there wasn't any sense in prescribing antibiotics again, but he wanted to draw blood immediately to check the PSA and schedule for a biopsy. I had the blood drawn before I left the office on November 12, 2009 and scheduled the biopsy for the following week. I called his office on November 17 to ask if the results of my blood test had been received. The nurse said that the blood test had come back and that my PSA and risen to 151.8. My wife and I discussed our options and decided that our best course of action was to get Huntsman Cancer Institute involved. We canceled the biopsy with the urologist and told him that we were following up, but felt it was in our best interest to get Huntsman to perform a biopsy and discuss treatment options from this point on. The urologist agreed and wished us good luck. We scheduled a CT scan for Friday, November 20. We received the results the same day. The prostate appeared abnormal with malignancy spreading into the rear wall of the bladder and substantial lymph node involvement in the abdomen.

The biopsy was scheduled for November 23, 2009. The physician assistant performed another digital rectal exam and agreed that the prostate was extremely hard and that there was a very real possibility of prostate cancer. I went in for the biopsy and received one shot of Lidocaine in each side of my prostate. They then harvested 13 cores from my prostate. The doctors were incredibly compassionate and sympathetic at Huntsman, but I wished that I had known then to ask for a twilight sedative before the procedure. While the biopsy was very necessary, it was extremely painful. I have heard other accounts that did not seem to be as painful, but instead just very uncomfortable. Mine took about 45 minutes and I would strongly recommend to others having this procedure that they do ask for some type of sedative before this type of biopsy. We were told that the results would not come back for several days up to possibly two weeks. With Thanksgiving in three days, it seemed that we would be closer to the two weeks before we get a result. We asked the doctors performing the biopsy and the physician assistants if they would do everything they could to get the results as quickly as possible so we could start to think about our options over the Thanksgiving holiday. They were very diligent and made several calls to the lab to get the results as quickly as possible. In fact, I received a call the very next day, on Tuesday, that the results were in. Cancer was noted in all 13 cores, with a Gleason score of 9. The Gleason scale ranges from 2 to 10 and is determined by the abnormality and likely aggressiveness of the cancer, 10 being the worst case. I was asked to come in the next day, on Wednesday, for a bone scan.

The bone scan took place on November 25 and we met with our oncologist at the end of that day. We were hopeful that the cancer had not yet spread into the bones, but unfortunately that was not the case. The bone scan showed tumors present in the hips, pelvis, spine, ribs, sternum, and shoulder blades. After consultation with my doctor, he informed us that since the cancer was so widespread, surgery and radiation were not an option. Instead at this point I was to receive Lupron, a hormone blocker that stops the production of testosterone in my body. The reason for this is that prostate cancer initially is mostly hormone dependent. Stopping the production of testosterone in my body would likely send the prostate cancer into a temporary remission. At some point in the future, and each person is different, the Lupron will no longer be effective. When that happens, chemotherapy is the likely option unless something new has been approved. He also told us that I need to receive monthly infusions of Zometa. This drug is used in cancer patients for symptoms similar to osteoporosis. It strengthens bone, promotes healing, and has shown in some trials to have anticancer effects. We asked, other than the quarterly injections of Lupron and the monthly infusions of Zometa, were any other treatments planned? The oncologist said that due to the advanced nature of the disease, hormone therapy was the protocol until it no longer worked. My wife and I decided that we would do this hormonal therapy, but we wanted to look into other alternative treatments that would complement conventional.

Our searches for other treatments lead us to the new Suzanne Somers book, Knockout, which was recommended by my mother-in-law. This book interviews several doctors who are combining conventional and alternative medicine to the treatment and lengthy remission of cancer. After researching many of the fine doctors in this book, we decided to place our trust in Dr. Forsythe and the Century Wellness Clinic in Reno, Nevada. We went for an initial consultation with Dr. Forsythe on November 30, 2009. His clinical trial for Stage IV prostate cancer was in progress for over four years and had a survival rate of 84%. This compared to the 20% to 30% five-year survival rate of conventional alone treatment. We were very impressed with the Century Wellness Clinic in the doctors that work there and decided to begin treatment immediately.

Before treatment began they drew blood. When my lab came back, my PSA had risen to 158. Over the next three weeks, I met with doctors nearly every day and received infusions of Salicinium, hydrogen peroxide, and vitamin C, in addition to conventional medicines, vitamins, and supplements. When my blood was drawn again near the of my three week program, my PSA had dropped to 131. I credit the fine doctors and this clinic with stopping and stabilizing my aggressive cancer. I also received my first injection of Lupron near the end of my visit in Reno, and on January 6, 2010, my PSA dropped to 19.5. I will continue my treatment in Reno for one more week in the middle of February. I will continue to update weekly or more if circumstances warrant through this blog.

If anyone has any questions or comments, or I can be of help or service to anyone, please contact me through this blog and I will be happy to assist in any way possible.

Thank you and God bless,
Brian.