Scott
Goodwin and Melinda live in North Carolina, USA. He was 45 when he was diagnosed
on September 9, 2006. His initial PSA was 10.2 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 9
and he was staged as T2c. His treatment choice was surgery/hormone/radiation.
Here is his story:
Hi,
My name is Scott Goodwin and I was diagnosed
in September 2006.
I could not believe that I had cancer. I had a PSA
screening that came back at 10.2 ng/ml then another that came back at 7.0 ng/ml.
My doctor referred me to a urologist who discovered a nodule on the right lobe.
He scheduled me for a biopsy and 8 samples had cancer . It was in both lobes and
was initially Gleason score 8.
He recommended that I have Da Vinci robotic
surgery and that whatever treatment I decided he suggested that because of the
high Gleason I should not wait. We felt obligated to get a second opinion but
before we left we scheduled surgery for December 2006.
My doctor set up
our consultation at UNC hospital. I remember that it was a rainy day. My wife
and I spent the day meeting with Surgeons, Oncologists and Radiation Dept. Their
tumor board had met and decided that my tumor was Gleason 9 and it did not really
matter what I did. They told us that if they did surgery and if it was in the
lymph nodes they would stop because at that point if it is outside the margin
it is incurable. The reality of my mortality hit us like a ton of bricks. They
also endorsed my urologist to do the surgery. We decided to do the surgery locally.
My urologist had also said that I would need multimodal treatment but he was much
more positive.
I have had surgery, Lupron and 8 weeks of radiation. My
PSA is 0.22 ng/ml and if it goes up he recommends chemotherapy. The Lupron is
rough and makes work hard. I have talked to other cancer patients and I find it
very rewarding to help them get through their treatments. I look at things with
a different perspective and try to really appreciate the important things in life.
Next PSA in September when I get my next Lupron shot.
It
has been a year of ups and downs.
I
was on Lupron for 9 months and started having bouts of amnesia. Some don't actually
believe that hormones can effect your memory but I assure you it is true. I went
off the hormones for two months and my PSA jumped from .25 to .89 the .98 two
weeks later. So back on the hormones.
We
tried a different one this time and although it didn't give me amnesia it also
did not lower my testosterone enough. The PSA stayed at .45 I am now on Trelstar
for the sixth month. It appears that I may be hormone refractory. My PSA has gone
from .25 in February to 1.98 last week with constant increases. My urologist encouraged
me to find an oncologist with prostate familiarity. We went to Duke Medical which
is only an hour or so away.
I
feel good with the exception of fatigue. My family keeps me going and grounded
as well. there are a lot of great things happening out there with regard to clinical
trials. Maybe our cure is around the corner.
Scott
Goodwin .
Scott's e-mail address is: rsgood43@earthlink.net
