In the late fall of 2013, my doctor suspected that I had prostate cancer. I did what everyone else does and had a PSA test as well as a very unpleasant transrectal needle biopsy (TRUS). The results came back after what seemed like a lifetime, and they I had a malignant lesion. Although surgery was the urologist's initial option, I was also referred to a radiation oncologist.
It was an emotionally difficult time. I met with a well-known Boston surgeon who informed me that I could schedule my radical prostatectomy at the checkout desk after our consultation. I was perplexed and alone. Planning on running the Boston Marathon in April of 2014, surgery would have to wait a bit longer than the six or so weeks.
I made the appointment.
I also made an appointment with radiation oncology. It was at the same building where I had spent six days in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) a few years earlier after suffering from congestive heart failure. He asked where my wife was as I was alone. I didn't really respond. We talked about my cancer.
He determined that I was too young for radiotherapy, leaving me with the prior option.
I flipped through the post-operative advice I had gotten from the surgeon while working at my desk. It was depressing. There was nothing there to make me feel better. Nothing. My thoughts, bordering on denial, I researched everything I could find to avoid what seemed inevitable.
I awoke one morning and the Lord directed me to contact the radiation oncologist. I inquired whether there were any other treatment possibilities. There is one, and it is known as active surveillance. He provided me the name of a Boston surgeon who was conducting research for Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Beth Israel Hospital.
Dr. Chang reread my pathology (which was wrong) and said that Gleason 3+3 was indolent and was not considered cancer by certain specialists. Regardless, he was going to be very active in monitoring my illness.
It was comforting that I did not have to have surgery right away!
I had heard my pastor speak a word about not responding to the "fear of cancer." I cancelled my surgery date and did my best to live each day without fear. In many ways I was successful. I ran the Boston
Marathon in April and then Chicago in October. The next year I ran New York City.
I continued to make regular visits to the healing rooms, too. Under the watchful eye of my doctor, my disease seemed to stand still. Except for the days following a blood test or a biopsy, I seemed to be able to live a normal life.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. "More alarming," according to Dr. Chang.
I decided to have an MRI and see exactly where this cancer was. My PI-RADS scores, a method of statistically grading the lesions, was 5; the most likely to be malignant. Determined to beat cancer, I continued to run, pray, and take care of myself.
After four years, I was able to isolate (compartmentalize) my treatment and the emotions that surrounded it. The summer of 2017 I moved to Virginia and continued my active surveillance with a new practice. I went for my quarterly PSA tests, follow up exams, and yearly pelvic MRI.
My disease seemed to stay the same.
I attended the healing rooms from time to time. I completed Berlin 2016, London 2017, and Tokyo 2018, becoming an Abbott World Major Marathon Six Star finisher. I had an MRI in in 2019 and again in the summer of 2020. They both showed no change in the progression of my disease.
In the winter of 2020, my PSA skyrocketed.
The doctor said it was probably nothing and we would retest. Double my normal PSA, I insisted on an MRI which revealed a new tumor. I immediately had another needle biopsy. I waited a week or so for results.
The new tumor was Gleason 4+4 and an aggressive form.
The surgeon recommended surgery, which I refused. I was denied radiation by my insurance company. They would approve an outdated and low-quality radiation which had the potential to cause other cancer in the future. I refused that, too. In addition, I also refused chemo and hormone therapy.
I headed to the healing rooms again.
Each week the faithful would pray, laying hands on me and anointing me with oil. I went week after week. In the mean time I heard about a new treatment that available. It had virtually none of the side effects of a radical prostatectomy and was safer than radiation.
The cost of treatment was $33,500.
I paid $800 for a consult. In reviewing the past MRIs, the imaging showed evidence of a change in the progression of my disease. I was horrified and angry. I flew to Atlanta and had a pre-treatment MRI. It reset my CSF shunt, completely draining my cranium of fluid. I got off the plane in Norfolk and went to the ER where I passed out from the pain. I was discouraged about everything. Without the money for treatment, I called my kids in to visit. My wife and I had the talk.
Then the Lord spoke.
He told me to do a Facebook Fundraiser for $35,000! I kept praying, going to the healing rooms, and expecting a miracle. I wasn't too sure about a financial miracle. I raised $10,00 in a few days. A friend the I had prophesied over in 2001 and not spoken too since, texted me and said the Lord had me on his heart. "What's going on? The Lord said I am supposed to write a big check!" $10,000 became $20,000 and close friends gave another $10,000.
In 10 or 12 days I had the money and wired it to the treatment center.
The money kept coming, therefore our airfare was covered, our hotel and meals were covered with reward points from long-time friends. I scheduled treatment. The extra money we sent to help others pay off some of their medical debt!
Home and comfortable, I hoped cancer would be behind me for the first time since 2013! At six months, I had an MRI that showed some odd scarring and then my PSA started to rise. I went back to the healing rooms. The Lord had made a way for this and I wasn't going backwards! It was concerning enough that I had another biopsy. The doctors were certain it was cancer. The PSMA scan lit up showing disease in that same area.
It wasn't! They were PIN cells - either precancerous or post-treatment.
I wasn't particularly relieved, but my PSA went back to normal levels. They remain there. A few weeks ago, I attended the revival at the The Gate in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the pre-service prayer, a woman walked over, gently put her hand on my shoulder and prayed in the spirit. I knew she was praying for my cancer.
After a few minutes, she proclaimed, "God is closing the door on your cancer."
In addition to the prostate cancer and two bouts with colon cancer, I had 6 MOHs surgeries for Basel cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma plus two reconstructive surgeries in 12 months. The sutures on my shoulder had just fallen out a week or so before. The surgeon said it was very aggressive and in fact was twice as deadly as melanoma which I had twice before. Before our eyes, my scars began to lighten and partially disappeared. Since that day, my prostate function has been better than it has been since my treatment in 2021!
Soon, I will have tests and hope to have medical proof of my complete healing.
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