Not only that, but according to the article below he was first diagnosed with it at age 45, indicating that it must have been particularly aggressive.
And yet he has managed to live with it for 22 years so far, the article says.
His name is Drew Bouton, he is from Olympia, Washington, and as noted, he was 45 when he found out he had metastatic prostate cancer. The diagnosis in 2001 was shocking, to him and to his doctor as well, who, the article says " ... had assured him before test results came back that it probably wasn’t cancer."
But it was, and his doctor estimated that Bouton’s stage 4 disease at that time translated into maybe two years of survival.
But Bouton then started on androgen deprivation drugs, including Lupron injections. His PSA level started to decrease, helped along by the addition of chemotherapy drugs, which shrank his tumors.
In 2002, Bouton had a prostatectomy and then radiation therapy the following year. Various hormone therapies followed, including topical estradiol and a return to Lupron, plus different drugs including Abiraterone.
In 2009 Bouton became one of the first five people in the US to receive personalized immunotherapy through Provenge, after the FDA approved it for advanced prostate cancer.
"Bouton’s medical oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Heather Cheng, MD, PhD, says his response is remarkable. When he was diagnosed, the cancer had already invaded his lymph nodes. Participating in clinical trials has given him access to novel therapeutic strategies such as chemotherapy prior to surgery at the time he was diagnosed more than two decades ago."
"For more than a decade, Bouton’s disease has been stable while taking Abiraterone Acetate (Zytiga)."
"Bouton has also participated in other clinical trials, including ones related to tumor sequencing and to genetics, due to his family history of cancer. That said, Cheng notes that Bouton’s response is not typical ... His course has defied expectations in the best possible ways."
"Over time, as Bouton watched his life extend far beyond the two years that had been initially predicted, his attitude toward having cancer shifted. He started making plans for the future, tapping into gratitude for time he didn’t expect to have."
“I used to be very frightened about seeing a potential PSA rise,” said Bouton, who continues to have quarterly blood draws to monitor his PSA levels. “For a long time in the early stages, I didn’t think I would live long, and I made that assumption in my relationships with people. After a while, my psychologist stopped me and said, ‘I looked through your file and don’t see anything that indicates you’re going to be dying soon. At that moment, I realized I don’t need to keep thinking that way. I could actively continue pursuing my life.”An example showing that it can be done, that a person can be in a dire situation, statistically at least, regarding the lifespan he is likely to have, after being told he has a deadly form of this disease, and yet in some way, one not yet understood, his body finds a way to survive it -- for 22 years.
Hopefully the researchers who study his situation will find the reason why, and be able to extend what they learn from Drew Bouton into ways to help others.
Bouton's story reminds me of our own Todd1963 here on the forum, whose experience with survival seems to have been similar, and equally remarkable. Todd's initial dealing with it was ominous, with the prediction that the struggle ahead for him was going to be formidable, and literally short-lived.
But fate had other plans, and we know Todd's story, that he is a model of resilience, and in that special group of those who have faced off against PCa and have more than overcome the odds.
Todd, if you are reading this, it bears repeating that you and the fellows like you, such as the gentleman who is the subject of this post, Mr. Bouton, lead the way in proving that living well past "standard" survival predictions is very much possible.
So very well done, both of you!
So heartfelt thanks to Todd and the fellows like him who show that there is not only hope for survival beyond expectations but reality for it as well.
BTW:
"In 2009, Bouton recorded a video for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, which has since merged with Fred Hutch. In the clip, he talks about preparing to mark eight years since his diagnosis. “I feel pretty fortunate,” he said. Fourteen years later, Bouton’s feelings haven’t changed."That video (Youtube, 3:43) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_hf2zdi8ciArticle:
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2024/01/22-years-with-metastatic-prostate-cancer.html