Mr. DeWayne Charleston – Prostate Cancer Survivor

Mr. Dewayne Charleston, PHEN Survivor Network Member, Prairie View, TX

At the third session of the 2023 PHEN Summit, Mr. Dewayne Charleston explained he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 46 years of age in 2009. He went through 13 years of treatment and screening before starting a clinical trial in 2022. His treatment involved chemotherapy and his PSA numbers remained under 10. When his PSA level reached 10, his doctor prescribed Lupron medication. With the help of PHEN, Mr. Charleston was referred to a clinical trial. However, he first ended up on the waiting list for a trial.

Since that waiting list was too long, he was able to participate in a different clinical trial with assistance from PHEN. After four or five months in the trial, a bone scan looked like he was facing metastasis despite feeling better. For the next six weeks, he was taken off all medication except Lupron. His PSA dropped to 4.4 and he continued to exercise and lose weight. The possible metastasis had actually been bone flare. It took him 13 months more, but he was able to get back onto the clinical trial.