Prostate Cancer Survivor Shares Journey From Diagnosis to Treatment

Being diagnosed with a disease like prostate cancer is a very impactful life event, according to Bob Lane, a prostate cancer survivor and patient receiving Erleada (apalutamide) treatment. He went on to add that because this is so life-changing, it is important to have people you love by your side.

“That experience gave me a reference point to share with others: it’s good to have a partner, a loved one, or a significant other with you for these conversations,” he said in an interview with CURE. “When a diagnosis hits you out of nowhere, your brain kind of stops, and it helps to have someone else there to take notes, think clearly, and hear everything more clearly than you can.”

In the interview, Lane walked through his experience with prostate cancer, from diagnosis to treatment, and imparts his wisdom to people who may be going through a similar situation.

CURE: Can you walk us through what it was like to go from a diverticulitis concern to learning you had prostate cancer and how this shaped your mindset early on?

Lane: It was quite fortuitous, although I don’t believe in coincidences, so I think it was meant to be for whatever reason. The doctor really had no reason to be testing for it, especially since he had done so just four months earlier. When he told me, that’s when I stopped thinking about the diverticulitis. At first, I actually thought it was just a mistake, so I wasn’t worried.

As the testing went on, I realized how serious it was. I remember the day the doctor called me three hours from home and said, “It’s cancer,” based on 12 core samples, that’s when it really hit me. I said, “Oh, crap.” I literally cried for 20 or 30 minutes, then called a friend of mine who is an anesthesiologist. He talked me down, helped me calm down, and connected me with the urologist team. It was a very impactful life event, quite moving. I don’t even remember driving home after my meeting, though I obviously did.

That experience gave me a reference point to share with others: it’s good to have a partner, a loved one, or a significant other with you for these conversations. When a diagnosis hits you out of nowhere, your brain kind of stops, and it helps to have someone else there to take notes, think clearly, and hear everything more clearly than you can. That was important to me, and at some point, I pivoted with that thought.

After the surgery, I was pretty much OK. They got it all, the margins were clean, and we moved forward. I wasn’t on any meds for about three years, and we checked every 90 days, but the PSA was always zero. When it stopped being zero in 2017, that’s when it took on a whole different meaning for me.

Can you describe your personal experience with cancer recurrence, including how you processed the news? How did you find the right information and support along the way?

I have known people all my life who have had cancer, they beat it, everything is hunky-dory, and then it comes back, and they're gone. That was my first thought: “OK, it's back, and it's going to be over.”

That was a four-year watch for me, from 2017 to 2021. It grew back very slowly. I remember talking to the doctor one day; about three years in, he said, “You're an enigma to me.” I told him I wasn't impressed, and he was a Harvard-Hopkins guy. He said, “Because it normally comes back the way it was when we took it out, and it was really aggressive. Now it's not.”

They finally found it in C1. It was almost a surreal day because he and I had spoken about how, when it's found, it will more than likely not be on a vital organ, which means we'll have any and all means at our disposal to deal with it, and I would likely be fine. Well, then he tells me, “By the way, it's in C1. It's either going to go into your brain or your spinal cord, or both. It's really aggressive, and we can't operate on it,” which is exactly what he said.

That was a defining moment for me, like, “This isn't going to be good,” because I don't like the idea of radiation and collateral damage and that kind of stuff. But I came to learn this was a different type of radiation, so it's good that I learned something about that, that not all radiation brings with it collateral damage.

So, I guess that's the path, and that's where I got to the metastatic piece. They got rid of it, and I've been on the medications ever since, ADT and combination therapy and stuff like that. It got to the point where a gentleman helped me right before my surgery back in 2014. He and I spent about a half hour together, maybe 40 minutes, and he had been through it and was very helpful. He gave me some ideas on what to expect and a one-page flyer, I think it was, with some different notes that he had put together. That was helpful, but I couldn't find a whole lot other than that. I was looking on the internet.

Then, when I finally got to the radiation piece, the metastatic piece, and the addressing of the metastatic tumor, that's when I started to think, “You know, there are lots of different things out here. I better do some real research. I better find out about it.” It was difficult at first, but I finally found some information, and that was good.

For patients with advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, what treatment approaches are typically recommended, and how effective are combination therapies such as androgen deprivation therapy with newer agents?

Let's start with the more serious patients, the metastatic patients, because a lot of the patients I see are basically on maintenance and are just going down the road with no real issues. So, the metastatic patients are the ones I speak with a lot, and they mostly come to the advanced prostate cancer clinic sessions two days a week.

I talk about the care plan that my doctor and care team recommended, which was based on my personal situation and my metabolic status at that point. They recommended androgen deprivation therapycombination therapy, which is basically a two-pronged approach. First, it has a suppressant, which in my case was one of the drugs that shuts down most of my testosterone production. This is combined with an inhibitor, which in my case was Erleada, that inhibits or prevents any prostate cancer cells from feeding off any residual testosterone in the body. It's brilliantly clever. I've said that to any number of people; the scientists have done a wonderful job. They didn't just stop the flow of testosterone; they figured out how to stop and "cook" it, so to speak.

I find that when men are metastatic, they need to hear that these therapies have been developed and that they work. These combination therapies are actually, typically, twice as effective, and life expectancy and survival rates are typically twice or more than what they are without the combination. That's a good thing. I don't have to suggest that to the patients I talk with in the office because the doctor there is already using that regimen and has been since it came out over a decade ago.

Reference

1. “How Survivorship Differs for Men With Metastatic Prostate Cancer,” by Bob Lane. CURE, July 10, 2025; https://www.curetoday.com/view/how-survivorship-differs-for-men-with-metastatic-prostate-cancer

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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