Androgen-independent prostate cancer: A patient's story

Published: August, 2008

For 13 years, Ken Gannon,* 68, has been battling prostate cancer. Despite undergoing a radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy, Gannon was diagnosed in 2003 with androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), also known as hormone-refractory prostate cancer.† Primary hormone therapy was no longer keeping the disease in check.

Editor's notes:

*Although many patients request a pseudonym to protect their privacy, Ken Gannon and his wife, Linda, wanted to use their real names in this article. All medical details are as they reported. In keeping with editorial policy, the patient's physicians are not named without their consent.

†For an overview of androgen-independent prostate cancer, read the feature article "Androgen-independent prostate cancer."

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