MY BACKGROUND
My name is Bob Lasser. I was born on April 26, 1930, and have been a lifelong resident of Seattle. I've been married for 35 years to my wife, Toni; we have a son and a nephew who live with us and a daughter who lives in Denver.

I was a gardener for the City of Seattle for 43 years, and for 32 of them I managed the rose garden at the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a very rewarding career, and very healthy work. Today I still garden for a handful of other people, and I enjoy keeping up my own garden as well. It's one of my favorite things to do.

Diagnosis and Treatment
In April of 2000, my urination was slowing down, so I went to an urologist. He did a routine PSA and it came back at 31; then I got a biopsy that confirmed it was cancer. The diagnosis was a bit of a surprise, since I generally felt well and I know of no history of the disease in my family. Soon afterwards, I also got a bone scan, and it showed a lesion [metastasis] in my left pelvic area.

My doctor told me I had two basic options. One was "simple" castration [orchiectomy] - and I didn't like the sounds of that. The other was hormone therapy. So I went with that. I'm still getting a Lupron®-Depo shot every four months. I get hot flashes occasionally after the shots, but in general I've felt good enough to keep working. Ed. Note: Depo-Provera® is a progestin sometimes used to treat hot flashes caused by suppression of testosterone and LH (luteinizing hormone).

 Clinical Trial Experience
 After about three years on the hormones, my PSA started to rise, and that suggested the hormones might not be working as well as before. In discussions with my physician, he mentioned that there was a research study starting with another doctor at a local hospital [Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle] and that I might want to look into it. He said that the results from a previous study of the treatment were encouraging. I did look into it, I qualified and I decided to enroll. Ed. Note: See criteria here for participation and locations for both metastatic, AIPC patients and non-metastatic androgen dependent patients.

I learned that the treatment they're studying is something new. They remove some of your white blood cells, process them in a lab in some way that "educates" them to kill cancer cells, and then put them back into your body so that they can fight the cancer.

I also learned that I probably wouldn't find out for a long time whether I got the real thing or a placebo - and my doctor wouldn't know either. But I think participating in the study is worth it, because if down the road if you get worse and it turns out you were on placebo, you may be able to get the real thing then. Ed. Note: In this double-blind trial, two out of three patients receive the treatment. If patients worsen while in the trial and it is revealed that they have been receiving placebo, they may have the option of getting the treatment at that time.

I enrolled in the study in the summer of 2003. They start by giving you a pretty thorough checkup that includes a bone scan, CT scans, ECG [electrocardiogram], blood and urine tests and so on. They even check your body strength by having you push on their arms.

In September 2003, I started the actual process. [Over the course of a month,] I went three different times to a blood bank, where they removed some white blood cells. Each time, they sent the white blood cells to a lab in California, where the cells were processed. And then two days after being at the blood bank, I went back to the doctor's office and they infused the cells back into me.

After those three times, I was completely done with the treatment part of the study. Now I just go in about once a month for a checkup and a bone scan and some tests.

I don't think the process was hard. Having the white blood cells drawn was a little time-consuming; I was at the blood bank for three hours each of the three times I went. And when trying to get off the table at the end, I was a little shaky at first.

I did not have any side effects from the infusions when they put the white blood cells back in. If anything, I had just a little problem with the Tylenol® and the Benadryl® they give you. And the infusion part was easy - and it didn't take long at all.

In addition to my checkups for the study, I still get hormone shots every four months. In the summer before starting the study, I also started taking Zometa® to help strengthen the bones, and I continue to take that.

 Current Health Status
 I feel pretty good. I have some arthritis in my hips and back, from injuries as a gardener, but I'm still able to do what I want to do. Recently, my urination has been slowing a little again, so my urologist may put me on a medication called Flomax® to help with that.

As for my study checkups, when I got the CT scan, they told me there is no spreading of cancer to soft tissue. And my bone scans show that the lesion in my hip has actually been shrinking; every time I get a scan, it's improving. Ed. Note: Reminder to readers: The patient is enrolled in a double-blind placebo controlled trial, so it is not yet known whether he has received treatment or placebo.

His Perspective/Advice
 What would I tell other men considering this study? I think that it's important to help other people. And I like the whole idea of this treatment, with your own white blood cells being educated to fight the cancer. And furthermore, if you get placebo and you get sicker, you may still get the real treatment later on. I think it's worth it to participate.

A Wife's Perspective
Ed. Note: We spoke with Mr. Lasser's wife, Toni Lasser, and she kindly shared some of her thoughts on her husband's diagnosis and his participation in the clinical trial.

Mrs. Lasser: When Bob was diagnosed, he was considered terminal. So when we heard that there was this trial, I thought, "Thank God there may be something out there." Bob waited for the trial to open, and he was the first person in the state of Washington to enroll.

Friends prayed with us that he would get the real thing [vs. placebo]. Time and God will tell.

We made this decision to enroll because aside from continuing with medications he was already taking, there was not much else we could do. And doing something is better than doing nothing.

We also think that if you can help each other out - and possibly help yourself in the process - then you should go for it.