Patient makes history by overcoming prostate cancer through clinical trials at UW-Health [Video]

MADISON, Wis. (WSAW) – Gary Davey, originally from the UK, was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in 2010. After first consulting doctors, his fate seemed bleak, but he has since defied the odds.

“My doctor said, ‘If you don’t find the best surgeon, you won’t make it to Christmas, Gary,’” Davey said.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1-in-44 men will die from prostate cancer but as fate would have it Davey is defying the odds.

“Thirteen years later, I’m here,” Davey said.

When Davey found UW-Health., they initially tried surgery and radiation therapy, but his cancer remained resistant. Looking for more options, Dr. Josh Lang, a Medical Oncologist at UW-Health, decided to put him on a clinical trial. According to Dr. Lang, the trial tested a precision therapy that combined niraparib, a cancer drug that inhibits cancer cells from repairing damaged DNA, and abiraterone, a hormone therapy.

“It was combining a drug that targets a specific genetic mutation called niraparib, and another …