Discovery: Gary Schauder

Published in Promise & Progress - Promise & Progress 2018

Gary Schauder, who faced bullets and Agent Orange while serving his country in Vietnam, was not about to let prostate cancer scare him. When Schauder’s prostate cancer returned a few years after surgery and continued to grow on treatments aimed at slowing its progress, his wife encouraged him to make an appointment at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Under the care of prostate cancer expert Mario Eisenberger and nurse practitioner Vicki Sinibaldi (pictured at left), he began treatment with pharmacological testosterone — an experimental approach developed by prostate cancer researcher Sam Denmeade. “I received the drug for the first time about two years ago,” says Schauder. “My PSA went from 14 to undetectable. It’s starting to elevate a little now, but not much. It’s not even up to one.” The 72-year-old says he feels energetic and lifts weights for over an hour every day. “It’s nice to know I’m coming to a place where I feel like they’re helping me and using what they learn from me to help others,” says Schauder. “One day, the research they’re doing here is going to wipe out this disease.”