Patient Story: Mike Morris
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Hi, I’m Dr. Oliver Sartor. I’m at the PCF retreat with someone that you do not know named Michael Morris. Welcome, Michael, a patient who has come to the PCF for the very first time.
Michael Morris:
It is an honor to be here.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Well, it’s a pleasure to have you here. I’d like you to maybe first begin by talking a little bit about your impressions of the patient forum, the very first PCF patient forum, which you attended.
Michael Morris:
In the patient forum, we went around the table, and everybody got to share their story, which was great. You got to see cancer and cancer treatment from many perspectives, and then it was interpreted by four doctors, including yourself. It was just very, very informative, and I learned a lot.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
I’m glad you were able to attend. One of the beautiful things about PCF is that you have true world experts here and for the patients to be able to access. You’ve had a chance to go to the sessions, which are amazing, probably a little bit technical. But what’s your impression of the sessions?
Michael Morris:
Well, of course, I’m humbled by the knowledge that was in the room. We started off with a Nobel Prize winner, and that’s a good way to start, and then we moved on. Yes, much of the stuff went over my head, but what it did do is it gave me a big perspective. It showed me cancer research from the Petri dish, through the mice, to the human. I didn’t understand all the names and numbers, but I got some of the basic concepts.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
It’s really a privilege to be able to share that with patients because a lot of times cancer research seems very nebulous. It seems like something somebody else does. But in this case, the people who are doing it are in the room, and the funders like PCF are right there, and so it’s a very intimate setting to be able to view cancer research upfront and personal.
Michael Morris:
It was an awesome experience.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah, that’s great. Now, you have had quite a journey yourself. You were diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, and you’ve been on clinical trials, and here we are today. So, let’s talk a little bit about your journey, not in all necessary great particulars. But tell me a little bit about being diagnosed with prostate cancer and the beginning of your journey and probably what a shock it was to have those things told to you.
Michael Morris:
I went to a primary care yearly checkup, and my PSA report came back that I had a 41 PSA. I went to the proctologist and eventually the oncologist. I took oral radiation first and then six rounds of Taxotere, which did nothing for me, and the withdrawals were horrible. But then I was fortunate enough to get into a phase 1 clinical trial with Dr. Pedro Barata, and then, of course, you. You were the head man of the trial.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Well, I forgot to mention you’re from New Orleans.
Michael Morris:
Yes, I am.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah, exactly. As am I. We met in New Orleans, of course. We just happen to be out here in California for the meeting, but we’re really both New Orleans guys.
Michael Morris:
Go Saints.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Absolutely. Go Saints. Thinking about a clinical trial, it’s a bit of a risk to go on a clinical trial with an experimental agent. Tell us a little bit about how you thought about that process and made the decision to jump on the bandwagon for a clinical trial that, truthfully, was not very mature. How did you come to that decision? How did you feel about making that decision?
Michael Morris:
Well, when the chemotherapy failed, my PSA rose to 414. There were only two spots in the trial, and one of them came open, and I just felt like it was a door that I had to go through because chemo didn’t work. And so, it was just a door that was open to me, and I felt this is what I need to do.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah. For our listeners, I’ll say it’s an Actinium trial, an early phase Actinium trial. Lo and behold, that phase 1 trial, you got your initial dosing, was it 2021?
Michael Morris:
Yes, in the fall of 2021.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah, so basically five years ago.
Michael Morris:
Yeah.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
And your PSA was 400.
Michael Morris:
414.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
And here you are.
Michael Morris:
Yes.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Pretty amazing story.
Michael Morris:
Amazing story. The best part about it is I’ve gotten to watch four of my grandsons be born, and I got to know them, and life is good.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Mike, you’re a hero, in many ways. You took a chance, you’ve helped to advance medical research, you’ve contributed in your own way to the knowledge that we have gained. First of all, let me just say thank you for being who you are, and thank you for being a clinical trial participant, and thank you for you.
Michael Morris:
I’m humbled and honored.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah. It’s interesting, and this is where a lot of people don’t necessarily understand, when we are undertaking clinical trials, we of course want them to turn out perfectly well, and we do approvals and make a big change in the world, but of course that doesn’t always happen. But without the process of the clinical trials, we’re not going to be able to make advances in the field. So participating in an experimental therapy, even though you may not know too much about it, is a risk-taking exercise that for you turned out overall in a positive way.
Michael Morris:
Yes, but all the risks were in my contract. It said on page one that I would lose red blood cells and that I probably would have kidney failure at some point. That’s just something that you have to live with. But like you said, I’m alive, and I got to see life longer than others. I mean, 414’s a pretty dismal place to be.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
Yeah, no, it was a tough situation. Hormonal therapy, chemotherapy really didn’t work for you, and then we found something that did. Any other thoughts you’d like to share? And thank you for the brief vignette and sharing your story. We have a big audience here today. Anything you’d like to share for all those literally millions of patients out there?
Michael Morris:
I think that you have to look at life as a whole. There’s blessings, and there’s hardship. But if you look at it as a whole, life is good, and so my motto is good things are going to happen. I think as a cancer patient, you have to have that attitude first, and then you have to find the right doctor. You have to find somebody that’s genuinely concerned about you and is an expert in their field, and then you can use things like AI to come up with good questions to just double check and keep things on the right path. You have to be your own advocate. But it starts, like I said, by finding the best, and I deal with the best.
Dr. Oliver Sartor:
I think it’s actually a really good message. Positivity, expertise, informed, and be your own advocate. Those are beautiful messages. Thank you, Mike. Thank you for being here.
Michael Morris:
Thank you so much.