BERNNIE: That's right. Hold him, hold him! Don't let him get up on you like that. Come on.
When you're breaking a horse, we have a little saying, "If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough."
Attaboy, attaboy.
The horse threw me is like, "Oh, man, that horse threw me. That hurt. Let's do this again." It's like man against beast. And with my prostate cancer, it's man against beast.
My name is Bernnie. I'm from the heart of the Mississippi Delta.
Oh, how many of them grandbabies you got now?
LES (BERNNIE'S FRIEND): Four. All boys.
BERNNIE: What I like about living in Mississippi is the people. We call it the compound. Everyone knows everybody. If you need a cup of sugar or something, you know, you just go to your sister's house or your cousin's house.
My wife, she hasn't been doing well. I've had to learn to do chores that I've never done before.
If I wash clothes and then I try to keep up with the yard or I try to keep up with myself.
Run to the ball.
I feel like if I ever stop, I won't ever start back up.
Do you remember when I got diagnosed?
LES: I do. You had lost a lot of weight, right?
BERNNIE: Yeah, I was down to 170 pounds. I lost over 50 pounds.
LES: You get down close to my size.
BERNNIE: When a horse throws you, you don't go to the doctor, you dust it off. So when I started getting sick, being the thickheaded, hardheaded, dumb tough guy that I think I am, I was just dusting it off.
It was something that I thought would go away. I didn't want to talk to nobody about it. That was my business. It wasn't nobody else's business. You know, I didn't even want my wife to know.
I would get to work and just start throwing up; I would just be soaking wet and sweat.
I was to the point I couldn't hardly pick my legs up anymore. I couldn't get my boot on. I had golfball-sized lumps that had come up on my neck.
There was a moment there where I was just scared. You know, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to turn to. I couldn't hide it any longer. My wife started pestering me, you know. You've got to go to the doctor. You've got to go to the doctor.
I had guys I worked with. They're like, look, we're going to put you in a truck and we're going to haul you up there ourselves. You have got to go get you some help.
And so finally, old hardhead here, I listened, and I decided to go to the doctor.
LES: You should have gone to get checked way before you did, Bernnie.
BERNNIE: Well, I should have listened to you. I realized that, but y'all know I'm hardheaded.
LES: Yeah. Like, like, like all of us.
BERNNIE: When I walked into that urology clinic that day, I looked like death sucking on a Life Saver. I mean, my eyes were sunk in, my skin was getting wrinkled up. I mean, I just, I looked like a skeleton.
And my doctors and all, they ran a PSA test on me, which came out to be very high.
And he pulled, like, six needle biopsies on me and all that come back positive.
I was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, and it had metastasized.
I was really shook up. I mean, my heart just dropped. This is something that don't happen to me. This is something, you know, that happens to somebody else. My doctor said surgery was off the table. Radiation was off the table. They could not do chemo. My cancer had spread.
My doctor looked at me and he said, I know about this drug XTANDI (enzalutamide). And he said, he's used this drug before.
ANNOUNCER: You're about to hear some information about XTANDI. Stay tuned for more of Bernnie's story.
What is XTANDI? XTANDI (enzalutamide) is a prescription medicine used to treat men with prostate cancer that:
- has spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone
OR
- no longer responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone
OR
- has not spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone, and who are at high risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body
It is not known if XTANDI is safe and effective in females or children. XTANDI may cause serious side effects: seizure, a brain condition called PRES, allergic reactions, heart disease that can lead to death, falls and bone fractures, swallowing problems or choking that can lead to death. Your doctor will stop treatment with XTANDI if you have serious side effects. You will learn more about these and other side effects later in the video.
In a study, XTANDI has been proven to help some men delay progression.
In the same study, XTANDI has been proven to help these men live longer.
BERNNIE: I take XTANDI in the morning at the same time every day. You take four coated tablets with a glass of water and you go off about doing whatever you do.
My doctor also told me about some of the most common side effects, such as muscle and joint pain, feeling more tired than usual, and hot flashes.
AVO: You're about to hear some information about the possible serious side effects with XTANDI. Stay tuned for the rest of Bernnie's story.
Important Safety Information
Talk to your doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you experience any of these serious side effects while on XTANDI, including:
- Seizure or Sudden Loss of Consciousness. Avoid activities where loss of consciousness could cause serious harm to yourself or others.
- Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES), a brain condition, may develop. Includes seizure or quickly worsening symptoms such as headache, decreased alertness, confusion, reduced eyesight, blurred vision or other visual problems. Your doctor will check for PRES.
- Allergic Reactions. Stop taking XTANDI if you develop swelling of the face, tongue, lip or throat.
- Ischemic Heart Disease, the blockage of arteries in the heart that can lead to death. Symptoms include: chest pain, discomfort at rest or with activity, and shortness of breath. Your doctor will monitor you for signs of this disease during your treatment.
- Increased Risk of Falls and Bone Fractures. Falls were not caused by loss of consciousness (fainting) or seizures.
- Swallowing Problems or Choking. Life-threatening problems or death can happen in people during treatment because of the size of the XTANDI capsules and tablets. Swallow each capsule or tablet whole with enough water to make sure that you can swallow all of the medicine successfully.
Your doctor will monitor your risks and stop XTANDI if you have serious side effects.
Additional safety information can be found later in this video.
BERNNIE: Once you have a head-turning in an event like prostate cancer, you see things through a different set of eyes.
Small things that would normally bother somebody or something, I just roll it off my back like a duck.
If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone to the doctor and try not to hide.
I've got family that cares. They're there to back me up. They're there to help me, especially my granddaughter. That girl, she'll drive five hours just to eat my BBQ grills.
GRANDDAUGHTER: Thank you.
BERNNIE: And they are delicious.
LES: But I'm really proud that you keep up your treatment.
BERNNIE: Well, I'm glad I just had a friend like you to guide me. These other men need to have that number checked.
Prostate cancer is something that affects thousands and thousands of men. There's no reason for anyone to have to go through this alone.
I talked to men in church. I talked to men in my doctor's office.
We've become a brotherhood. It's what it is. All fighting for that same battle.
If you're still listening to me, take it from this hardheaded Southerner. Don't wait. Go get yourself checked out.
AVO: Important Safety Information & Use About XTANDI
What should I tell my doctor before taking XTANDI?
Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- Have a history of seizures, brain injury, stroke, or brain tumors.
- Have a history of heart disease, have high blood pressure, or have abnormal amounts of fat or cholesterol in your blood (dyslipidemia).
- Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. XTANDI can cause harm to your unborn baby and loss of pregnancy (miscarriage).
- Have a partner who is pregnant or may become pregnant.
- Males who have female partners who are able to become pregnant should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with XTANDI and for 3 months after the last dose.
- Males must use a condom during sex with a pregnant female.
- Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if XTANDI passes into your breast milk.
- Take other medicines. XTANDI may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how XTANDI works. These include prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Do not start or stop any medicine without talking to your doctor.
How should I take XTANDI?
- Take XTANDI exactly as your doctor tells you. Take your prescribed dose once a day, at the same time each day. XTANDI can be taken with or without food. Swallow XTANDI capsules or tablets whole with enough water to make sure that you can swallow all of the medicine successfully. Do not chew, dissolve, or open the capsules. Do not cut, crush or chew the tablets. Your doctor may change your dose if needed. Your doctor may also change your pill size or stop treatment if you have swallowing problems.
- Do not change or stop taking your prescribed dose of XTANDI without talking with your doctor first.
- If you are receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) therapy, you should continue with this treatment while taking XTANDI unless you have had surgery to lower the amount of testosterone in your body (surgical castration).
- If you miss a dose of XTANDI: Take your prescribed dose as soon as you remember that day. If you miss your daily dose, take your prescribed dose at your regular time the next day. Do not take more than your prescribed dose of XTANDI each day.
- If you take too much XTANDI: Call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room right away. You may have an increased risk of seizure if you take too much XTANDI.
What are the possible side effects of XTANDI?
XTANDI may cause serious side effects including:
- Seizure. If you take XTANDI, you may be at risk of having a seizure. Avoid activities where a sudden loss of consciousness could cause serious harm to yourself or others. Tell your doctor right away if you lose consciousness or have a seizure.
- Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES). If you take XTANDI you may be at risk of developing a condition involving the brain called PRES. Tell your doctor right away if you have a seizure or quickly worsening symptoms such as headache, decreased alertness, confusion, reduced eyesight, blurred vision or other visual problems. Your doctor will do a test to check for PRES.
- Allergic Reactions. Allergic reactions have happened in people who take XTANDI. Stop taking XTANDI and get medical help right away if you develop swelling of the face, tongue, lip or throat.
- Heart Disease. Blockage of the arteries in the heart (ischemic heart disease) that can lead to death has happened in some people during treatment with XTANDI. Your doctor will monitor you for signs and symptoms of heart problems during your treatment. Call your doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you get chest pain or discomfort at rest or with activity or shortness of breath during your treatment with XTANDI.
- Falls and Bone Fractures. XTANDI treatment may increase your risk for falls and bone fractures. Falls were not caused by loss of consciousness or seizures. Your doctor will monitor your risks for falls and bone fractures during treatment with XTANDI.
- Swallowing Problems or Choking. Severe swallowing problems or choking, including life-threatening problems or death can happen in people during treatment with XTANDI, because of the size of the XTANDI capsules and tablets. Swallow each XTANDI capsule or tablet whole with enough water to make sure that you can swallow all of the medicine successfully.
Your doctor will stop treatment with XTANDI if you have serious side effects.
The most common side effects of XTANDI include:
- Muscle and joint pain
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Hot flashes
- Constipation
- Decreased appetite
- Diarrhea
- High blood pressure
- Bleeding problems
- Falls
- Bone fractures
- Headache
XTANDI may cause fertility problems in males, which may affect the ability to father children. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about fertility.
These are not all the possible side effects of XTANDI. For more information, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
For further information, please talk to your doctor and read the Patient Information and Full Prescribing Information for XTANDI.
What is XTANDI?
XTANDI (enzalutamide) is a prescription medicine used to treat men with prostate cancer that:
- no longer responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone
OR
- has spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone
OR
- has not spread to other parts of the body and responds to a hormone therapy or surgical treatment to lower testosterone, and who are at high risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body
It is not known if XTANDI is safe and effective in females or children.