LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A local cancer patient is fighting for his life and yours. 

Last year, Bryan Wells was diagnosed with stage four cancer and although he's facing an uphill battle, he's hoping his story will help save lives.

"Actually just having some minor issues going to the bathroom," Wells said. "Start, stop, low stream or maybe standing there for a few minutes, not being able to go."

Last year, Wells had several warning signs for prostate cancer.

"My PSA levels had ballooned to like 28 point something and the range for that is zero to 3.5," Wells said.

That led to a biopsy and devastating news.

"Four of the six samples came back positive for cancer," Wells said.

The next step: surgery to remove the prostate, which came with more concerning news.

"Before they went in for surgery, they thought it was just going to be like my prostate and two lymph nodes," Wells said. But when they went in, that's when they found out that oh, we have a problem."

The problem? The cancer was spreading fast.

"It had spread to 25 lymph nodes," Wells said. "So, I had an aggressive fast-growing cancer. And so, we decided to go ahead and remove my prostate and remove all those lymph nodes."

After the surgery, Wells started radiation treatments.

"A couple of months after that, the cancer spread again to my spine, my aorta and more lymph nodes," Wells said.

As Wells prepared for round two in the fight to beat cancer there was an epiphany.

"My brother had prostate cancer three years ago, and I should have been running to the doctor to get screened on a regular basis when I found out that he had prostate cancer, but I didn't," Wells said.

Had he gotten checked earlier, it could have saved him from several months of painful surgeries and treatments.

"I dropped the ball on that," Wells said. "I should have went and got checked as soon as my brother called and told me that he had prostate cancer."

Dr. Kellen Choi is a faculty urologist at UofL Health and one of several doctors treating Wells.

"There's so many different doctors who's working together to keep him safe," Dr. Choi said.

PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS

Bryan Wells has stage four prostate cancer. (WDRB photo)

June is Men's Health Month, so Dr. Choi says whether its about raising awareness or family history, early detection is the key to beating cancer and saving lives.

"So regardless of your race, if your family had prostate cancer as early as 40, cancer screening can be very helpful," Dr. Choi said.

"I will have prostate cancer, stage four for the rest of my life," Wells said. "Stage four prostate cancer is not curable."

It may not be curable but Wells hopes his struggle and story will help save lives.

"You can avoid going through what I went through as far as the surgery and stuff if you will just get screened on a yearly basis," Wells said.

Although there is no cure for stage four prostate cancer, it's treatable.

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