Glendale man benched by basketball-sized tumor returns to play

Davie Boulton and Jue Wang, MD

Basketball was Davie Earl Boulton’s first love. Back at his St. Louis high school, he held the free-throw record for 58 baskets in a row. His stealth moves on the court also earned him a full-ride to college. So it seemed strangely ironic that, at age 57, Boulton would be diagnosed with a prostate tumor the size of a basketball.

A year ago, as sick as could be and sidelined from his 30-year-career as a U.S. Postal Service deliveryman, Boulton was told by doctors that there was no hope. Nevertheless, as an Army veteran with a medal of honor, he couldn’t call it quits. Nor was his wife of one year, Sandy, about to let him go. Together, the Glendale couple came to Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center for a second opinion.

Boulton was seen by a multidisciplinary team led by genitourinary oncology specialist Jue Wang, MD, FACP. “We analyzed the DNA of his tumor and detected a weakness in his cancer, which was very aggressive,” says Dr. Wang. “But after a course of precision medicine treatment, his tumor disappeared, and his quality of life has been restored.

“Dr. Wang was heaven-sent,” says Boulton. “I hadn’t touched a basketball in two years because of the pain. But I went to the gym yesterday and got 15 free-throws in a row."

“I feel the best I’ve ever felt,” he adds. “Dr. Wang and the team at St. Joseph’s cancer center are phenomenal.”

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