An
unacceptable treatment plan offered by my doctor lead to research that
revealed the dilemma of all physicians. This is one man's story of
research and options that proved highly beneficial, and is a must read
for anyone suffering from cancer, especially of the prostate.
My Dilemma
In December, 2004, after years of BPH, and medication, a second biopsy
revealed cancer of the prostate. I'm a RAZORBACK, born and raised in
Little Rock, having spent the greater part of my life there. The first
biopsy was done about 2000, in Little Rock, and was negative, although
my PSA was up to ten. Watchful waiting was the name of the game, and
after relocating to Mississippi, my problems with nighttime pee trips
and urgencies, plus a two point jump in the PSA, dictated a second
biopsy.
My Gleason was 3+4 and my prostate was the size of a baseball, about
150 grams. A normal prostate is about 20 grams, about like a walnut. My
chosen uroligist in Tupelo wanted me to be treated locally with the
standard procedure of months of hormone ablation shots to remove all
traces of testosterone, and to shrink the gland, and then take
photon-beam radiation treatments to kill the cancer.
I'm 72, right? I'm already an avid proponent of Viagra, and this guy
wants me to give up not only my prostate, but my balls also. That
started the internet research that lead to discovering the Doctor's
dilemma.
The Doctor
Because I thoroughly researched the internet for my treatment options
for prostate cancer, and declined to heed the advice of my Urologist
who advised me to follow the 'tried and true' method of taking hormone
ablation treatments and photon radiation, thus rendering me impotent,
and instead I took NO hormone ablation treatments and took PROton
radiation treatments at Loma Linda Hospital in CA, rather than the
photon beam radiation method , thus leaving my testicles functioning
and my love-life near normal, my Doctor has been less than overjoyed to
see me.
My last visit, he sent a female nurse to examine my sex organs and give
a digital exam of my remaining prostate, which apparently has shrunken
because of the radiation. This has reduced the pressure on my urethra
and I have enjoyed a respectable stream without the need to get out of
bed 2 or 3 times at night. In short, I am really doing wonderful,
despite the ailments I have endured.
Do Your Homework
Prostate cancer is usually a slow growing problem, and most people my
age pass on before cancer gets them. Gleason 7 is the
middle-of-the-line aggressiveness, and my fortunate good health
indicated I would be wise to get treatment. After months of studying
options, the only place in the US that agreed to treat my oversize
prostate without the hormone ablation shots was Loma Linda Hospital in
Loma Linda, CA., subject to a physical consultation. They said the
preliminary data indicated it might be possible to treat the cancer
with proton-beam, not photon-beam, radiation, which delivers a more
precise treatment field, while sparing the rectum, bladder, etc.
Loma Linda is currently one of three or four centers in the US using
proton-beam treatment, and had been treating prostate cancer since
1991. The major problem was the time required to complete 44 daily
treatments, excluding weekends.
The round-trip flight to Loma Linda was arranged through Southwest
Airlines Patients Assistance Program, with no cost to us, and MediPak
would cover the medical costs. The consultation was productive, and my
attending Physician, Dr. Jabola, affirmed that the treatment would
consist of proton beam radiation only, with NO hormone ablation
treatments affecting my testicles.
The Fruitful Option
The weather in southern California was great- cool nights and warm
sunny days. The treatments were of short duration, with very few side
effects, the people were friendly and supportive, and the entire stay
turned into a site-seeing vacation.
California is not inexpensive, and the traffic is horrendous, but we
learned to avoid the major traffic hazards, and took advantage of pot
luck dinners, weekly meetings offering sandwiches, and typical
cost-saving measures. We could have found cheaper accommodations, but
the amenities where we stayed were well worth the cost.
We are in the process of follow-up tests and results. I have been
feeling very good, with very few side effects. My first PSA , four
months after treatment, was slightly elevated but this is not
surprising considering the size of the prostate and the years of
elevated PSA levels before finding the cancer and starting treatment.
The last PSA registered a whopping 0.92. So far, so good, and I fully
expect things to stay that way.
