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| Each man's Journey is listed under his BASIC treatment. When you click on one of the names to read a particular Journey, you may see one or more different treatments in bold lettering immediately above the Journey text. You will see (Recurrence) if they are due to a recurrence. Otherwise, they will be treatments used in conjunction with the basic treatment, i.e. Lupron with External Beam Radiation or External Beam Radiation with HDRT/Brachytherapy, etc. | |
Active Surveillance Alternative (Natural) Therapy Cryoablation - Freezing Hormone Therapy Radiation - Brachytherapy Radiation - External Beam Radiation - HDRT Surgery - Open Surgery - Robotic |
Having seen the reactions of others after being told, "You have cancer," I often wondered what my reaction to that news would be. My time to find out came in 1994 after going to the doctor to find out why my "urge" to urinate had changed. It was like when I was very young and had to go "right now." That "C" word came, not from the doctor, but from the nurse when she called to remind me about the upcoming appointment to get the results of tests I had taken, particularly the PSA test. She simply confirmed the time of the appointment and followed that with, "You have cancer." It was so quick, flat and blunt that I had no reaction to her comment. I still have not had that "I'm going to die" feeling, 15 years later. At the appointment, the oncologist confirmed that from the PSA test results, I had prostate cancer. He did, however, recommend that I get a biopsy to confirm for sure that I had cancer. I said that I felt sure that I had cancer and didn't need the biopsy to confirm that fact. He then went into the types of treatment for prostate cancer. I investigated the "conventional" methods, including surgery and different radiation treatments, but none of those methods had any appeal to me. In the end, I opted for "watchful waiting" and started asking my contacts in the natural products field for their suggestions. I had been involved with natural products since 1981 and talked with Dr. Larry Milam, HMD (homeopathic doctor) about what I could do in the natural product field. It was no coincidence that I would gravitate toward some type of natural treatment. During the following years I tried different types of these treatments, two specific ones in particular: ozone and poly. Ozone treatment, for which you usually have to go to Europe or Mexico, was done with an MD in New York. It consisted of injecting medical grade ozone into my blood with a large syringe to raise the oxygen content of my blood. The reason for this treatment is because cancer cells do not like oxygen. They create and live in an anaerobic (lack of oxygen) atmosphere. The effect of increasing the oxygen content in my blood was to kill cancer cells. Cancer cells also like to have an acidic condition, which is why an alkaline-based treatment can also have some success. To accomplish this, I had a treatment called "poly." It is a product made in Southern California consisting primarily of vitamins, minerals and amino acids (all alkaline based). They have an excellent success rate with various types of cancer. Our bodies cannot fight disease if the pH is not properly balanced. Since cancer lowers pH (going more acidic), it is very important to ingest what will raise pH to create an alkaline or cancer-fighting condition. Since 1981 and continuing through my treatments to the present day, I have supported myself with natural products, those with a good solid alkaline base, especially spirulina algae. Just in case you are wondering ... yes, I did finally get that biopsy, but not until 2004. My Gleason Score was 3+4=7. And, I know that I am living WITH prostate cancer. I know that because I do get my PSA checked and it continues to rise. I have been on this journey for at least 15 years without the side effects of conventional treatment I hear so much about at the Man to Man meetings. I totally understand and acknowledge that every man must choose his own treatment for this disease, just like I did, and most men choose conventional treatments which seem to come with side effects. My choice of alternative treatment was very different from others, but absolutely right for me. I'm convinced that my long co-existence with this disease is directly attributable to my dedication to a lifestyle of natural products and my choice of natural treatments for the prostate cancer. Hippocrates said, "Let food by thy medicine." I firmly believe that. My original Journey was published October 14, 2009. To recap my original Journey, I had known I was living with prostate cancer for 15 years and possibly longer. Since the early 1980s, I had been involved with natural products so it was no coincidence that I gravitated toward them when I realized I was face-to-face with prostate cancer. Staying with natural products was also influenced by the men I met who had their prostates removed. There wasn't one, not one, who was living a good life. Now, having attended Us TOO Florence prostate cancer support group meetings for three years, I have seen living proof of the progress made in the treatment of prostate cancer. If this had been the case 15 years ago, I may have considered conventional therapies instead of sticking steadfastly and solely to natural therapies. Now to my update: It all started with urination problems. That was in December 2009, only two months after my original Journey was published. It came to a head in January 2010. Knowing something was wrong and refusing to see Dr. Mehlhaff about it put me in his office with full-blown urine retention. The "thing" that was wrong was prostate cancer had taken over my prostate gland, expanding its size and eventually closing off my urethra. Since I couldn't empty my bladder, the urine backed up into my kidneys, causing them to shut down. Dr. Mehlhaff inserted a catheter and removed nearly two liters of urine from my bladder. I went home with the catheter in place to eliminate any more urine retention, but collapsed on the bathroom floor later that night. Fortunately, my wife, son and daughter were in the house when it happened and immediately took me to Peace Harbor Emergency. My catheter had been shut down by blood clots from the severe bleeding in my bladder. I immediately was sent by ambulance from Peace Harbor to Sacred Heart Emergency in Springfield. I remember very little of the next four days. Dr. Sangvi, my nephrologist, told me I arrived at Sacred Heart in acute renal (kidney) failure. At that time I weighed 122 pounds, down from between 155 and 160. Dr. Sangvi said I would never see 160 again and that I would be on dialysis the rest of my life, three days a week and four hours each session. I now weigh over 160 pounds and am going to dialysis only two days a week for 3-1 /2-hour sessions. Once out of the hospital, I returned to Dr. Mehlhaff to take care of the catheter and to monitor my PSA. Dr. Mehlhaff performed a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) because of my enlarged prostate. When the tissue he removed was biopsied, it was nearly all prostate cancer. That wasn't surprising since I had remained true to using only natural therapies, shunning what conventional medicine (and Dr. Mehlhaff) had to offer…even though my PSA was over 230! Since having the TURP, I am tube free with a strong urine flow. Only time will tell to what extent I can undo the damage I have done to my kidneys. Had I gone to Dr. Mehlhaff when I first started having urinary problems, I would only be dealing with prostate cancer. Instead, I'm also dealing with kidney failure and may be on dialysis for the rest of my life. I have no one to blame but myself. Last month I wrote about my acute renal failure, which was caused when my cancerous prostate gland grew in size and shut down my urethra, as one article explains it, like a clamp on a garden hose. Men who have BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) have the same thing happen but it is with non-cancerous tissue. In my case, it was the cancer itself that was expanding the prostate and closing off the urethra. In both cases, mine with cancerous tissue and BPH with non-cancerous tissue, the treatment to regain a urinary flow is the same, a Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) procedure. Treatment for my prostate cancer by conventional therapy is very limited since my PSA was over 230. The basic therapy in my case is hormone therapy (Lupron). I now have a Lupron implant (timed-release) in my upper arm which should last about a year. Lupron shuts down the production of testosterone that feeds the prostate cancer. One's PSA score should plummet if that therapy is going to be effective. Since mine went from over 230 to 0.49, I think Lupron will hold the cancer down for quite some time. Often there is a point when the cancer finds a way to overcome the lack of testosterone and resume growing and spreading. This is termed hormone-resistant or androgen- independent prostate cancer and calls for additional therapies. Experience has shown that hormone therapy can cause osteoporosis, and a bone density test has shown that I already have some weak bones. So, Dr. Mehlhaff has started me on Xgeva (denosumab). It has proven superior to Zometa (zoledronic acid) for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. That's me! It is administered once-a-month just under the upper arm skin. I would like to explain some of the natural fields I tried and alluded to last month. There are three of them and each has had some outstanding records of success with cancer. There are, of course, many types of cancer and there has not been one treatment that will work with all cancers. Just ask Cancer Treatment Centers of America. They offer several types of treatments. Anyway, I tried natural supplements, especially those offered by New Spirit Naturals Poly MVA and Ozone. I never did any of the natural things alone as I had excellent qualified help and assistance, including doctors, for each of the three main things I did. I had an HMD, Dr. Milam, (homeopathic medical doctor) help and guide me with the natural ingredients I used. Dr. Lamas helped with the poly MVA (dietary supplement) and Dr. Akpinar with the ozone therapy. Dr. Akpinar is really qualified being an MD and a surgeon. The point being, my decision to use natural therapies utilized experts in that field and was done under their guidance and supervision. One final point is that each therapy, whether labeled natural , alternative or conventional has pros and cons. I am totally convinced that I have rebounded from renal failure , the TURP and advanced prostate cancer so well because of the natural therapies I used for 40 years or more. Of course, I also suffered because I waited too long to make use of conventional therapy. But, looking back on my personal experience, I would suggest that the optimum results will occur when natural and conventional therapies are used in a complementary way. I certainly needed conventional therapy for renal failure, urinary retention and prostate cancer, but my rapid recovery is due to my natural lifestyle. That I know! I don't know what else I can say except, thank you, Dr. Mehlhaff, Bob Horney and all those at the Us TOO meetings. |
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