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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 |
I became aware of the seriousness of prostate cancer when my wife's father and two brothers died of it years ago before PSA tests were available. That made us well aware of the fact that family history (heredity) is one of the risk factors for prostate cancer. And, because we have two sons, we've kept up with the new treatment techniques as they came along. We even attended a Prostate Cancer Awareness Seminar some years ago at Peace Harbor Hospital. Five years ago our son Randy, age 56, had a high PSA found through a routine physical. Therefore, our son Rick, 58, and I also got PSA tests. Ours were suspicious for prostate cancer just like Randy's. Randy's PSA score was 11, Rick's was 16, but mine was a whopping 64. The results of our prostate biopsies showed Randy and Rick with similar Gleason Scores of 6s and 7s. That meant they were spared a highly aggressive cancer. On the other hand, my Gleason Scores were 7s (4+3) and 8s (4+4). That meant I was dealing with a more aggressive prostate cancer. Also in the pathologist's report was a chart indicating a 98 percent possibility the cancer had escaped the prostate gland...advanced prostate cancer. Later we all had CT and bone scans to check for cancer that might have metastasized to other parts of our bodies. All the results were negative. We all went over the available treatments and decided on the best one for each of us. Rick, a Vietnam vet with exposure to Agent Orange, currently lives in Northern California. He was treated by the VA in San Francisco and had radiation in Eureka. It was in 1996 that the Department of Veterans Affairs recognized a presumptive connection between prostate cancer and Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. A subsequent ruling by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs at that time smoothed the way for Vietnam veterans to receive monthly disability checks and health care services from the VA for prostate cancer based on their exposure to Agent Orange. Randy, who lives in Austin, Texas, chose a renowned surgeon there who was one of the few at that time to do robotic surgery. Therefore, he went that route. As for me, with a 98 percent possibility the cancer had already escaped the prostate and, being 86 years of age, the only option for me was the Lupron hormone shots. After three months, my PSA was down to 11 and has slowly declined since then to 3.6. Lupron cuts off the testosterone that feeds the cancer. Although Lupron is not curative, it is often used to stop the cancer's growth while other methods are tried or to give a patient time to decide on more aggressive treatment. It does have undesirable side effects like hot flashes and night sweats for a while, and certainly takes away any masculinity. But the worst is that it takes away strength. I just feel very weak. Of course, part of that is the fact that I just celebrated my 90th birthday, so maybe age is partly to blame. Two years ago Dr. Mehlhaff inserted an implant in my arm that time-releases the Lupron so I don't have shots any more. I do keep three months appointments and keep up my PSA tests. Through Man to Man and all the informative literature available, I feel that I have been given the best treatment available for me. I have seen lots of scared men relax and feel better when they see others like them in the same condition. Besides Dr. Mehlhaff, who comes over from Oregon Urology Clinic in Springfield, there have been many experts in the health field who help one deal with it. Man to Man also welcomes the spouses and women in the families to join them so that they will be more knowledgeable and supportive of the man's problem. And of course, we all owe a lot to Bob Horney. Without him, also a prostate cancer survivor, we would not be the special family we are. I think I will probably die with Prostate Cancer not from it. |
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