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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 |
Well, here I am - a prostate cancer survivor and a very fortunate one at that. Some months ago, I visited my primary care provider in Eastern Oregon for a routine check-up with annual blood work mainly to check such mundane things like Vitamin D and cholesterol. At that point, I knew nothing about PSA tests and very little about the prostate gland in general. At any rate, my physician also requested a PSA test. A few days later I got a call from my doctor's lab technician and was informed that my PSA was a bit elevated (5.94) and that the good doctor might be getting in touch with me. I then fired up my personal computer and Googled "PSA." About the first site I visited told me that at my age (70), a PSA of up to 7.5 might be considered normal. So, I decided to wait and see if my doctor would call - he never did. In the meantime, I decided to switch from prescription niacin (Niaspan) to an over-the-counter form of time released niacin called Slo-Niacin and follow up 6 months later with another blood test to see how my cholesterol was getting along. I simply put the subject of PSA tests and prostate issues out of my mind as I had not had a call from my primary care provider. Six months go by and I go in for my blood work and kind of as an after-thought, I ask the lab tech if she could include a PSA test as well as the cholesterol test. A couple days later I get a call from my esteemed doctor's receptionist and she informs me that my doctor wants me referred to a urologist. She asks me if I prefer to go to La Grande or Ontario. (For those not familiar with Oregon geography, La Grande and Ontario are both relatively small towns in far Eastern Oregon). I informed the receptionist that we had purchased a second home in Florence and I would find a urologist when we arrived in Florence. I promptly did exactly that, thanks to an advertisement for Oregon Urology Institute (OUI) in the Florence phone book. As it turned out, buying this second home in Florence might just have been the best move I ever made. Had I followed the recommendations in a subsequent visit to my primary care provider in Eastern Oregon, I would not have followed through with a prostate biopsy which I did at the recommendation of the OUI urologist. And, I most likely would not have had treatment for my prostate cancer until much later, by which time I am sure my cancer would have been diagnosed at an advanced stage. My purpose in describing the sequence of events that lead to actually receiving treatment for this potentially life threatening disease is to advise others how important it is to be your own advocate. If your primary care physician doesn't provide the prostate care you desire, simply put this part of your health care in the capable hands of a urologist at OUI. It is your life - take control of it. Fortunately for me, I re-located to Florence which is an area served by the world class care folks at OUI. My cancer turned out to be contained within the prostate capsule which meant my chances of being cured were very good. So, my task was to decide which curative treatment I preferred, robotic surgery or external beam radiation. The precision radiation at OUI is called Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). Dr. Bryan Mehlhaff (surgery) and Dr. Kevin Forsythe (radiation) were invaluable in taking the time to provide me with comprehensive information about both treatments. They provided the information but said the final decision was up to me. I chose IGRT and completed 45 treatment sessions at the OUI Radiation Center in Springfield. I can't say enough good things for these professionals at OUI and I truly consider myself to be unbelievably fortunate. |
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