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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 |
Joe Henderson, age 65 at diagnosis (68 now), from Eugene. My family history of prostate cancer is on my mother's side with a grandfather dying of the disease and an uncle who had his treated successfully and remains in good health in his 90s. Being on my mother's side doesn't increase my risk as much as if it were on my father's side, but it still increased my risk enough to set me up for regular screening. Also, two of the best friends from my working life had this cancer. One died from it and the other lived a dozen years post-treatment before dying of something else. PSA testing started for me in my mid-50s. The reading became worrisome enough by my early 60s that my doctor referred me to a urologist, Dr. David Esrig at Oregon Urology. The PSA was about seven then, but the digital rectal exam revealed nothing more than an enlarged prostate. A year later the PSA had climbed to 11 (and the DRE was clear of nodules). Dr. Esrig performed a biopsy, which came back negative. Another year later: PSA of 14 (DRE still clear), another biopsy, another negative report. I was one of those men who confound the urologists. My PSA said there was something going on and nothing was showing up except an enlarged prostate. And the PSA continued to climb. Finally, in 2008, with the PSA now at 21 (and still no other symptoms), the third biopsy in as many years revealed cancer in four of the 10 samples. The Gleason score was the good seven, 3 plus 4. This news didn't come as a great shock because I'd been expecting it for some time, given the family history, soaring PSA and prior biopsies. The big scare was the discovery of a growth on one lung, a possible metastasis of this disease. To my huge relief, a lung biopsy was benign. Dr. Esrig, a surgeon, told me that prostate surgery was only one of my options. Radiation was another choice. In order to explore radiation treatment more fully, I was set up with an appointment to see Dr. Barry Blyton, Radiation Oncologist with Oregon Urology. After discussing radiation with Dr. Blyton and surgery with Dr. Esrig and carefully comparing the side effects of the two treatments, I chose radiation because it was least disruptive to my normal life. My wife Barbara, who'd gone through breast-cancer treatment (chemo-mastectomy-radiation) four years earlier fully supported this decision. I also received encouragement from two PC survivors who'd taken this route. Dr. Barry Blyton's 45 radiation treatments stretched across the final two months of 2008. Side-effects from the radiation were minor (mainly rectal irritation). I never missed a day's work or any normal physical activity during those nine weeks. However, I did receive two shots of Lupron, a hormone-suppressor, one in late 2008 and the other in early '09. Hormone therapy has been shown to make radiation more effective. These led to weight gain, hot flashes and impotence that continued for more than a year. Two years after the last shot and radiation dose I'm still affected by erectile dysfunction (and as yet not taking anything to counteract it). Follow-up testing has yielded uniformly good results. Twice-annual PSA readings have settled at around 0.5 for the past year and a half. The doctor also checks testosterone, which is climbing but still only one-third of normal for a man my age, the range being 350-720. All in all, I'm happy with the course of treatment selected and with the results. I wouldn't try to influence a newly diagnosed man's choice between surgery and radiation, but if he chose the latter I'd give it my thumbs-up. Having said that, it is most important that each man facing prostate cancer decide for himself what he is going to do about it. |
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