Double Lucky

My PSA came in at at .83. Trimester by trimester my results tend to parallel Marckini's whose PSAs continued to drop to a nadir in the .4 range. If my PSAs continue to match his, I will consider myself well on the way to recovery thanks to Marckini. And thanks to George Lewis whose national news report called my attention to proton therapy and Marckini's phenomenal book "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer and You Don't Need Surgery to Do it".

We returned to Michigan in mid-April. There has been a major improvement in my potency since our return [and my prior journal entry]. The dramatic downturn was most likely situationally based, i.e. ,due to the increased physical activity I engage in while hiding out in south Texas to avoid Michigan winters. While some degree of permanent degradation may have occurred, it is [1] much less severe than initially reported, [2] managable, [3] less disconcerting and [4] most likely a result of the aging process. If radiation is a factor Dr Good E. Nuff would almost certainly catagorize it as negligible.

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Dr Trewkare Revisited

Rather than return to Jacksonville for my belated one year follow-up exam, I arranged to be seen here in Michigan by Dr. Trucair. Although a thoroughly experienced oncologist who specializes in prostate cancer, I was the first patient of Dr. Trucair to have undergone proton radiation. He was noticeably impressed with my lack of side effects and even more so with the results of the DRE he conducted. "Your prostate feels more normal than any post-radiation patient I have examined to date; this is truly significant", he explained ," I must share this information with my colleagues." "Even so," he continued, "some effects of radiation take a long time to materialize. "Accordingly,"he indicated, "I would like to see you in six months."

Toward the end of our appointment Dr. Trucair made a few additional comments worthy of note. He mentioned the development of a new proton center in the Flint area here in Michigan. The first patient is scheduled to be treated at this facility in approximately one year. "Proton radiation is a very expensive proposition," Dr. Trucair commented,"but, in the absence of side effects to be medically managed, the costs of treating with protons will not be much different when compared to other treatment modalities over the long run." He then conjectured, "In the future I can see where proton therapy may become the preferred method for  prostate cancer." I thought this was very positive way to conclude our appointment

The next hurdle for me to  negotiate will  PSA test.my upcoming 18 month post treatment This will occur in three months or so.




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