A doctor's cancer journey
http://www.thespec.com/article/350864
http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2008/05/5_patients_practice06_5.html
"Dr. Tom Johnson, 54, works at Halton Family Health Care and was healthy and fit, despite his tedious 75-hour work week.
When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer last April, he had reason to be concerned.
Mortality from prostate cancer is high -- on average, 83 Canadian men die of prostate cancer every week. His test results put him in the high risk category.
Normal PSA (prostate specific antigen) results for prostate cancer are between zero and four, with 20 considered high. His PSA was 49.
If he combined his PSA with other scores, including another test that showed nine out of 10 of his biopsies were positive for cancer, he had less than a 5 per cent chance of a cure."
"After consulting a urologist, he was told the only option was to have surgery to have his prostate removed.
He started taking Zoladex, a hormone treatment that blocks the testosterone that feeds the cancer and was booked for surgery at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto in mid-May.
While waiting for surgery, he read a book called Prostate Cancer -- A Survival Guide. It mentioned a centre in Sarasota, Fla., called the Dattoli Clinic.
"The clinic treats high-risk prostate cancer patients by using an external beam radiation followed by brachytherapy or seed implants.
The treatment involves the implantation of small titanium radioactive seeds into the tumour. As the seeds release radiation, the tumour shrinks and dies.
Unlike surgery, the procedure did not carry a high risk of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
Johnson was impressed with the clinic's 15-year longitudinal study, which showed a 71 per cent survival rate among high-risk patients."
http://www.thespec.com/article/350864
http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2008/05/5_patients_practice06_5.html
"Dr. Tom Johnson, 54, works at Halton Family Health Care and was healthy and fit, despite his tedious 75-hour work week.
When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer last April, he had reason to be concerned.
Mortality from prostate cancer is high -- on average, 83 Canadian men die of prostate cancer every week. His test results put him in the high risk category.
Normal PSA (prostate specific antigen) results for prostate cancer are between zero and four, with 20 considered high. His PSA was 49.
If he combined his PSA with other scores, including another test that showed nine out of 10 of his biopsies were positive for cancer, he had less than a 5 per cent chance of a cure."
"After consulting a urologist, he was told the only option was to have surgery to have his prostate removed.
He started taking Zoladex, a hormone treatment that blocks the testosterone that feeds the cancer and was booked for surgery at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto in mid-May.
While waiting for surgery, he read a book called Prostate Cancer -- A Survival Guide. It mentioned a centre in Sarasota, Fla., called the Dattoli Clinic.
"The clinic treats high-risk prostate cancer patients by using an external beam radiation followed by brachytherapy or seed implants.
The treatment involves the implantation of small titanium radioactive seeds into the tumour. As the seeds release radiation, the tumour shrinks and dies.
Unlike surgery, the procedure did not carry a high risk of erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
Johnson was impressed with the clinic's 15-year longitudinal study, which showed a 71 per cent survival rate among high-risk patients."
It cost him $100,000 -- but it saved his life
