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Rick Dancer and Kathy live in Oregon, USA. He was 50 when he was diagnosed on January 29, 2010. His initial PSA was 15.7 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 6 and although he does not know his staging, it seems likely that he was staged T1c. He is undecided as to his choice of treatment. Here is his story.

Five years ago, at the age of 45, my doctors started taking my PSA. At the time it was four but over the years started rising to 6.8, 12. and finally 15.7. In five years I've had five biopsies. Nothing was every found in the biopsies until this past Friday.

I was a news reporter for 23 years and covered plenty of cancer stories but this one, my own, is devastating. I'm stunned, in shock and left wondering which way to turn. The Proton Therapy is the most desirable to me at this point but I've only started looking. I haven't even met with my Urologist yet so this is all very fresh, very new and very scary.

Someone asked me If I'm afraid of dying. I said no, at this point I'm more afraid of losing my ability to achieve and erection and not wet myself, than anything. My doctor says we caught it early so the fear of death is not that great for me, right now.

I found your website from a friend at the gym who had Prostate Cancer. He said this site was very helpful and I already like what I see.

Thank you for all this information. I understand I am my best advocate and this gives me plenty of questions for my doctor.

 

UPDATED

March 2010

 

 

I am currently looking at a new treatment option I discovered at the Oregon Health Sciences University. It's called Calypso® Radiation. [Two other Yana men have had or considered Calypso - go to the Site Search Engine and enter Calypso and you'll find links to their stories] You can google it to find more information. Or Google Oregon Health Sciences University.

I'm still waiting for Loma Linda to get back to me about Proton Therapy. I feel like I've gotten lost in the shuffle. I have called a number of times. Is the process always this slow?

As I said above I worked in the Television News Industry for years and have a video company of my own so I've started blogging with video and writing about this whole experience. Click on the blog bar at the top.

This can sure be a frustrating process. Thanks to all of you who've written to offer advice.

Later: This is so difficult. Everyone wants you to do surgery. What are the true facts in terms of what is the likelihood that this cancer will return when you compare Radiation treatments with Radical Surgery? Does anyone have a place I can go look? [There is nowhere that directly compares results of treatments. There are not even any agreements on how to defined success or failure see Choices reference to Effective Health Care paper in February 2008 - Comparing the Effectiveness of Therapies for Localized Prostate Cancer. The Executive Summary (which runs to 20 pages and is in pdf format) is well worth printing and studying. Some terms may be a little technical for the newly diagnosed, but can be understood with a little work and asking questions.]

 

UPDATED

July 2010

 

 

I'm happy to report I just finished with a relatively new treatment and my PSA is dropping, a lot. When I found out I had Prostate Cancer in January of 2010 my PSA was 15.7. When I started the Calpyso Treatment it was 20. After finishing June 18th my PSA is down to 10.2.

This does not mean I'm out of the woods but I'm on the right path. The Calypso Radiation was done at Oregon Health Sciences University by Dr Hung. I worked out 2 hours a day at the gym, rode an 85 mile bike ride from Newberg, Oregon to Pacific City on the coast one week after treatment began. I continued to ride 50 or 60 miles on the weekends. All of that during the treatment.

The only side effects so far are it's difficult to pee. I can pee it's just tough. It hurts a little. I felt a bit tired three days following the treatment but it wasn't bad enough to keep me from working out or living my regular life. I had three days of bowel issues but that was it. I have had no sexual side effects.

I highly recommend looking into this treatment. A funny side story to show you how this works. The machine is so sensitive one day during treatment I passed gas and the machine shut down. Yep, it's so sensitive and aimed at only radiating your prostate that if that little walnut moves just a bit, it shuts the radiation off.

Rick Dancer.

 

UPDATED

September 2010

 

 

I am so excited. Three months since finishing my Calypso Radiation Treatment and the results of my test are very good.

The day I started the treatment at Oregon Health Sciences University my PSA was 20. The day I finished the PSA was down to 10. Here is is three months later and Dr Hung just told me my PSA is now 2.74.

Guys, I haven't had a PSA under 4 in five years. Calypso Radiation is not for everyone and I'm a long way from being done. But please guys look into this new treatment. I have no side effects at this point and had very few during or even shortly after treatment.

Oregon Health Sciences University followed me through my treatment to show men what Calypso Radiation is all about. If you are looking at this form of treatment this series may help you. If this link doesn't get you there go to Knight Cancer Institute site and click on Prostate Cancer.

Rick Dancer

 

UPDATED

June 2011

 

 

Someone wrote me about my treatment from this site the other day and I realized how long it's been since I updated my information. T

hree months ago I had the dreaded "Radiation Bump". My PSA went from 2.74 to 4.5. My doctor said don't panic this happens and is normal. Normal to him sure, but I want to be an over-achiever and have my numbers drop to nothing, NOW.(Smile) This week I went in for my year after treatment PSA and good news it is back down to 2.5. I'm highly relieved.

As for side effects I sometimes find urination a bit of a strain but usually only after I hold it too long. This is not painful nor even troublesome but just different than it used to be. I don't wet myself or anything like that it's just I can stand in front of that toilet and make a little noise as the flow begins.

I have no sexual side effects and the research shows that guys five to ten years out, who use Calypso, don't have sexual side effects. [Not too sure what Rick is referring to here. There is an article that refers to 'less erectile dysfunction" being associated with Calypso in a small 64 man study, but since Calypos was only licensed for use in July 2006, it is difficult to understand how ten year results can be establised.] I am doing very well and am not just saying that to make everything sound fine.

I still am a Cancer Survivor and that means every time I go in for a PSA Test my life gets a little rocky. Welcome to the world of survivorship huh?

If you have recently been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer don't let the little voices tell you your life is over and that you will never have an erection again. Instead, dig in and do the research. Don't settle for the first treatment your doctor tells you about. It's your body and you need to figure out what to do not your doctor. .

Rick's e-mail address is: rick@rickdancer.com