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BRONZE

Rick Ferrell and Sheila live in Texas, USA. He was 58 when he was diagnosed on July 30, 2009. His initial PSA was 7.3 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 2+3=5 and although he does not know his staging, it seems likely he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was Da Vinci Robotic surgery. Here is his story.

Needle biopsy July 30, 2009. Right Prostate Biopsy: Benign tissue showing Adenomatous Hypertrophy. Left Prostate Biopsy: Prostatic Adenocarcinoma, Gleason score 5, involving 25%. Also numerous areas of high grade PIN and a focus of perineural invasion.

September 30, 2009 Da Vinci Procedure, Austin, Texas.

October 2, 2009. Post Biopsy Report: Histologic Type: Prostatic adenocarcinoma. Histologic Grade: Gleason grade 3+4=7.
Laterality: Bilateral, involving 35% of left and less than 5% of right.
Margins: Focal involvement of peripheral surgical margin measuring 3mm in greatest dimension.
Extraprostatic Extension: Focally present
Seminal Vesicle Invasion: Not identified
Perineural Invasion: Present
Angiolymphatic Invasion: Not identified
Lymph Nodes: Not identified Stage
(AJCC, 2002): pT3a, NX, MX

December 1, 2009 Follow up PSA 0.15

December 15, 2009 PSA 0.12 Doctor suggested radiation

December 28, 2009 Met with radiation oncologist, did ultra sensitive PSA 0.13. Suggested PET/CT scan. Results, clear.

February 11, 2010 To be in Loma Linda for consult followed by Proton salvage treatment.

 

UPDATED

April 2011

 

 

It has been one year since my Proton Salvage treatment at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Needless to say, my anxiety level ran high for the two months leading up to my first PSA check-up in June 2010 after therapy. My results were 0.10, which was down from 0.13. A step in the right direction. My eight month follow up in December 2010 revealed a less than 0.10, which they classified as non-detectable. I was overwhelmed at this reading. My next check-up will be in June 2011.

I feel great, no side effects, work 8-12 hours a day, rotating shifts for 3M Company. I'm a firm believer in the Proton Beam Therapy. Just wish I would have know this before the Da Vinci procedure. I will admit the sex life after the Da Vinci procedure is dead. I had to rely on shots, which are way to expensive, and the compound expires within 30 days. I now use a pump, which works fine for me.

I have spoken to other men I met at Loma Linda, with their prostate still intact, and they are reporting their PSA is 0.3 - 0.5, which I consider great considering their PSAs were 5.5 and up. For those of you considering Radical or Da Vinci for removal, I would look into the Proton Beam, if you happen to be a candidate, as the results are overwhelming. [There are no independent studies that demonstrate this to be a factual statement.] They have treated over 14,000 men with a 95% success rate. [This is the total number of people treated at Loma Linda, not the total number of men with prostate cancer treated there. That number is significantly lower.] Pretty goods odds, I think.

I will update the June results and feel free to contact me with any questions, just put PROSTATE in the subject line.

Regards, Rick Ferrell (Texas)

 

UPDATED

July 2011

 

 

Went for my six month checkup in June and happy to say my reading was ZERO. I will go back in December of 2011.

I would like to request that everyone please keep my daughter, Rikki Tai, in your thoughts and prayers as she will be leaving the 31st of July 2011 to Kenya to do missionary work for one year at Naomi's Village. This is an orphanage that was set up by a couple of members of her church. Take care and God Bless all of you.

Rick's e-mail address is: orickster@centex.net