Why I chose Proton Radiation Therapy

When I was diagnosed and began the trek with prostate cancer, I knew early on that because I wanted to enjoy a good quality of life, both during and after treatment, I didn't want to go through surgery. Mainly because of the percentage of negative side effects that are related with it. Even robotic surgery doesn't offer any better results than open Radical Prostatectomy. Just the word "Radical" freaked me out.
Hormone therapy didn't offer any better hope for lack of side effects either.

This left me with radiation therapy. My research and rationale brought me to choosing Proton Beam Therapy because I figured that the safest dose of radiation to healthy tissue is zero and the most damaging dose of radiation to cancerous tissue was as great as I my body could stand. I learned that with Proton Beam Therapy, that the radiation would enter my body with a low dose and because of something called the Bragg Peak, it would build on it's way in to the tumor. With a series of factors, the radiation would reach a high dose at my prostate that other radiations enter the body at (thus radiation burns). The healthy tissue on the way to the tumor would be radiated with a far less dose than conventional radiation.
Because the Proton Beam Radiation stays in the tumor to be absorbed by it, there is no exit.
With conventional radiation, the high dose of radiation that they shot into my hip area would continue on to exit my body with the same dose that it entered it with.
Proton radiation is the proton radiation that can be controlled. I know that sentence seems like a repeat, but all other radiation is X-ray radiation and is called photon radiation, which can not be controlled.

My summation is that with protons, I got the lowest dose at the skin level and the highest dose at the tumor level. That is just not offered with conventional radiation.

The standard argument against protons is that it is costly and it takes nine weeks to deliver with minimal side effects. Well, conventional radiation takes the same amount of time, with more disagreeable side effects.
Surgery, even with an optimal success, takes at least nine weeks to recovery from. Most men need months and even years to recover with more severe side effects.

To me the cost factor goes out the window, if you consider that there are minimal to no side effects with protons. Thus no return visits to the doctor to "fix" what went wrong with other options. These include, rectal bleeding, male slings to repair damage to the valves that control bladder function. More procedures to help with sexual function. These procedures all cost money and should be considered as additions to the cost of any treatment. Not to mention the pain involved with each.
I can say from personal experience that I haven't had to deal with these issues, thanks to my decision to choose Proton Beam Therapy.

I know this is a long post, but my passion with my decision is such that, once I get started about the wonders of this positive way to kill cancer, I find it hard to stop.

I stand ready to speak with anyone about this. NOT TO TELL YOU WHAT TO CHOOSE. Just to offer protons as an option because doctors are not telling people about protons. One shame of that is that it's been around for over 50 years and can treat any solid tumor, not just prostate cancer.

Have a good weekend.
Blessings,
Rick

Exercise And Radiation

Canadian researchers report exercise provides short-term relief from fatigue for men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer in the Jan. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. While exercise may be challenging in the face of fatigue, it may prove to be the best option for overcoming it. The researchers concluded that both resistance and aerobic exercise aided fatigue in men. Resistance exercise, in particular, generated longer-term improvements and benefits to quality of life, strength, triglyceride levels and body fat.

Have a good Wednesday.
Blessings,
Rick

African Americans At Greater Risk

African American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world. In fact, the incidence rate for African American men is 60% higher that in white males.

The mortality rate (death) rate for frican American men with prostate cancer is double that of white males.

Prostate cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among African American men over the age of 45.

This information is in the Us TOO magazine, The Prostate Cancer Playbook.

Have a good Tuesday.
Blessings,
Rick

Night Lights and Prostate Cancer?

I found this article that seemed pretty interesting and I thought I'd share it with you.

1. Night Light Hikes Prostate Cancer Risk
A new study links high levels of nighttime artificial light with high rates of prostate cancer. The study, conducted jointly by the University of Haifa and the University of Connecticut, analyzed data collected by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and found that the highest rates of prostate cancer occur in countries with the brightest lights at night.
The researchers weighed several factors when determining the “amount of artificial light per night per person,” including a country’s consumption of electricity, density of urban population, and overall socioeconomic status. They then divided countries into three groups according to the average amount of light per person: little exposure, medium exposure, and high exposure.
Countries with low exposure had 66.77 prostate cancer patients per 100,000 people. For countries with medium exposure, the rate increased 30 percent to 87.11 patients per 100,000. Countries with the highest exposure jumped 80 percent to 157 patients per 100,000. The researchers say there is a definite cause and effect between artificial light and prostate cancer, but no one can explain the mechanism, although there are several theories, such as light at night upsetting the body’s biological clock.
In a previous study, the same researchers found a similar link between light at night and breast cancer.

Have a good Monday.
Blessings,
Rick