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Dean Buck and Stella live in Missouri, USA. He was 70 when he was diagnosed in June 2009. His initial PSA was 6.57 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 3+3=6 and although he does not know his staging, it seems from his narrative he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment was Proton Therapy in Jacksonville, Fl. Here is his story.

I was diagnosed in June of 2009 and was very angry, disgusted and depressed about the situation. I was told by my personal physician to get on the computer and check out all the options and he would send me to a specialist - a very good doctor. If the first one didn't satisfy me he would send me to another one, etc, until I was satisfied with the treatment offered. The urologist who diagnosed me said I had two options, surgery or radiation seeds. Neither appealed to me so I started my research.

Luckily I found the Proton Therapy. There are virtually no side effects during or after the treatment and it leaves you a whole man.[The question of efficacy and side effects for proton beam therapy v photon beam therapy (the more common EBRT - External Beam Radiation Therapy - is photon beam) is a hot topic and there is no general agreement on the statement made by Dean here. This is because there are no definitive comparative studies to support the statement] I would recommend this treatment to any man or anyone with any type of cancer. Check it out on PROTON BOB.

I spent a week in Jacksonville getting the measurements, MRI and CT scans needed for the proton therapy and am returning to start my treatments the 19th of October '09. There are different lengths of treatments according to how your cancer is. Mine is for 39 weeks, as of now. Your time in the therapy is about two minutes, give or take a few, but office time included it will be about two hours and then you are free to do anything you want for the rest of the day.

The University of Florida Proton Therapy has made housing available for you including everything, dishes, linen, furniture, TV and pc if you want it. They will give you brochures on the prices per month when you get there. Also, you can go to the YMCA for $50 a month while there and they recommend it.

I will update when I complete my therapy.
Best of Luck To All,
Dean Buck

 

UPDATED

February 2010

 

 

I finished my 39 treatments of Proton therapy December 15,2009 at Jacksonville, Florida.

While taking my treatments I did anything I wanted. I had no side effects to speak of. A little burning when urinating during treatments. The doctors put me on Aleve and cranberry capsules and that took care of that. I have no ED or incontinence. I feel better now after treatment than before. My energy level increased after about 2-3 weeks in therapy.

I had a PSA of 5.7 at one lab and 6.57 at another lab before treatment. I had a PSA test January 13th, about a month ago and my PSA was 3.5, according to my wife. I thought it was 2.5. The doctors told me that it will continue to fall as time goes by. I have to get PSA checked every three months this year and I have a doctors appointment in June and December of this year.I will update as I go along.

I highly recommend Proton therapy above all the other options I explored.

Dean Buck

 

UPDATED

June 2010

 

 

I just went to Jacksonville, Florida for a check up. My PSA has dropped to a 2.0 from a high of 6.57 at one lab and 5.8 at another.

The doctor there said it would continue to drop. My PSA started to drop after my treatments. It was 4.3, 3.3, 2.3 and now 2. My doctor said everything was going along normal whatever that is. I think he meant the dropping of my PSA and my prostate going back to a normal size.

I still take the cranberry capsules for burning when I urinate. That is getting better as time goes on. I do anything I want, as usual, since I started treatments. I have no other problems. I don't suffer from ED or incontinence and I don't have to wear pads or Depends.

I still highly recommend the Proton Therapy above all the treatments I researched and that was many. I can't understand why anyone would want to have any other treatment and suffer the rest of their life. If I can offer any assistance or give details on my experiences, my email address is below.

I will update as time goes along. I will be having a check up every six months in Jacksonville.

Best wishes to all and good luck with your decisions.

Dean.

Dean's e-mail address is: Buckmd@logonbasic.com