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The three high points of the past month were 1) Warren Buffett, billionaire Oracle of Omaha let the investing world know he has early stage prostate cancer, 2) Jon Thompson, one of the patients gave a great talk on his quest to find where Amelia Earhart's plane went down in the Pacific, 3) our ProtonPal released his new book, and 4) it was my 5th anniversary of survivorship.

The video by ABC News about Warren Buffett's announcement included some comments by Dr. Lee. For about a half day we were sure Warren had decided to use the best treatment in the world and was going to be treated at Anderson's Proton Therapy Center. Yes, he's opted for external radiation but the word is that he's going to stay in Omaha; that could only mean he'll be treated with x-ray external radiation.

The photograph in the banner above was taken at Jon Thompson's presentation to the Proton Center Beam News group and shows one of the Pals wives, Ellen S., posing in the life vest from the movie set Titanic with famous explorer Jon. While Jon was in Houston he gave several talks including one to our group at the Proton Center about how they going to complete the search in the last 400 square mile sector of where experts have calculated the plane went down after running out of fuel.

Harold Dawley, Jr. Ph.D. one of our ProtonPals who was treated in the Spring of 2011 started his work on a book while he was in treatment. He interviewed dozens of prostate cancer patients and doctors while in Houston for two months and continued his work after returning home. As an introductory offer he's offering a free download of his book to the ProtonPals.

We quietly celebrated my five year anniversary on April 16th, tax day, and at check up at the Center I was given a clear thumbs up for another year. This means I can wear a blue badge at the Survivorship Conference in September. My PSA is at it's nadir of 0.2 where it's been for the last year and a half and now I'm working to push the timeline back by doing some lifestyle changes. Since our family internist is not dealing with Medicare any longer and converted her practice to a Concierge basis she has more time to spend with us. That led to a sobering health assessment earlier this month. 

In the February eNewsletter we cited an article by Andrew Schorr where he reports about how the science of genomics will drive personalized medicine. Also, Johns Hopkins, in the Prostate Cancer Outlook 2012 reports how the analysis of a cell's DNA is now playing a big role in prostate research with the claim that much of the work is being performed at there. Molecular diagnostics as it's called promises tremendous opportunities to cure patients quickly and with few sides effects.

Although the promise of personalized molecular medicine is a great, this recent announcement of a clinical test is an example of how long it takes to provide utility to patients and doctors. The prostate cancer gene 3 (PCa3) tests for aggressive prostate cancer. In February 2012, the non-intrusive prostate cancer test was approved by the FDA. The fact that this was discovered by Canadians researchers in 1993 and is only reaching clinics in the US 19 years later shouldn't discourage us. As the cost to analyze the human genome falls rapidly and researchers learn more, the release of diagnostic methods and products will probably be accelerating. With the naming of Ronald DePinho as President of M.D. Anderson we got not one but 2 key researchers from Dana Faber who have been doing really fundamental work in this area. Dr. DePinho's wife is Dr. Lynda Chin a remarkable woman and his co researcher while at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She was appointed and accepted the position as the Chair of the new Department of Genomic Medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.. She continues as one of the leaders in the international The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Project and as well as being co-leader of the Firehose project; a project to coordinate massive amount of data being developed by researchers from 20 centers in genomics research.  

 

In Gratitude,
Joe Landry and your ProtonPals team.


 

From Culture Map 4.14,12 by Whitney Radley

Jon Thompson, a patient at M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center has led an interesting life to say the least.

After graduating from West Point, he served as a ranger qualified pilot during the Vietnam War, where he received the Bronze Star and 16 Air Medals. He went on to pursue a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, before owning and operating a global construction and equipment company.

After selling his company in 1987, he was named Director of Cultural Affairs for Memphis, Tenn. where he's spent the intervening years traveling the globe and collecting artifacts for exhibitions.

On one of his trips he invested in a nautical company conducting dives to the Titanic wreckage, in exchange for the rights to host an exhibit of with the artifacts. (Some of his finds are featured in the exhibit,  Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, now on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science).   

 
The Search Continues

Passion, persistence and patience," Thompson says are qualities required for cancer treatment as for searches on the ocean floor. He will serve as sonar operator for the final Earhart mission, which is scheduled to take place this fall or the Spring of 2013.

"I've been too successful in my life to fail this time," Thompson tells CultureMap. "And this stay at M.D. Anderson is one I'm counting as a success." 

After giving his talk on Tuesday and receiving his last proton therapy treatment on Thursday, Thompson traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for the Titanic's 100th anniversary celebration and the musical premiere of A Night to Remember. He will soon begin gearing up for the final Earhart expedition.   

 

Please follow the link here to read the entire article written by Whitney Radley and published on CultureMap Houston. 

Mary Hughes, M.S.,R.N.,C.N.S returns to the Proton Center Support Group Meeting to be held Thursday, April 26 at 1:00 PM. Mary Hughes, a Clinical Nurse Specialist will be the featured speaker. Mary received an outstanding reception the last time she spoke to our group.

This time she will speak about "Lost That Lovin' Feelin" which well address areas of intimacy for all adult cancer survivors treated at the Anderson Proton Center. She helps people diagnosed with cancer who have depression, anxiety or other conditions that require medication or therapy and with a focus on sexuality. She also serves on the clinical faculty of Texas Woman's University in Houston and The University of Texas Houston School of Nursing. Ms. Hughes has won numerous awards for her work with quality-of-life issues for people with cancer, including the 2007 Supportive Care Award from the Oncology Nursing Society. She speaks internationally, nationally and locally on quality-of-life issues that affect people diagnosed with cancer. Read more by accessing the Meeting Flyer

 His latest talk which was featured in the February newsletter was placed on the web site for easy and general access. Read more. What Happens to my PSA Once Proton Therapy is Over?

If you are 82 have an excellent health profile you have a chance of living another 15 to 20 years. Age doesn't necessarily correlate with longevity, so what should you do if diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Dr. Anthony D'Amico, chief of genitourinary radiation oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital said, age should not be used as a cut-off for screening or treatment of prostate cancer since it doesn't necessarily correlate with longevity. Rather, doctors should take the time to determine a patient's life expectancy based on his overall state of health. New tools like the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 were recently developed to help oncologists take into account various health conditions like heart failure, kidney problems, and diabetes when determining a course of cancer treatment. Read more of D'Amico's Comments

For men with stage 1 disease who expect to live another decade, a choice like Buffett's to undergo radiation therapy is a "perfectly fine" choice said Dr. Howard Sandler, chairman of radiation oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He said guidelines issued by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network of cancer centers list active surveillance, radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy as viable options for such patients.

Radiotherapy is more likely to maintain normal urinary function and normal sexual function compared with surgery," Sander said.

Unlike surgery, which becomes riskier with age, "radiation you can give at any age," Dr. Peter Scardino, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center said.
 

The common screening test for prostate cancer is PSA, a blood test for a specific antigen. As you probably know PSA levels can be increased by benign enlargement of prostate, inflammation and infections, and activities that physically impact the gland, like bicycle and horse back riding or sex.

The prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) is a gene based test and it's results are not affected by any of these factors. It measures the output of cancerous cells found in 95% of prostate cancer cases.

It's not a screening test and should be seen as just one of the possible tests in the assessment by your urologist.

A high PCa3 score indicates the likelihood of a positive biopsy and a low PCa3 score indicates a decreased likelihood of a positive biopsy. The correlation is between the factor and positive biopsy is 80%. 

Prostate cancer, including aggressive Gleason 9 levels, can be found in patients with normal PSA levels, and in those cases the PCa3 test may help give assurance that you should have a biopsy to see if you have prostate cancer. Getting a tissue sample for pathology slide is the only way to diagnose the cancer and calculate a Gleason Score.

To get a better understanding of how this test may be used please look up the FAQ on the ProtonPals website and  READ MORE - What is PCA3?, How does the test work?,  What does the test involve? Who should have the test? , Can I just have the PCa3 test alone?, What is the cost?, Where else can I get information about this test?

 

Lance Armstrong is gearing up a campaign to motivate and convince the Texas legislature to make Texas a leader in the fight against cancer.  He's urging all Texans to sign on to his open letter urging the legislature to take on two bold initiatives 1) Pass a statewide smoke-free law, and 2) Renew full funding for the work of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute (CPRI) of Texas. Do this so it can drive cutting edge research and innovative cancer screening and prevention programs.

He needs our help in getting 5000 signatures and with that he'll present your message to the Texas Legislatures in their regular session in Jan 8 2013. 

Although you may have read the newspaper allegations, Lance Armstrong is now free and clear of doping charges and the investigation has been closed as announced on Feb. 2, 2012 in the LATimes.  Now he can concentrate on his work as an advocate in the fight against cancer. 

Signing this letter looks to be a worthwhile cause for ProtonPals who are Texans and from what I can learn CPRI of Texas has funded dozens of grants relating to the education and screening initiatives, including reseach for fighting prostate cancer. Recently one large grant from the CPRI to support the Texas Life Sciences Incubator Infrastructure went to Dr. Lynda Chin Chair of the Department of Genomic Medicine at MDACC and George McClendon, PhD Provost and Professor of Chemistry at Rice University for the BioScience Research Collaborative.

 

A New Jersey proton therapy center opening today is the first to operate in the greater New York region and the tenth such center nationwide. 

About the ProtonPals Organization
Thanks for subscribing  to the newsletter and using the ProtonPals website. We won't sell or give your addresses to anyone. You'll receive one or at most two mailings a month from us. If you're a new subscriber you may want to note that the past newsletters are archived back to May 2009. Newsletter Archives

We're a group who chose proton beam therapy to cure their cancer and were treated at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center in Houston, Texas. The "Pals" formed a network in order to:

Stay up to date with treatment cure results

Provide support to others and Center activities

Be informed on any side- effects

Promote proton radiation since it's widely regarded to have a significant advantage over conventional x-rays.

Attract and nurture more Pals who support our cause, patient-to-patient and friend-to-friend