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 ProtonPals Newsletter
Am I Cured? |
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Don't Forget
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The locations rotate among various restaurants in the Houston Medical Center area. Tell your ProtonPal friends about Joe's House to find housing in the Medical Center area. This link is also on the website and on MDACC website.
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Tuesday April 30, 2013, HOUSTON, TX:
Greetings!
Ah, cherry pink and apple blossom white. I hadn't heard the ole Perez Prado mambo song in quite a while and this image reminded me of it. Of course this was back in 1955, when things were simpler and we had some great big band musicians.
We're asking for a favor and that is we'd like to have you update your profile. With an updated profile we can serve you better. Update Your Profile
I've also got an offer for you that I hope you like. You can get a copy of each of three books by requesting a copy from the author Dr.Harold Dawley. These are eBooks delivered to you in PDF format and made possible by our friend from the Mississippi Gulf Coast who's a prostate cancer survivor, proton pal, psychologist and owner of a self help publishing company .Read about the eBooks
Robert Marckini founder of the Brotherhood of the Balloon in his MythBuster Series does an excellent job of busting Myth 7, which is "There are no studies or documentation that support the success or superiority of proton therapy for prostate cancer." It's quite extensive article and you must read it yourself where our Dr. Jim Cox is quoted in the closing paragraph. Busted Myth #7
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Get Your Complimentary Copy of eBooks
|  Request an Electronic Copy at No Cost  1) The Proton Warrior Book published by Dr. Harold Dawley, or 2) Staying Up or 3) Do It My Way by Drs. Joel Block and Harold Dawley can be obtained by filling out a form which will go directly to the authors.
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| Would You Please Do Us A Favor? | 
Please Update your Profile When you click on this link you'll find this is a two step process where you will 1) request a profile form that will be sent to your email mailbox and 2) once received you can update the form online and submit it. This two step process is more secure and it's quietly becoming the way of getting access to the internet. It's a little more trouble but we make sure that you are who you say you are and the owner of that mailbox and the person who's updating our database.
Why We Need This Favor?
One reason is that we're a patient organization and M.D. Anderson doesn't share data with us, The second reason is that when ProtonPals was formed in 2007, no patient accessible database was set up. That means we have no way of contacting you, unless you completed one of our profiles or left your email address on one of the forms at the Wednesday night dinners. So by design all you need to start the newsletter coming to you is your email address. If that's all the data you entered, I may not know your name nor how to contact you and must rely on the kindness of the Proton Center staff.
I've had requests over the years to contact Pals by a specific geography, others of a certain age and diagnosis, and more recently someone who's young but has an aggressive diagnosis.Similarly other survivors want to know to manage coming off of leuprolide (ADT).
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| Singer, Picker, Song Writer and ProtonPal |
 | | Lupron Blues by JR Crowson |
A Lupron Legionnaire Gongs Out
On March 29, 2013 J.R. Crowson gonged-out or completed his proton radiation treatment at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center. As is the custom, everyone rings the gong as a celebration of completing the treatment and a symbol of hope. They make speeches, thank the family, friends and staff, and at times sing a song that they composed..
J.R. composed a song entitled Lupron Blues which he performs in this short YouTube video. Click the photo, turn your sound on and hit play. I got the Lupron Blues
I got the Lupron Blues
Well I'm crying in the movies and buying lots of shoes
I got the Lupron Blues.
Well I came to the Center last winter
Knew that I had found a winner
When they met me at the door with a smile and a balloon
But little did I know their intention
Just a few things they didn't mention
LIke what they're gonna do with that balloon
I got the Lupron Blues....
Well now they got me drinking lots of water
Often more than I oughta
But then there are the times I come up short and then
I gotta drink some more and sit there
Listening to the taunts from within there
Some of those ProtonPals can really be mean
I got the Lupron Blues...
In the man cave we sit around waiting
Shooting the bull and agitatin'
Sometime even putting each other down
But we all try to help one another
Giving some advice to each other
Such as your butt sure does look big in that gown
I got the Lupron Blues...
But today I'm gonna leave here a blazin'
Cause all of you have been amazing'
I know I'm gonna miss you all that much is true
And when I think about my time here
I'll probably even shed a tear
With Lupron I may have to fight the blues
I got the Lupron Blues
I got the Lupron Blues
Well I'm having hot flashes and my closet's full of shoes
I got the Lupron blues.
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| ProtonPals.net Web Traffic Growing |  Lots of Visitors
I wanted you to know that your efforts and contributions continue to help us reach out internationally. Thank you.
Our web site traffic for the first three months of 2013 looks like it will be 2 X what it was in 2012, with an average of 11,000 visits per day. Our friends across the Atlantic and Pacific continue to monitor and use the web site, with Ukraine and China as the number 1 and number countries we get traffic from. There must be a lot of interest in protons since, to them, we're a foreign language web site. (We're pretty sure that's trure since we've added additional security to foil software robots - the "BOTS" - software robots that constantly poll the sites and scour for new content will adding fake users and spam messages. |
| Beam News Meetings |
 | | Ruth and Dave Stevens |
Well Attended
On Wednesday April 17th, Dave Stevens presented his popular and informative talk, called,
"Questions on Proton Therapy where the Answers are hard to find."
Coordinated by M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center Nurse Manager, Carolyn Allsen, saw 25 persons attending the meeting.
Interest was high in Dave's approach at managing the side effects normally accompanying Leuprolide (Lupron) treatment. He completed 2 years worth of ADT and we all celebrated with him as his "numbers" obtained at a 6 month follow up were outstanding including testosterone serum levels which had returned above his previous tests.
Dave has several humorous slides and one is photo of the first ProtonPal, a mummy dating from around 2200 BC with a severe case of metastatic prostate cancer. As Dr. Christopher Logothetis reports in his research, "prostate cancer is essentially a bone cancer." and this is evident when you see the MRI images of the mummy.  |
| Wonder Where the First Therapists Have Gone? | Snapshots from the Past
 | | Pal Joe Landry and Claudia Solano Sanchez. |
The first patient treated at the M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center was for prostate cancer and this was in June 2006. In the months before the start up of medical treatment there was lot of learning and commissioning of all the new physics equipment. After all it was only the 3rd Center in North America to start up (after Loma Linda and Massachusetts General )and the first one that is part of a full cancer research center. In support of the new operations there were three therapists who transferred from other radiation oncology units at M.D. Anderson to the most advanced medical treatment facility in the world. The women were Claudia Solano, Carolyn Peepall and Sara M.. They rotated between the Fixed Beam unit where I was treated in February 2007, and Gantries 1 and 2. I got to meet Claudia and Carolyn both of whom put up with my Jimmy Buffet albums. They don't know how much it helped to be dreaming of that "particular harbor" and of sailing and diving in aquamarine waters with music to help you escape. It really helped except the drinks were non alcoholic and not in red go Solo cups. Carolyn saw an opportunity for advancement with the new Procure corporate training center in Indiana where she could be in charge of training and now as I check her profile I see she's advanced in management. The travelling fitted her quite well as she was able to travel and start up the new centers Procure was building in the U.S. She's originally from Johannesburg South Africa and has traveled extensively for education, business and personal enjoyment. We've kept contact with two of them via Facebook and in the photos below, Here's a photo of Carolyn vacationing in Peru and a recent profile picture of Claudia.
 | | You Can Take the Cowgirl out of Texas.... |
 | | Claudia Solano Sanchez. |
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| roton Cowboy from Dallas |
 | | Phil is a Proton Cowboy |
This Cowboy Kept his Boots On
I got to meet Phil Meaders briefly over the phone about two weeks ago and asked him to send me some photos. I understand from the staff that he is quite a funny character and a very tall big Texan who insisted on being treated with his boots on. He also changed the Proton Warrior banner to read Proton Cowboy. (well just on the photo image with Photoshop).
As many of the graduates are motivated to do, they'll develop a plaque or leave a memento on the walls. There's always a first and this is the first time a man, Phil, has left his hat and his boots on the wall of appreciation. From the hat and the boots you can gauge the size of those feet and the man. Thanks Phil and low PSAs to you.
 | | Nurse Practioner Tai Ly and Phil Meaders |
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Proton Warrior's 2nd Book since Gonging Out
| Dr. Harold Dawley, 2011 Graduate
Harold Dawley, Ph.D. is a "graduate" of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center. In February 2011, shortly after he started his treatments he joined the ProtonPals and started the research for his book Proton Warriors, Surviving Prostate Cancer AND the Prostate Cancer Industry.. While Harold was in Houston for treatments, Marcia and I got together with Harold and his lovely wife Linda on several occasions. He's quite an amazing fellow.
He's a retired psychologist from the New Orleans VA Hospital where he was also on the faculty at Tulane and LSU medical schools, as well as at the Tulane school of public health. He's an experienced researcher and achieved status as an internationally recognized expert on smoking cessation and authored 5 books and over 70 articles and owns and operates a self help publishing company.
When he retired, he moved to Pass Christian Mississippi, a long time historic Gulf Coast get-away for New Orleans residents. Unfortunately it was in the eye of the Hurricane Katrina. Part of Harold and Linda's story is of great loss, survival and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Since returning to that area of Mississippi, Harold published Proton Warriors, Surviving Prostate Cancer AND the Prostate Cancer Industry.
Harold has another book just out called Staying Up: Erectile Fitness Training for Good Sexual Health. With his co-author Dr. Joel Block, Harold has written a book that is very timely for many of us who are aging, have co-morbidity from diabetes or cardio vascular disease while some survivors have side effects even if mild. Based on their data you can manage these side effects with techniques that are quite effective. By the way, Harold's co-author Joel Block, Ph.D. also has an impressive biography. He is a psychologist and published author. He is a specialist[1][2] on relationships and sexuality, and has appeared on numerous television and radio[3] shows. Block has also been a Psychology consultant for ABC.[4] Block is an assistant clinical professor of psychology/psychiatry at both the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and The Hofstra University North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. He is also a senior psychologist at North Shore-LIJ Health System where he was the training supervisor of the hospital's Sexuality Center for twenty years, until 2002. He currently resides in Melville, New York.
His personal statement at his website is compelling and should be read for inspiration. He is written up in Wikipedia.
Here is an abstract of Harold's and Joel's book.
"Erectile dysfunction, or ED as it is frequently called, is a problem many men face. As men grow older there is a corresponding decline in their ability to obtain and maintain an erection. Erectile dysfunction is also common following the onset of some illnesses and treatment for them such as prostate cancer. While ED can affect a large number of men the good news is that there are steps men can take to minimize this problem and in some cases completely overcome it. The first step is to understand normal sexual function and to then see how age, medication, or medical treatment can lead to ED. The second step involves participating in "erection fitness training" or EFT. Psychologists Dr. Joel Block and Dr. Harold Dawley provide a simple to follow guide for men concerned with maintaining good sexual functioning." purchase this paperback from LuLu Press
You can order online by clicking on the image clip below.
 | | Purchase this book from Amazon |
"Harold's shares his journey for other men and their loved ones so that they too can pause and research what are the best options in their own cases. While Harold's specific diagnosis applies only to males, the treatment choice he chose has potential applications to other diagnoses. Harold describes his own experience in treatment with both compassion and humor, while stretching out a helping hand to others by providing factual information so that they too can be encouraged to make an informed choice. The implication of the book for other conditions as well is that there are now available many treatment options, and it is wise to explore the ones that are best for the individual." a recent Amazon Review. |
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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 our 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 resultsProvide support to others and Center activitiesBe informed on any side- effectsPromote 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
Support ProtonPals by letting us know how you're doing. That is so important to newly diagnosed men and their wives and partners. As a former patient we'd all welcome your help in getting the word out about proton radiation and how you're doing. Please donate using the Donate Icon below or mail a check made out to ProtonPals, Ltd.(we're a tax deductible non-profit) at my home address. Read more about it on the website How to Help - Giving
Sincerely,
Joe Landry, Founder
ProtonPals, Ltd.
ProtonPals, Ltd. is a 501 (c) (3) public charity incorporated in Texas.
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DISCLAIMERS ProtonPals is an exclusively patient-sponsored organization with no official relationship with or support by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center or the M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center. ProtonPals is simply an information sharing network of patients. ProtonPals hopes to inform, encourage and help patients through shared knowledge. Members are not doctors so more serious concerns should be directed directly to your doctor. ProtonPals also desires to promote the M. D. Anderson Proton Therapy Center as for virtually everyone it has been a very positive if not life saving experience. The ProtonPals web-site, commonly known as the ProtonPals.net weblog, will contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for your convenience. ProtonPals does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of this outside information. Further the inclusion of these links to particular items in hypertext are not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any of these views expressed or products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organization sponsoring the sites.
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