Following on Phil's Intro Above
The "My Story" is stored on the website complete and runs for several pages. It chronicles the beginning of his journey to the completion of proton treatment for Phil.
Specifically we wanted you to read his inspiring story but also to show what the processes in the proton treatment area are today; and to indicate that they have changed to a significant extent since I went through there 6 1/2 years ago. Most of it has to do with repeatability in positioning; repeatability from the time of simulation as to the daily positioning of your hips, the balloon, the fiducials for location of the gland, the bladder, the fiducial in the tip of the balloon, the gas relief tube - all implemented to optimize the treatment while reducing any unnecessary exposure of the sensitive organs and nerves in the pelvic area.
Proton Cowboy Phil Meaders Family History
Phil was 42 when his brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Like many of the ProtonPals,for example Bob Marckini, yours truly, a close friend and several others have a family history of prostate cancer where a direct relative has been diagnosed. Although a very complex relationship there are many studies that strongly suggest that prostate cancer susceptibility genes exist in the population. This percentage maybe as high as 42% of prostate cancer risk may be accounted for by heritable factors. That alone should raise a cautionary flag. These heritable factors can also come from the maternal side of the family. Here Phil was 46 when following a wellness approach decided to get screened for prostate cancer. If you'll recall the USPSTF guidelines would lead you astray and you wouldn't be tested. The lesson-learned is start young, record what your baseline is and keep the records. "My journey through prostate cancer began when my older brother had his diagnosis in 2006. He is nine years older. We each have a son and they are the same age. Both son's, my brother, and myself and were both active in Boy Scouts as youth and adult leaders. The Boy Scouts require an annual physical exam for adult Scout Leaders who participate as adult volunteers and attend summer camp with the Boy Scout Troop. My brother discovered his prostate cancer as part of the annual physical exam required by the Boy Scouts for adult leaders. His diagnosis and my participation in Boy Scouts as a Scoutmaster led me to beginning an annual regimen of having a regular physical exam" Wellness Exams The key to screening examinations is that the tests will detect prostate cancer early when it is easiest to treat and the doctor will have more success in curing the cancer. What determines whether someone should be screened? - age, gender and ethnicity or family history and here I'd say we had age as over 40 , male and a family history. "My initial PSA results were unremarkable and just over zero when I had my first test in 2007 when I was 46. I continued annual testing over next few years. Over those subsequent exams my PSA gently climbed from near zero to just over 1.0." After moving from Houston to Dallas in 2010 based on a promotion this is what Phil wrote "The blood test results came back with a PSA result at 3.96. I scheduled a follow-up with the internist. My Internist discussed the remarkable jump in my PSA level, and recommended an appointment with an urologist.My internist provided a referral to a local urologist who he was familiar with." Follow Ups and Monitoring Like all business processes, medical processes are subject to the same "rule of thumb" or business adage - "You can't manage what you don't measure." PSA is challenged in a lot of areas but one key area no one will argue against is - it works in monitoring the significant change in the number of malignant cells. "My initial PSA test conducted by the urologist came back at about 2.5. I had a follow-up with the urologist and he recommended I wait a few months and return for another PSA test. I went away with some relief and I was feeling comfortable with the way my urologist was handling my case. I returned for my follow-up test in October 2011. Again the result was around 2.5 and I was feeling as I had dodged a bullet again. The urologist asked me to come back and continue to monitor every six months. I returned again for tests again in February 2012 again there was no remarkable change." Prostate Biopsy Like many of our ProtonPals, Phil had a strong faith and a very active spiritual life that supported his decisions and his questions at all turns. "Looking back, it is remarkable when I finally let go and followed God's lead, I gained new sense of peace to deal with the approaching biopsy. My urologist performed the biopsy procedure in an exam room in his office. The procedure went as he described. However, it was my first experience with the sonogram and the sticks in the backside. Many adult males have the annual prostate exam which is a target of many locker room jokes when you talk among your buddies." "The urologist reported the prognosis for a cancer like this has a very high cure rate and he presented some options to consider ranging from watchful waiting; prostatectomy using robotic surgery; radiation by external beam; and radioactive seed implants. He told me since I was relatively young at age 52, I most likely would have to have one of the treatments to remove or treat the cancer cells eventually." Research and Referral Here's what Andrew Schorr, one of my favorite authors and blogger, has to say about being savvy and proactive in your illness. He gives 3 tips and they are: - Find doctors who are at the cutting edge of the treatment for your specific condition.
- Seek and use the medical facility where patients with your condition are having the best outcomes.
- Find and connect with patient mentors who have journeyed down this road and are poised to share their knowledge with you.
MD Anderson contracts with Andrew Schorr for a program called Patient Power. He's a pioneer in health communications and patient education and along the way he became a patient with a successful treatment and survivor. (read more) We're given feedback that the One-on-one conversations are so valuable to a newly diagnosed patient and that is the reason we've implemented this program on our ProtonPals web site and continue to maintain a list of Pal to Pal contacts. It's also why MD Anderson has the telephone call list as well as Bob Marckini's Brotherhood of the Balloons. Here you can see Phil follow through on one of the key tips and found his one-on-one mentor who was treated at MD Anderson on his own and somewhat by chance. "After doing some research, I called the former MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center prostate cancer patient as recommended by my assistant. He took my call even though he had no idea who I was. When we spoke it was if we were long lost friends. This man could not say enough good things about his experience with the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center and his prostate cancer treatment. He told me felt great during treatment, exercised every day, and most importantly he had no side effects. His story was very welcome news and caused me to seek more information about proton treatment for prostate cancer." Here his urologist doesn't favor proton therapy, equates it with regular XRay (IMRT) and doesn't offer proton therapy as a treatment option. This fact is supported by my personal experience as well as numerous men I've spoken with and have written their "My Story". Dr. Richard Dawley conducted research while he was in treatment and reports a same out look in his book, "The Proton Warrior." " I had questions for him regarding the different procedures available, side effects, and risks. We talked about robotic surgery and radiation methods. My urologist made no mention of Proton Therapy at no time during our discussion. After we talked a bit, I asked him what he knew about Proton Therapy at MD Anderson. I recall him saying he knew of the treatment and he presented it as the same as regular x-rays known as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with similar risks. Then I told the urologist, I wanted to seek a second opinion, and learn more about the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center. Then I would decide on surgery or proton therapy. He did not encourage my further investigation nor did he say anything discouraging. He simply left it as my personal choice. At the time, I was disappointed in my medical professional for not being forthcoming in presenting proton therapy as a treatment option." Initial Appointment at MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center Research and preparation led Phil to feel more comfortable when he heard what the doctor had to say at his initial visit. He felt the oncologist was shooting straight with him as the information was not completely new and now easier to understand. He credits the book written by one of our Pals, Harold Dawley.
"My wife and I left the Proton Center and drove back to Dallas. On the road back to Dallas, we talked about the treatment options among ourselves. I told her, I felt the Lord leading me to continue to pursue treatment at Proton Center since I felt very comfortable with the Proton Center doctor; and my information discoveries about proton therapy from the book "Proton Warriors"; information on the internet about proton therapy for prostate cancer; information on the Proton Pals website; and my discussion with a former Proton Center patient." MRI Appointment
New technology in imaging like the MRI has advanced the treatment of prostate by leaps and bounds. This imaging gives the oncologist the ability to decide how to treat a Gleason 7 precisely and without androgen deprivation hormones. "MD Anderson is an amazing facility. It is a city of its own in size, but it is very personal in handling patients and very efficient in operation. I rode the MD Anderson shuttle bus from the May's Clinic back to the Proton Center. This took about 15 minutes. I immediately went in to see the Proton Center doctor to discuss my diagnosis. The staff knew I was running tight on my flight schedule. By the time I met with the doctor, he had already reviewed my MRI images and he showed them to me on a computer screen. He pointed out the tumor in my prostate and the structure of the organs involved in the anatomy of the prostate area in my body. The doctor gave me some positive news. He told me my prostate was of normal size and the tumor was contained in the prostate although it was close to the wall. He also pointed out the shape of my prostate was very favorable to the proton therapy in avoiding some side effects of proton treatment. This good news meant he would not recommend hormone treatments as a part of my treatment plan. I addition, he told me I would be a good candidate for proton therapy to treat the cancer. Upon hearing the results, I told the doctor I wanted to move forward with scheduling treatment at the Proton Center towards the end of January 2013." These set of clips brings us to the start of Treatment Preparation and the steps one goes through for this like Fiducial Placement, Simulation and the first day of proton treatments along with his experience with Ringing the Gong. You can read or down load a PDF copy of Phil Meadors, "My Story" from the ProtonPals webserver at this location. (Read more). If you reading this newsletter on smart phone or pad, this version is formatted a little differently and maybe easier to read in landscape mode. (Read mobile in device format). | 
