These are the details of my Prostate Cancer journey. Mine is the classic story where I do not learn about the organization Prostate Cancer Support until three months after my radiation procedures. I regret not timely having the education I have today about the procedures options, the side effects, the role of life-style improvements, the concept of active surveillance and the statistics on aggressive cancers. My PSA jumped from 2.9 in December 2006 to 5.6 a year later. After a December 2007 biopsy and a hormone shot to reduce prostate volume, five months later I began 25 external beam radiation treatments followed by 77 implanted seeds in June 2008. Two months later an old golfing buddy invited me to a support group meeting. This was for me a revelation: A window onto the real world of prostate cancer in a way not even hinted at by the medical professionals. My reaction at that time: Why didn't I know about this precious resource? Now 26 months after seeds, my portfolio of side effects rages on. Bowel irritation limits the range of my neighborhood walks. Restricted urination points to another surgical procedure with its own side effects. Most distressing is sexual dysfunction. Testosterone replacement helps restore libido and ward off depression. Overhanging these side effects is the larger question of cure. I anxiously await the quarterly PSA result: Is my nadir above the cure point? Will I face salvage surgery down the road? I volunteered to be Support Group email Mailmaster after the long-time newsletter editor died in November 2008. I suggested this new means to communicate with the membership, based on the same role on a smaller scale with my neighborhood. This has become for me a labor of love, and a nearly full-time volunteer retirement career. Our roster of email correspondents has passed the 200 mark, and growing, and I'm proud of my contribution to this growth. I have learned a ton about prostate technology in the process. PCa is perhaps unique among the cancers because there is no single preferred prostate cancer procedure. Nor is there a single definition of cure. Nor is there agreement on the benefits of diet and exercise. Nor is there a test to discern slowly-growing from aggressive cancers. All this is bewildering to the newly diagnosed. Our support organization is the largest prostate cancer support group in the USA. Our mission is simple: Increase the patient's confidence, through a variety of self-educational offerings, in the procedure or pathway he chooses. My personal goal is to see a meaningful percentage of the newly-diagnosed in Greater Cincinnati answer "yes" to the confidence question.

Jim Golan - 84 on July 11, 2016

Presentation:

The first part is a lecture at an Orange County, California, support group, November 24, 2008. About 30 minutes, is sufficient to “know” Snuffy. His lecture is without Power Point visuals. He commands the heights of prostate cancer oncology. The YouTube file is “426 New PCa Research, Dr. Chas Myers” View Video below.

The second part is all PowerPoint visuals with Dr. Myers’ voice. The YouTube is “The Path to a Durable Complete Remission, 2015 IPCR Symposium, Session 3”, 20 minutes beginning at minute 0. Metastatic disease only.  The emphasis is on drug combinations and cancer dormancy.