Scott
Hearn and Sandy live in Cumming, Georgia - USA. He was 47 when he was diagnosed
on December 26, 2007. His initial PSA was 3.6 ng/ml and his Gleason Score was
6. He does not give his staging, but it seems clear that it would have been T1c.
His choice of treatment was ProstRcision®- a combination of Brachytherapy and
EBRT (External Beam Radiation Treatment). Here is his story:
Hi, I'm Scott
Hearn. I live in Cumming, GA with my wife Sandy and three daughters, ages 16,
13 & 9. I
am a United Methodist pastor at Creekside UMC.
I
went in for my annual physical on November 7, 2007. My doctor called me the following
week and said my PSA was 3.8 which was still within the "normal" range but slightly
elevated for my age. He thought it was nothing but it would be a good idea to
just get it checked out. I said, "Sure." and made an appointment with a Urologist
who said the PSA was a "broad net". You could have an elevated PSA and not have
anything wrong and you could have a low PSA and have some issues. He wanted to
take the test again just to make sure, then said if it came back elevated the
only way to be sure everything was OK was to do a biopsy. I said, "OK." The
second PSA test came back 3.6, still elevated so we scheduled a biopsy on December
19, 2007.
The
biopsy wasn't painful necessarily... but... just an uncomfortable weird feeling...
And how are you supposed to "just relax." During the biopsy the Urologist said,
"I am looking at your prostate and it looks completely normal. I don't think you
have anything to worry about." I said, "Cool."
I
scheduled my follow-up the morning after Christmas at 8:00 am, thinking I could
sneak out of the house while everyone was asleep, get the news that nothing was
wrong, and get back home before everyone got up...
My
Urologist said, "I really didn't think I would have to be telling you this, but
you have prostate cancer. 5 of the 12 biopsies came back with cancer cells. They
are all from the right side of your prostate."
I
was surprised but I had told myself during the preceding week, "You need to be
prepared... just in case." The Urologist said this meeting was just to share the
news and let it sink in. We had plenty of time. He wanted me to make an appointment
the following week to discuss options and to bring my wife. I don't know how to
say this, but I just didn't like my urologist! I canceled my appointment and set
out on my own research journey. I very quickly stepped right into what one person
described as, "The Great Prostate Cancer Treatment Shoot Out." Boy was he right!
At
my first appointment I received a book about prostate cancer. I began reading
it. I obviously turned to the internet. I had been hearing on the local radio
station about the Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia. I discovered when I told my
boss that he'd had prostate cancer in 1999. He'd chosen a radical prostatectomy.
His suggested I see his doctor who is the head of the Urology Department at a
close by university. It seemed the more I shared with people my news, the more
I was put in touch with men who'd been through this. By far they were the best
resource in making my decision.
I spent a whole evening, into early morning,
reading the Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia website. I googled "RCOG" and was
linked to Jack Jennings'
page on this site. His story had a powerful impact on me.
My
wife and I made an appointment for a consult at the RCOG clinic that is about
5 miles from my house. We met with Dr. Sherri Machuda. She was wonderful! She
walked us through the entire process, shared with us, based on their database,
my odds for being cured and no quality of life issues. We were impressed but wanted
to continue our homework.
We
also made an appointment with the head of Urology at the close by university.
After waiting and hour and a half, the doctor came in with no apologies and proceeded
to tell me that it was a no-brainer, I should have my prostate surgically removed.
The
following days I was really confused as to what I should do… I simply could not
get an intellectual peace about what I should do. I talked to my primary physician,
who had become a friend, and he said something that proved to be profound in my
decision-making. He said, "Scott whatever you do is a gamble." His straightforward
statement was really, really helpful.
I
chose the "ProstRcision®" treatment at the Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia.
Men had come from all over the United States and even the world to be treated
here, and it was in my own backyard. According to their database, being under
50, with a Gleason of 6 and a PSA under 4, I had a 97% cure rate and a 94% chance
of having no long term quality of life issues. RCOG defined "cure" as a PSA that
drops below .02 and stays there for 10 years.
So
to fast forward, I had my seed implant yesterday, March 13, 2008!!!
I
must say, so far there has been nothing to it. The folks at RCOG have been awesome.
The seed implant was performed by Dr. Benton and Dr. Falconer. A urologist inserts
the 25 or so 8" needles into the prostate through the perineum, and an RCOG loads
the seeds and removes the needles. The whole thing took less than an hour. I had
54 I-125 seeds implanted. I came home with a catheter. I went back the next day
(today) for a follow-up appointment and to have the catheter removed (GLORY!).
I had to drink about 24 oz of water in 10 minutes, urinate twice, and then have
an ultra-sound of my bladder. It was empty so I was good to go. I have enjoyed
an ice pack but thus far, by God's grace and a bunch of prayer, I have not had
even a Tylenol for pain!
That's
enough for now. I have an initial appointment on March 27th, 2008 to set-up my
external beam radiation treatment. I will keep you posted on the rest of my journey.
Thank
you to each of you for your willingness to share you story. It has made all the
difference.
Scott's
e-mail address is: scott@scotthearn.com
