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7 1/2 years after Proton Beam Radiation--0.01 PSA

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Posted 3/22/2019 10:49 AM (GMT 0)
I just had a recent PSA test done as part of my yearly physical exam performed by my local family doctor. I am now approximately seven and one-half years post completion of treatment. My PSA had previously plateaued at 0.02 for several years. Now it is down to 0.01! I'll take that anyday!

My treatment plan was Proton external beam radiation performed at IU Health in Bloomington, Indiana. It went just as I had hoped and prayed that it would. I had all of the expected short-term side effects, and no significant long term side effects. My current health is excellent. So, for all of you considering external beam radiation (regardless of the type) I am one example of a very successful result. I haven't been here in awhile, but thought that this info might be helpful for those in the process of deciding on a treatment plan.
Posted 3/22/2019 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
Great report and glad the results have been so good. I was a student at IU in Bloomington when the accelerator was being built and it was all top secret to be used for research. It was many years later they added the Cancer Treatment Center and it closed a few years ago due to financial reasons. Too expensive to operate and too few people were traveling to Bloomington for treatment. I understand the accelerator is still being used for research, just not doing any cancer treatment.

The PCa proton treatment landscape has changed significantly and it’s use is now uncommon. Proton costs nearly three times what photon costs and the results are no better for either cancer control or limited side effects. Thus third party payors like Medicare and commercial insurance will no longer pay the additional cost. Even ASTRO, the radiation oncology society, updated their care standards last year and stated that it should only be used in trIals to study its effectiveness for PCa.

This is in no way a knock on proton treatment as it has proved very valuable treating many other cancers. It just doesn’t have an advantage in treating PCa. Over the last 20 years the technology has greatly improved photon based treatment with IMRT/IGRT/SBRT/CyberKnife, etc. These improvements have made photon based treatment for PCa effective for cancer control, limited tresatment side effects and cost. A study by UC Berkeley showed the average cost in 2016 for PCa proton treatment to be $69,000 while IMRT/IGRT photon was $29,000.
Posted 3/22/2019 12:48 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations skeeter! Seems like you’re all set for the long run.
Posted 3/22/2019 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, those protons really did their job!
Posted 4/5/2019 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
My Dad had Proton treatment 20+ years ago (age 67) and is still here to talk about it. He did get a few rounds of bladder cancer (possibly related) starting about five years ago but that was treated.
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