At the beginning 2012 at the age of sixty-six, I was diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer. The Urologist who was treating me offered me four options:

    • Active surveillance: Close monitoring for signs that the cancer is getting worse, and preferred for men with long life expectancy who may benefit from curative local therapy if there are indeed signs of the cancer worsening
    • Radical (open) prostatectomy: Surgical removal of the entire prostate
    • External-beam radiation therapy: Most common of radiation treatments, using a machine located outside the body to focus a beam of x-rays on the cancerous area.
    • Brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy): Insertion of radioactive sources (seeds) directly into the prostate, which give off radiation just around the area where they are inserted.
After careful consideration and discussion with my Urologist, GP, and friends who had prostate cancer, and reading up on various online resources given by my Urologist, I decided to go for the brachytherapy option, which only required me to spend one day and night in hospital.

The procedure was a great success and, for the past six years, I have had an annual check-up and found to be completely clear of cancer.

Thanks to a wonderful Urologist and early detection, I am a Cancer Survivor.

Journeys

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Survivor