Supplements or No Supplements?

Do you take supplements? At the moment I take a product called ‘Men’s One™ Energy Multivitamin’ by Rainbow Light. I’ve been wondering how helpful or effective the various ingredients of a multivitamin tablet might be in preventing a re-emergence of my prostate cancer at some time in the future. It doesn’t take more than a few mouse clicks to encounter the confusing and contradictory information available on the web.

Lets start at the top of the list of ingredients: Vitamin A (as 50% Beta Carotene, 50% Palmitate)- 5,000IU. An apparently authoritative study: Serum Vitamin A and Subsequent Development of Prostate Cancer in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study tells me that taking Vitamin A is good for Prostate Cancer prevention – ‘a statistically significant trend was observed for increased risk of prostate cancer with decreasing levels of serum vitamin A.’ On the other hand, Vitamin A and prostate cancer in elderly men: enhancement of risk another apparently authoritative study tells me: ‘In the men greater than or equal to 70 years, risk increased directly with the amount of vitamin A consumed’. Admittedly this study reported no increased risk for men under 70.

So does this mean that I take Vitamin A until I’m 70 and then stop??

Lets look at the next ingredient on my list: Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid)- 120mg. First up, the Louis Warschaw Prostate Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai informs me that ‘There is much controversy regarding the relationship between vitamin C intake and prostate cancer risk. Some studies show that increased levels of vitamin C reduce one’s risk for prostate cancer. Other studies show that vitamin C has no effect on this risk.’ But in the very next paragraph we learn that prostate cancer tumors consume large amounts of Vitamin C. Hmmmm!!! Let’s investigate further.

A study entitled ‘Effect of vitamin C on prostate cancer cells in vitro: Effect on cell number, viability, and DNA synthesis‘ concludes: ‘results also suggest that ascorbic acid is a potent anticancer agent for prostate cancer cells.’ (Prostate 32:188-195, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.) Sounds promising – but wait: on November 16th Healthday reported on a ten year study of 15,000 men over 50 that determined there was no anti cancer effect from taking Vitamin C.

So where does this lead? It certainly discourages me from researching further down the list of ingredients on the back of my multivitamin pack. I suspect that I will find similar conflicting studies about Vitamins D, E, K, B6 etc, not to mention Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc. It is clear that no one has the final best answer regarding supplements and prostate cancer prevention/treatment.

Twenty-five hundred years ago Gautama Buddha advocated ‘the middle way’. I think I’ll take that advice and apply it here. I’ll continue taking my multivitamin to support general health while making sure that I get good nutrition from a healthy diet. I’ll exercise – in moderation- and get plenty of fresh air and sunlight. I’m still taking donations for the holiday in Hawaii:-)

So I Finished the Treatment – Now What?

I have always found it strange and slightly disturbing that ‘survival after five years’ is regarded as the usual statistical standard of success for prostate cancer treatment. I’m 65, in good health and fully intend to be around for another 20 years at least.

Longer term scientific follow up studies comparing success rates of the various forms of treatment seem to be rare. Where they do exist (eg Short- and Long-term Mortality With Localized Prostate Cancer) the comparisons are between treatments as administered at least ten years ago. There have been many developments in all the treatment options in the last ten years.

So the truth is that I just don’t know for certain whether my prostate will be a problem again at some point in the next 20 years. I am confident and upbeat. Statistics tell me that the early detection and treatment of my cancer point to at least a 91% chance of making it to age 75 and a 75% chance of making it to age 80.

So what can I do to maximise my chances?

First thing is to lose some of the weight I’ve put on in the last six months. Its very clear from all the studies I read that carrying extra weight is not the best way to reduce the risk of any type of cancer. In placing so much focus on my ‘dance’  with pc I failed to  maintain my optimal weight and gained 15lb. Its time to put that right. I’m working on developing a healthy living plan for myself that will include pointers on diet, physical exercise and emotional/spiritual wellness. I will be chronicling my plan, the challenges and successes in future posts.

Post Proton Beam Therapy Update

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post? I have to admit that the eight weeks of getting up at 5.30am left me with no energy at the end of the day to sit at my computer and blog. Most of my tiredness was due to rising early and a very busy work life, but I have the feeling that some was attributable to the treatment itself. Someone mentioned to me that babies need a lot of sleep because (healthy) cells are multiplying so fast as they grow – and in like fashion my body has been putting a lot of energy into repairing, restoring and renewing the healthy cells affected by the radiation. I don’t know if this is scientifically true, but it ws a helpful and sustaining thought.

I have to say that the treatment visits rapidly became routine. Park the car, grab an orange juice, take the elevator, greet fellow patients, get changed into the ubiquitous hospital gown and wait to be called in. The Gantry 2 Technicians (Allisha, Chris, Georgene, John and Phil) at the Francis H Burr Proton Treatment Center were outstanding in their professionalism, warmth and humor. It was truly a pleasure to be greeted each morning with such positivity and care. The experience of getting ‘zapped’ was easy, quick and completely painless.  I have to admit that I frequently felt as if I was in the medical bay on Starship Enterprise being instantly healed by people pointing ‘remotes’.

As I neared the end of treatment I did notice a slightly elevated discomfort with urination, but not anything that could be in any way described as painful. In the month since I finished treatment this discomfort has almost completely disappeared. I am still somewhat fatigued – but a lot of this probably due to maintaining a very active work schedule throughout and post treatment. Nothing that a good vacation wouldn’t cure. Anyone want to fund a month in Hawaii???

Positive Attitude Maintenance

Maintaining the all important positive attitude is often a challenge. After skimming the cautionary and negative opinions about proton beam therapy by many health care practitioners at The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services comment line I noticed I was being being nudged into second guessing my decision to follow this course of treatment. It required a review of all the positive reports from 10 year plus PBT veterans and the realization that most of the critics were from competing treatment modalities to re-center me in a confident frame of mind.

Today comes another ‘tap on the shoulder’.

The September 1st issue of the International Journal of Cancer contains an article reporting on a study showing that prostate irradiation raises the risk of subsequent colon cancer.

Once again it took me a while to realize that the article referred to ‘external beam radiation therapy’ and did not make mention of proton beam therapy. Nevertheless my tricky mind wanted to posit worst case interpretations.

The Information Age gives our brains so much information to ponder that it is easy to slip into these mind games.

I find the most effective antidote to be the regular practice of mindfulness meditation. (A superb guide to this practice can be found at the Introduction to Meditation page of the AudioDharma website). Catching myself before (or soon after) I spin off into a session of doubt and second guessing is only one of the many benefits of regular practice of this meditation technique. And you don’t need to be a Buddhist to practice! No doubt I’ll write more on this in another post

Worrying proposal to deny Medicare coverage for Proton Beam Therapy

When I chose Proton Beam Therapy as my treatment of choice I did so after very careful evaluation of all the alternatives open to me. In the end it was the personal testimonials – some going back as many as 10 years – from many thousands of men reporting excellent results with minimal side effects that convinced me that this was a ‘gold standard’ treatment.

I am still at the beginning of my treatment regimen, having completed 4 of 40 cycles ‘under the beam’, so I recognize that it is very early for me to judge the results of PBT on my own cancer. Nevertheless I can report that I continue to be extremely positive about the effectiveness of this treatment. It is known that one’s attitude towards treatment is an important determinant of a successful outcome so I am currently feeling very confident

A government agency – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – is about to consider denying insurance coverage for Proton Beam Therapy! You can read about it at:

http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2008/08/01/medicare-national-coverage-determinations/

and at:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/ncpc_view_document.asp?id=19

CMS claims that proton therapy is more costly, not widely available, and that no current, comparative studies have been conducted to prove proton is better than conventional cancer treatment therapies.

There is a short window (until September 30th) for public comment at:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/ncpc_viewpubliccomments.asp?id=19&expand=Y

It is interesting to note that many of the comments from medical professionals are  critical  of PBT. Some commentators attribute ‘a great sales job’ by NAPT (The National Association for Proton Therapy) as the reason for increasing numbers of men choosing PBT. I completely disagree! The increasing number of men choosing Proton Beam Therapy are doing so because of the positive testimony from thousands of PBT veterans regarding its effectiveness and the enormously reduced incidence of harmful side effects. It is noteworthy that the commentators advocating discontinuing Medicare coverage for Proton Beam Therapy are almost all  health care specialists from competing treatment modalities. Could it be that they fear mass patient desertions as more Proton Beam Therapy Centers are created and more success stories are disseminated? After all, health care is very much a business, and in business loss of market share is a threat.

If you have experience of Proton Beam Therapy please join me in adding your comment at:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/ncpc_viewpubliccomments.asp?id=19&expand=Y

(press the orange button at the top of their page)

Starting Proton Therapy Treatment

In physics, the proton (Greek πρῶτον / proton “first”) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1.60217653(14)×10−19 C), a diameter of about 1.65×10−15 m^[1], and a mass of 938.272309(28) MeV/c2 (1.007276466(13) u, 1.6726×10−27 kg), or about 1836 times the mass of an electron. (full Wikipedia Entry)

What I know about proton physics would ‘fit on the head of a pin’ (to quote an olde English expression) but the definition above leads me to surmise that many billion protons would fit there.

I began my Proton Therapy treatments last Thursday at the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center at Mass General Hospital. After entering the building at ground level I took the elevator down to treatment level. ( I hear that most if not all proton treatment facilities are ‘buried’ partly to shield radiation and partly because of the tremendous weight of the equipment.) A short wait ended in an invitation to visit the changing room, remove clothing below the waist and put on a hospital gown. I was then guided through a secure door and into what at first appeared to be a labyrinth of corridors with thick, shielding walls. After several turns I entered the treatment room and was greeted by a very relaxed and friendly  group of technicians. The treatment room reminded me of a cluttered version of the sick bay on StarTrek’s (The Next Generation) Enterprise. Sci Fi had become reality. Lying down on the narrow treatment ‘table’ I was assisted to the correct position by the technicians who used lasers and the small tatoos on my sides and lower belly to line me up correctly. An X-ray and UltraSound were used to confirm my position. The technicians then took shelter in a shielded control room.

I kept very still, listened to various buzzes and whirrs from the gantry, and tried to sense whether I could feel a stream of particles (about 1836 times the mass of an electron) bombarding my prostate. In spite of the fact that I credit myself with being a relatively sensitive guy I could feel nothing!

After about two minutes the friendly technicians returned, helped me off the table and wished me “have a nice day”. Quite surreal! I returned to the changing room, got dressed and left the building.

Since then I have had two more treatments – all mirroring the first except that the proton beam is directed from alternating sides of my torso. So far I have experienced no worrying side effects.

Proton Bob

I really want to encourage men choosing Proton Beam Therapy for Prostate Cancer to become members of the Brotherhood of the Balloon. I joined just a couple of months ago and have found the information and stories presented in the monthly members newsletters to be incredibly helpful and extremely ‘level-headed’. It is so encouraging to hear about men who received this treatment more than ten years ago and whose quality of life remains truly dynamic.

Even if Proton Beam Therapy is just one of the options you are considering I urge you to read Bob Marckini’s “You Can Beat Prostate Cancer”

Reading about the rapidly increasing popularity of Proton Beam Therapy in recent Brotherhood of the Balloon newsletters reinforces just how lucky I have been in a) living so close to Mass General Hospital where one of the five US Proton Beam Centers is located, b) having to spend less than 2 months on the waiting list, and c) having doctors who discovered my cancer early enough to create a high probability of successful treatment.

So here’s an interesting question. My treatment is due to start on September 4th. At my treatment planning session I asked my radiation oncologist Dr Shipley about ‘the balloon’ – and, to my surprise he said, “We’re not using it anymore at MGH.” (Just as I was getting myself used to the idea:-) Does anyone else have information about this?? And how can I qualify for full membership in BOB if there’s no balloon?

Answers to the above gratefully accepted in ‘Comments’.

(Thank you Bob for your kind words about this blog)

A Week at Omega

I’m spending a week at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck NY co-leading an Opening the Heart Workshop Training Group. Its a lot less demanding than teaching the 5 week Summer Arts Camp that concluded last Saturday. The huge benefit of being here is getting to spend time with my “support group”, who just happen to be my co-leaders of the group. I have been close with Jon, Linda, Laury and Donna for over 20 years and during that time have shared many ups and downs on life’s roller coaster. What we bring to each other is a profound, nourishing and sustaining sense of loving presence and support. I am grateful for this opportunity to spend an extended length of time with them as I prepare for treatment. In a sense they are my extended family providing just what I need at this time.

An interesting event took place towards the end of today. A woman visitor to Omega asked to have the opportunity of speaking with me. When we talked she revealed that she had two or three times experienced a strong image of me “carrying something dark and heavy in my abdominal area”. She also felt that I had 95% accepted its presence there and was “in a dance” with it. Of course I suspected that she must have read this blog, but she assured me she had not. Her psychic abilities seem to be acute. I was interested to hear her say that she did not think that I would die of prostate cancer.

Proton Beam Therapy Treatment Planning

Just back from my “treatment planning” aka an hour long session with my radiation oncologist Dr Shipley at MGH.

I breezed in expecting some questions, some restatement of the potential side effects of proton beam therapy, and a quick whiz through the CAT scan machine. I was not disappointed. I did indeed receive these – and much much more!

It turns out that the preparation for the CAT Scan involves a couple of “procedures”. One being the insertion of a gold seed at the base of the prostate. This is achieved by the injection of a) novocaine and b) the seed itself with a three inch long probe through the perineum. (If you don’t know what the perineum is – look it up!.) The second “proceedure” was the insertion of a dye into the bladder by way of a catheter. All I can say is that males are not really built for these kind of insertions! After that, the tattoo needle marking my lower belly in a couple of places after the CAT scan was a walk in the park.

Walking to the park-ing lot afterwards I felt proud of myself – even if a little invaded. I am assured that the hardest part of my treatment is now behind me. Could that be a pun?

Below the Surface

I received a lovely note of support today from my friend Lauren. She offered me the choice of one of her images to add to the collection which is gradually building here. I chose “Below the Surface”

Below the Surface

The image spoke to me of how little I know about the mysterious processes unfolding in my body. All those cells – what’s happening in them? are new ones still being created? And what meaning do I ascribe to the black lines graffittied over and distanced from what is underneath? – emptiness? – threat? If they’re lenses they fail to reveal or clarify._________ So then, a mystery. But somehow I relate to the tension between the black and the blue and recognize in it something of the tension between what I’ve always sensed as “me” and the “cancer”. We’re dancing together on the same floor, but not yet quite in step.

Thank you Lauren!

Walking

I’ve started daily walking again and it feels great. Strange that an early morning output of energy actually seems to reduce fatigue at the end of the day.

During the month of July I pass Walden Pond on my way to work. By making a slightly earlier commute I get the opportunity of walking the 1.6 mile trail around the pond. At that time of the day there are only a few hardy early morning swimmers exercising near the shore. By the time I am just a short distance onto the trail I am surrounded by the quiet of the woods on a humid New England morning. Only the occasional bird call or the quick rustle of a chipmunk break the silence. The water hardly ripples below the faint mist.

Despite mind distractions of the upcoming work day and thoughts about my cancer I work on staying  in the moment, allowing each breath to bring me into the present. The water, the sunlight, the leaves, a butterfly, a momentary breeze.

As I pass the place where Thoreau built his cabin i am reminded of his words in “Walden“

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

Cancer is certainly a wake up call. It promotes a time to see what really matters, to “suck all the marrow out of life”, to really experience the time that we have. For this reason I can welcome it as an opportunity rather than fighting it as an enemy.

When my camera’s fixed I’ll post some pictures here:-)

Proton Beam Zap

Proton Beam Zap

This image came to me as I pondered Proton Beam Therapy. An indescribable energy force originating out there in the universe, being focused on my cancer cells.

Brotherhood of the Balloon

Now it is decided that I will undergo Proton Beam Therapy I have joined a wonderful on-line organization called “Brotherhood of the Balloon”. You will have to check the website for the origin of the name:-)

Supported by Loma Linda University Medical Center, the Brotherhood of the Balloon (BOB) is a group of prostate cancer patients who have chosen Proton Therapy as their treatment. First formed in December 2000 by several patients of the Loma Linda University Medical Center Proton Treatment Center, today the organization has up to 3000 members from all over the US and from many other countries. Members include men from all walks of life (including medical doctors).

The organization’s database, (available only to members) includes members’ prostate cancer statistics pre and post treatment. This resource will be invaluable as it will help me compare my own progress with that of others who began treatment from the same PSA, Gleason and stage baselines.

A monthly newsletter featuring news about advances in Proton Therapy treatment and personal stories from members is a key feature of the site. The newsletter is edited by Bob Marckini, author of You Can Beat Prostate Cancer

Proton Beam Therapy

Checking around on the net I am amazed and grateful for all the leg work already done by men with prostate cancer. Their stories and research, not to mention their time and effort in making them public has made it relatively easy for me to decide upon my course of treatment.  My doctors having given the same chance of a complete recovery from either a radical prostatectomy or from external beam radiation, my decision essentially came down to the likely difference in side effects from either option.

Another big part of my decision: physical pain scares me! As I’ve said before on this blog – I’m a complete wimp! The idea of being cathetered, cut open, sewn up, – albeit under anesthetic is distinctly unappealing to say the least. Not to mention the subsequent urine bags, pads and de-cathetering that are the accompaniment to a radical prostatectomy. The shudders I experienced in contemplating this treatment – albeit by the most caring and skilled of surgeons – were enough to turn me towards radiation therapy.

After reading dozens of stories and looking at the many available statistics concerning treatment side effects it rapidly became clear that  Proton Beam Therapy was not only the least invasive but also potentially the least damaging to surrounding tissue and to subsequent “quality of life”. For me the specter of incontinence was the most frightening issue, and from my reading of available information it seems that PBT is the therapy which carries least long term risk in this regard.

I was also swayed by the stories of the many men living hundreds of miles from a Proton Therapy Center who put their lives ‘on hold’ so they could move to one of the six locations in the US for the eight week duration of the treatment. The stories were overwhelmingly positive and included follow up reports of  cancer-free lives after treatment of up to ten years and counting. Again I have to count my blessings that I live only 18 miles from a center.

I have been in touch with Dr Shipley and am scheduled for a CT planning session (on 23rd July) in preparation for Proton Beam Therapy which will begin at the beginning of September.

My treatment will be at the Francis H Burr Proton Therapy Center at Mass General Hospital in Boston.

Good Nutrition – another dancing partner in this process.

In the time between diagnosis and finalizing a treatment plan one of the things I’ve been focusing on is nutrition.

I’ve always paid reasonably close attention to my diet and am convinced that my relatively illness free life so far is, in great measure, attributable to healthy eating habits. That said, a couple of interesting and encouraging articles recently appeared that have refocused my attention and awareness in this area.

Broccoli helps slow growth of prostate cancer cells

WebMD, in Broccoli May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk recently reported on a paper published July 2nd on the Public Library of Science site entitled Broccoli Consumption Interacts with GSTM1 to Perturb Oncogenic Signalling Pathways in the Prostate

“Compared to men who ate peas four times a week, those who ate four weekly servings of broccoli for a year showed more changes in gene expression suggestive of increased protection against prostate cancer.” says the WebMD article

In a recent scholarly article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: “Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention” Dean Ornish et al report that lifestyle changes, including nutrition, profoundly affect the way our genes work:

“It’s too soon to say whether the men’s lifestyle changes kept their cancer at bay. But genetic analysis revealed profound differences in noncancerous prostate tissues in just three months.

More than 500 genes changed the way they worked. Genes with beneficial effects, including some tumor-suppression genes, became more active. Genes with deleterious effects, including some cancer-promoting genes, were switched off.” (Quote taken from the WebMD report of this research)

Finally, in March Web MD reported findings by researchers at Nothwestern University stating that: “Men who live in countries with high soy consumption are less likely to die of prostate cancer than are men in the U.S. and Europe. Genistein, a protein from soybeans, keeps prostate cancer cells from spreading in test-tube studies.”

Plenty of “food for thought” here. I just discovered that the new broccoli crop is in at my local farmer’s market. I’ll try to include some of my recipe links in a future post.

Fatigue and Prostate Cancer

I’ve been off the blog for a week or so, busy with the start of a performing arts summer camp where I have been a councilor for the past ten summers. It has also been a week of helping my daughter transfer her belongings to her shared apartment in NYC. She will be a junior at college there starting this September.

Its been a time that has required a lot of energy output and I have been brought face to face with the fact that I do not have the reserves that I could draw upon until a couple of years ago.

Well before my diagnosis – going back about two years or so – I had been noticing a drop off in my physical energy and an increasing level of general fatigue. I had put this down to increase in age and to taking on an elevated work load. Now I’m not so sure, because my experience of increased fatigue seems to be fairly closely correlated with the my steadily rising PSA level. Of course its impossible to say for sure. One would expect that aging could account for some of the physical fatigue, but I’ve never been 64 before and have no “prior experience”. I’m curious to know if other men with early stage prostate cancer have experienced similar symptoms.

WebMD suggests that fatigue can be one of the symptoms, but its entry on Prostate Cancer Fatigue focuses mostly on fatigue caused by treatment. I understand that cancer cells compete for nutrients but it seems hard to believe that my “itty-bitty” cancer cells could suck up such a noticeable portion of energy resources. Does anyone else have experience of this?

Consulting with Physicians (Part 2).

If I decided to go the EBRT route there was a further option to be considered. I would have the opportunity of choosing between three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) or conformal proton beam radiation therapy

So now its back to the research to assess the relative advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives – and to check whether my health insurance will cover the treatments.

Consulting with Physicians (Part 1)

Yesterday I had an appointment to discuss treatment options with two specialists at the Claire and John Bertucci Center for Gastrourinory Cancers at Mass General Hopital.

Dr Kaufman and Dr Shipley are both are pre-eminent in their fields. I could imagine either one of them lecturing to a crowded auditorium of medical students, or being called before a congressional committee as expert witnesses. I felt very fortunate to be advised by such distinguished physicians, and confident that they would interpret my symptoms correctly and steer me in the right direction. I was further re-assured when they began by emphasizing how treatable my cancer is. My chance of a positive outcome is extremely high! (As I write this I realize again how very fortunate I am to have excellent health insurance coverage and to live near a city with such good hospitals)

Since receiving my diagnosis I have been reading a lot about prostate cancer. (There are many books and web sites devoted to the subject and anyone interested in reading about it will no doubt make up their own mind bout which is most helpful. The most complete written reference that I found was the American Cancer Society“s “Complete Guide to Prostate Cancer“. The most helpful web sites were at the eMedicine site from WebMD and at “The Palpable Prostate“)

As a result of reading these sources I went into the meeting with six printed pages of questions as well as some hopes and expectations about what the doctors might advise. I knew that as long as there were non-surgical options which would have the same chance of success as a radical prostatectomy I would prefer to take the non-surgical route. After checking out the differences between External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBTR) and Brachytherapy I thought that Brachytherapy might be my “treatment of choice” because it involved far fewer hospital visits.

It took only a short time for Dr. Kaufman and Dr. Shipley to convince me that Brachytherapy would not be the most advisable treatment for my particular cancer. The fact that cancerous cells had shown up in five of the six biopsies taken showed a fairly even distribution throughout the prostate rather than a concentration on one or two places. Under these circumstances Dr Shipley felt that EBRT would be the preferable of the two main forms of radiation therapy. Dr Kaufman explained that for my particular cancer the odds of a successful therapeutic outcome were pretty much equal between radical prostatectomy and EBRT. Either treatment had an equal liklihood of a very positive result. He went on to say that my decision between these two options would probably emerge from my analysis of the respective possible treatment side effects and upon the potential impact of each form of treatment upon my working and family life over the next few months.

Opportunities

My dear friend Linda gave permission for me to use one of her beautiful images on the blog. I chose this one because it speaks to the attitude I’ll be seeking to maintain over the next weeks and months. It’s called ‘Opportunities’

Linda’s art can be viewed at her website: http://www.lindacarmel.com I strongly recommend a visit.

Synchronicity (and another partner in the dance)

I’m on my way to an acupuncture session with Bill and decide to drop into the Whole Foods Market in Cambridge to pick up some fruits and veggies. On my way out I notice a bearded face thats seems somehow familiar – but I’m not sure. “Peter?” he queries. (He actually used an old nickname of mine)

Its Alok – and I haven’t seen him for about ten years.

Alok is now a successful body worker and massage therapist in Cambridge MA. We spend ten minutes catching up on each other’s news but I don’t have a lot of time because of my acupuncture appointment.

“Is he prescribing any Chinese Herbs?” Alok asks.

“Not yet, but I’ve yet to tell him about my diagnosis – I’m on my way to do that now”

Fifteen minutes later in Bill’s office, having just told him the results of my biopsy, I hear the words “I’d like to refer you to a Chinese herbalist. He can prescribe some herbs that will help to support the work we are doing in acupuncture”

I am always encouraged when the universe conspires to point the way. For me synchronistic events are like signposts that confirm that I’m heading in the right direction. An hour or so later I enter the E Shan Tang storefront on Harvard Ave in Allston/Brighton. The wonderful aromatic scents of the store remind me of the ayurvedic clinics I visited in India. In a small private cubicle at one corner of the store is B J Wang, the herbalist and diagnostician. We talk in a leisurely way about my symptoms and the diagnosis from the biopsy. He asks some questions and takes my pulses in much the same way as Bill does during my acupuncture sessions. He prescribes a 20 day supply of herb capsules. I am encouraged to see that one of the prescriptions is for Reishi Spores. Reishi (or Lingzhi as it is known in China) is a type of mushroom grown in Japan and China. It has a well researched beneficial effect as a supportive treatment for prostate cancer.

It is certainly not my intention to use Chinese Herbs as a sole therapy for my cancer, however I do have confidence in healing modalities that are not specifically western in origin. I know that the addition of these prescribed herbs to an already (mostly:-) healthy diet will be like having yet another ‘partner’ join me in the dance. I will report on their effectiveness in due course.