CONTRASTS
One of my visits to a men’s prostate cancer support meeting resulted in listening to a few men talk about “What was the best diaper to wear?” post surgery. One great guy I met was talking about his “Brachytherapy” seeds implant and explained that they migrated and now he wears an “External Bladder”, well I was shocked as I never heard of that.
Reminds me how fortunate I was to find Loma Linda in 1999. Now, I have been without side effects whatsoever for 8 years and six months since being treated.
My Doctor at Loma Linda has this to say:
“When I treat a prostate cancer patient with protons, the total normal tissue dose is ~ 250% less than with sophisticated x-ray therapy.” He has treated over 6,000 men with Prostate cancer.
A recent CBS News article dated March 18, 2008 talks about the high cost of Proton equipment and at the same time misses completely the huge cost of follow up for almost every other treatment. They cite the new Proton effort at University of Pennsylvania to be up and running next year.
One doctor reminds us “The current Medicare reimbursement rates reflect the expense associated with developing this technology. This is not unique to proton therapy and has been applied to other emerging medical technologies. As the cost of the technology inevitably decreases, so will the cost of treatment.”
I AM A LAYMAN, NOT A DOCTOR. You are welcome to call me, send an e-mail to jjtug
Jim Tuggey
March 22, 2008
