The Legacy Continues …
My name is Deb Hickey. I work alongside my father, Bob Marckini, and his “ministry,” the Brotherhood of the Balloon. The BOB is a group of prostate cancer patients who have chosen conformal proton beam radiation therapy (proton treatment). The organization was formed in December 2000 by Bob and several other patients of the Loma Linda University Cancer Center. Today we have nearly 10,000 members from all 50 states and 39 different countries. Members represent all operating proton centers in the U.S. as well as four proton centers in Europe and Asia.
One of our earliest members is Jim Tuggey. Jim launched this blog in 2004 after his successful treatment with proton therapy at LLUCC in 1999. He wrote in a post, “For me, the results have been dramatic – I went to Loma Linda with a PSA of 15.9 in July 1999 and now my PSA as of November 16, 2010 is less than 0.1, demonstrating excellent results.” Jim continued updating this blog for another four years until his health began to decline due to age, and he couldn’t keep up with it. His nephew, Jay Rolls, took the reigns and continued the blog for several more years before offering to transition the site to us so that we could continue to spread the word and educate others about proton therapy. We are honored to carry on the torch for Jim, and we plan on sharing our members’ stories and other valuable and timely information about proton therapy through this blog.
We find it fitting to write our first post about Jim’s brother-in-law, Floyd Jordan.
Floyd is also a BOB member, having been treated with proton therapy for his prostate cancer in 2012. Floyd learned about proton therapy from Jim. After Jim completed treatment, he shared his story with anyone who would listen. Luckily, Floyd was all ears. So when Floyd received the dreaded diagnosis years later, he’d already made up his mind and felt confident about his decision.
“Since my proton treatment ended, my PSA readings have been low and my activity level has been high,” Floyd said. Floyd loves to fish, travel, do wood working, and serve others. He appreciates life and considers each day a blessing. Floyd follows in his brother-in-laws footsteps and spreads the word about proton therapy to others whenever and wherever he can. “It has been wonderful to share my story of proton therapy,” Floyd said. “With Bob Marckini’s book, the BOB Tales monthly newsletter, and material from Loma Linda, I’ve had a lot of help convincing others to have protons.”
Thank you, Floyd, for helping others find their way to proton therapy. We look forward to sharing other member stories soon. Stay tuned!
