New Technology for Old Geezers--and Even Younger Ones

...more information sooner

Whether or not you have prostate cancer, another cancer, other health concerns, of just yearly checkups, many medical offices now have an added service.

I can get the results of most medical tests--often blood tests in my case--in just a few hours online. If you already know all about this you can stop now. In the past I sometimes had to wait a few days or even a few weeks to find out what my latest PSA, cholesterol level, liver function, or whatever the tests happened to be. That is not necessarily a major hardship and you may consider that perfectly normal. But I'm not the most patient of patients.

The procedure is quite simple. If your doctor or clinic has this service they will give you a website URL and you will sign up and set a username and password (and then try to remember them). You might even be able to access your records through your smart phone. You will probably be able to access all or most of your medical records from the past. If you don't already have this service, ask next time you go to the office or phone in and check it out.

For me this is a good thing. I like to know what condition my condition is in. This service doesn't guarantee good results but it does guarantee timely results. Just saying...

axman

My Own Personal Prostate Cancer Dream Team

A new 'super group' of oncologists have been appointed to find out why many treatments for advanced prostate cancer are not very effective and then find better ones.

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Prostate Cancer Foundation have combined resources to fund a Dream Team of Oncologists/Scientists to study personalized treatment for advanced prostate cancer. The three-year project will receive up to 10 million dollars from the sponsoring organizations.

Six doctor/scientists were chosen to work together to identify resistance pathways in advanced prostate cancer and find new and novel ways to overcome the resistance to treatment. Four campuses of the University of California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, and Davis), the University of British Columbia, and the Oregon Health and Science University are involved. 

My oncologist, co-author, and friend Dr. Tom Beer is one of the six chosen for the project. The full title of the project is: Targeting Adaptive Pathways in Metastatic Treatment Resistant Prostate Cancer (accurate but a tongue twister). It will concentrate on men with advanced prostate cancer who have no reliable treatment options. Current standard treatments to lower testosterone levels often don’t work or they stop working over time in men with advanced prostate cancer.

The long-term goal of the project is to improve outcomes for men with advanced prostate cancer (including me and possibly you). This would include increased length of life, reduced side effects, and a better quality of life. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin in 2013. 

Concentrating on speeding up this process sounds good to me. My prostate cancer is slowly advancing like it is with thousands of other guys. Getting the best minds in oncology to work together on this project could help find useful treatments and save lives.  I certainly hope so.

axman