2017-04-bt

Dear Members:

We are blessed to have truly interested and interactive members in our group. Our BOB Tales newsletter goes out to thousands of our members plus about 500 others. Deb Hickey routinely hears from hundreds of members after each issue is published and we love that. We have been informed by our email distributor, Constant Contact, our open- and click-through rates are 300 percent higher than their 700,000 customer base. That tells us our readers are interested in the content of our newsletter. Many have told us they forward the BOB Tales to family members, friends, and acquaintances. We encourage you to do the same if you think others would benefit from reading specific articles.

We have lots to report this month. New and important developments in prostate cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment seem to be happening almost daily. Similarly, new and important things are happening in the proton world at an accelerating rate. The BOB Tales would be 100 pages long if we attempted to report all of these issues. So we attempt to relay the most significant happenings by abstracting articles that come to us from dozens of sources, and provide links to more information so readers can find details on a story that particularly interests them.

This month we report on several significant issues on prostate cancer and proton therapy. To name a few:

• There is more evidence that advanced technology image-guided biopsies are obsoleting the current 30-year-old “blind biopsy” procedures most urologists perform today, resulting in more accurate prostate cancer detection and a reduction in unnecessary biopsies. This has huge implications.
• More studies confirm the importance of maintaining proper vitamin D levels to aid in the prevention of prostate cancer as well as the prevention of more aggressive forms of the disease.
• One of the most prominent prostate cancer experts devoted an entire newsletter to the subject of statin drugs, cardiovascular disease, and prostate cancer. His conclusions with regard to the benefit of statins to preventing prostate cancer, prostate cancer recurrences, and aggressive prostate cancers will astonish you.
• A recent study confirms the important role that components found in one of the safest and oldest drugs on the planet can play in preventing many cancers.
• A study at Loma Linda University involving 26,000 men has shown that a specific diet change can have a dramatic impact on preventing prostate cancer.
• Three years after his parents were jailed for removing him from the hospital and taking him out of the UK for treatment, a little boy is cancer free, thanks to proton therapy.
• More proton centers are being built around the world, including the first proton center in Alabama.

As Deb reported last month, I was honored to have been asked to participate in a project to plan and conduct a comprehensive, prospective study comparing proton therapy to IMRT for treating prostate cancer. A study of this kind has never been done and would answer many questions that are of critical importance to physicians and especially patients, who are being denied proton therapy because of cost and lack of scientific evidence it is superior to other forms of radiation therapy.

The project was kicked off with a workshop in Jacksonville, FL, with more than 50 in attendance, mostly representatives from 16 U.S. proton centers. The project is headed-up by University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute Medical Director, Dr. Nancy Mendenhall, a physician with considerable passion for this project as well as the energy and drive to see it through. After the workshop, a letter of intent (LOI) was drafted and sent to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) requesting funding. The LOI is comprehensive and inclusive. If funding is approved, the study would ramp up over the next year. If/when the LOI is accepted, we will provide details on the scope, magnitude and duration of this critically important study. Stay tuned.

As I write this memo, Deb and I are preparing travel to Orlando, FL to attend the annual National Proton Conference (NPC). This is a three-and-a-half day gathering of all the key players in the proton world including clinicians, physicists, scientists, administrators, and vendors. There will be presentations and workshops on subjects including the evolution of proton therapy, planning and developing a proton center, dealing with insurance and reimbursement challenges, best practices, proton accelerators and proton therapy of the future, and much more. A large exhibition hall will display the latest technologies in proton therapy and related equipment and systems. This will be my fourth NPC (Deb’s first) and, as in the past, I’m as excited as a kid visiting Disney World. I learn a lot from the conferences and always spend a lot of time in the exhibition hall. Deb and I will be providing details of NPC in our next BOB Tales.

We hope you enjoy the April issue. As always, we welcome and encourage feedback. Just send an email to DHickey@protonbob.com.

Bob Marckini

To print the BOB Tales newsletter or view the newsletter with a larger font size, click here for the PDF file.

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In This Issue:

• MRI Improves Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
• Statins and Prostate Cancer: Startling New Information
• Insufficient Vitamin D Levels Related to More Aggressive Prostate Cancers
• More Evidence Aspirin Helps Prevent Cancer
• Slash Risk of Prostate Cancer by 35 Percent
• BOB Member and Wife Treated with Protons at the Same Time
• $74,000 to Marckini Chair in December

MRI Improves Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

We have written about this before in the BOB Tales, and the data continue to pour in confirming that new technologies are greatly improving doctors’ abilities to diagnose prostate cancer as well as saving the patient unnecessary biopsies and some of the resulting side effects.

A new trial by Medical Research Council (MRC) at UCL has shown that over a quarter of men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer could avoid an invasive biopsy if they undergo a multi-parametric MRI (mp-MRI) scan first.

Also, the detection of aggressive cancers can be almost doubled by doing an mp-MRI. If the scan is suspicious, the mp-MRI can give information about where the cancer is and its size.

Typical prostate biopsies are invasive procedures that can sometimes lead to side effects such as pain, bleeding, erectile dysfunction, and infection. They can also be inaccurate because they typically sample only random areas of the prostate. Most prostate biopsies are done by this 30-year-old technology, often referred to as a “blind biopsy.”

Latest technology mp-MRIs can often identify men who might safely avoid a biopsy and consider active surveillance. This MRI technology can also tell the doctor where suspicious lesions are that should be targeted by biopsy.

Multi-parametric MRIs detected 93 percent of clinically important cancers in a study that involved 576 men with suspected prostate cancer.

Learn more.

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Statins and Prostate Cancer: Startling New Information

Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs like Atorvastatin, Simvastatin, Rosuvastatin, Pravastatin, and Lovastatin. More recognizable common names of these drugs are Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Pravacol, and Mevacor.

Dr. Charles “Snuffy” Myers, world-renowned prostate cancer treatment expert and prostate cancer survivor, publishes a monthly newsletter, Prostatepedia. His latest issue, Volume 2, No. 6, February 2017, devoted much attention to cardiovascular disease, statins, and prostate cancer.

Cardiovascular Risk

Myers feels that physicians who treat aggressive prostate cancer are often poorly informed about cardiovascular risk management and commonly ignore it. He also criticizes internet sites for distorted and misinformation on the toxicity of statin drugs, which Myers feels are one of the safest drug families.

Dr. Michael Freeman, director of the Division of Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Research and the Division of Basic Science Research at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, was interviewed for the February issue of Prostatepedia. Dr. Freeman spends much of his time studying prostate cancer progression.

Cholesterol Levels and Prostate Cancer

One of his findings is that cholesterol is a risk factor
for prostate cancer, and that high cholesterol is a risk factor for aggressive prostate cancer. He believes there is emerging consensus from epidemiologic studies that lowering levels of cholesterol has a protective effect against aggressive forms of prostate cancer, but probably not for prostate cancers that progress slowly or would not be clinically relevant during a patient’s lifetime. However, he feels that “epidemiologic data showing that long-term statin therapy can reduce the likelihood of aggressive prostate cancer is pretty strong.”

Statins and Prostate Cancer Recurrence

Dr. Freeman further believes that statins could help prevent a recurrence in patients who have already been treated for prostate cancer. “Statins are considered very safe drugs,” he said. “The primary side effects are muscle pain, but most people are not susceptible to that … I don’t think there is any reason not to go on a statin if a patient and his physician are concerned about a risk of prostate cancer.”

Statins and Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Dr. Alison Mondul, assistant professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, was also interviewed for this issue of Prostatepedia. She had this to say: “Higher cholesterol seems to be associated with higher risk of more aggressive prostate cancer, or prostate cancer with a worse prognosis.” She noted that several studies have seen a higher risk of high-grade disease with higher levels of cholesterol, and she believes that by lowering cholesterol levels, statins can protect against more aggressive prostate cancer.

“Statins do other things that may also be protective,” says Dr. Mondul. “They are anti-inflammatory. They act through other pathways that may also have an important role in preventing more progressive disease.”

She believes there is no downside to reducing cholesterol levels. Further, she believes that taking statins prior to diagnosis may help prevent aggressive disease, and taking statins after diagnosis may help prevent death.

Another expert in the field is Dr. Hyung Kim, a urologic oncologist at Cedars-Sinai. He too feels that “statin use will improve your likelihood of surviving the disease.”

The benefits of taking statins to prevent aggressive prostate cancer and/or a recurrence seem to be overwhelming. You may want to discuss this subject with your doctor. You also may want to share this information with family members and friends who are at risk for prostate cancer.

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Insufficient Vitamin D Levels Related to More Aggressive Prostate Cancers

We have written about the importance of maintaining proper levels of vitamin D to help prevent prostate cancer or a prostate cancer recurrence. Recently Northwestern University conducted a study to determine the association between insufficient vitamin D levels and aggressive prostate cancer (J Clin. Oncol. 2016 Feb 22).

The study involved 1,760 men, 190 of whom had undergone radical prostatectomies. Blood samples collected prior to surgery were analyzed for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Eighty-seven of the men had indications of aggressive disease at the time of their surgeries. Insufficient vitamin D levels (less than 30 ng/mL) were associated with a 2.64 times greater risk of adverse pathology compared with higher levels of the vitamin.

Doctors consider the optimal vitamin D level to be 50 – 70 ng/ml, and in some cases when treating certain cancers or heart disease, as high as 70 – 100 ng/mL.

As we have reported in the past, not all vitamins and supplements are absorbed by the body equally. You should always buy high quality brands and discuss their use with your physician.

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More Evidence That Aspirin Helps Prevent Cancer

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco identified a new mechanism by which aspirin could fight inflammation and cancer. The study was published in eLife (May 31, 2016) and was reported in Life Extension Magazine.

Researchers discovered that salicylic acid, a major compound in aspirin and diflunisal, an analgesic that’s derived from salicylic acid, suppresses two key proteins that control inflammation, cell growth and cancer.

“Salicylic acid is one of the oldest drugs on the planet, dating back to the Egyptians and the Greeks, but we’re still discovering new things about it,” said senior author Eric Verdin, MD.

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Slash Risk of Prostate Cancer by 35 Percent

Ditching meat could dramatically cut your odds of developing cancer by more than a third. Scientists at Loma Linda University analyzed the diets of 26,000 men including meat-eaters, pescatarians and vegans. They learned that adopting a vegan diet—consuming no meat, dairy, and eggs—can slash your likelihood of developing prostate cancer by a whopping 35 percent.

Dr Panagiota Mitrou, director of research funding at World Cancer Research Fund, said, “This exciting research has, for the first time, helped fill some vital gaps in our knowledge about eating patterns and the prevention of prostate cancer and could pave the way for future research. Although these results are exciting, more studies are needed to demonstrate the strength of the link between a vegan diet and reducing the risk of prostate cancer.”

Professor Gary Fraser, study researcher at Loma Linda University, added, “This new research makes a significant step in linking a vegan diet to reduced prostate cancer risk. What we now need is more research into this area to determine to the extent a vegan diet could reduce the number of men developing this cancer.”

Learn more.

BOB Member and Wife Treated with Protons at the Same Time

“Bob Marckini’s book and my experience at Loma Linda University Cancer Center changed my life and the life of my wife, Glenis, forever,” said BOB member, James Pennington (Towanda, KS).  

James discovered Bob’s book, You Can Beat Prostate Cancer: And You Don’t Need Surgery To Do It, online during intensive research after receiving his prostate cancer diagnosis in 2011. “Bob’s engineer’s approach and complete explanations convinced me to go to LLUCC for a consultation. While there, I made my decision—proton therapy was the best treatment option for me.”

During treatment, James learned how to choose healthful foods; how to cook; and how to exercise to maintain optimal health. Incidentally, he also learned about clinical trials going on at the hospital. In particular, there was a proton therapy clinical trial for breast cancer. Shortly after his prostate cancer diagnosis, James’ wife, Glenis, was diagnosed with breast cancer. On the last day of James’ 45 proton treatments, Glenis began the first of 10 proton treatments for breast cancer.

“After Glenis’ treatment ended, we flew home on Thanksgiving day,” James told us. “Our holiday dinner was a tuna sandwich.”  But that didn’t matter to James, “Thanks to Bob Marckini and LLUCC, five years later, we seldom think about cancer.”

James and Glenis may be the only couple to receive proton therapy at the same time. And James told us they’ve never looked back.

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Member Feedback

BOB member Dave Vahlsing (Wynnewood, PA) sends copies of the BOB Tales newsletter, every month, to more than 35 friends and acquaintances, including his primary care physician. When forwarding the newsletter to friends, Dave typically writes an introductory note, summarizing the key points of the newsletter, hoping to stimulate interest in opening, clicking through, and reading the entire newsletter.

Here’s the introductory note Dave sent to friends with our February newsletter:

Folks: The attached BOB Tales newsletter addresses the importance of understanding the role of stress on interfering with your immune system’s ability to ward off growth of bad cells. Most of you have been following the amazing development in technology to remove, boost and reinsert your own guardian cells so they can go after cancers. If we can help our system do this with the measures discussed in the most recent newsletter, why not?

As usual, I offer to remove you from my email list that currently gets these newsletters, if they are not helpful to you.

I started my treatment at Loma Linda University Cancer Center on January 17, 2007—10 years ago! Everything is going very well for me. I’m a very fortunate person to have discovered this treatment option and to have enjoyed, yes enjoyed, the service provided by this wonderful institution. Good health to all.  —Dave

We have been producing BOB Tales newsletters monthly for 16 years. There have been important articles that new members have not seen, and others may have forgotten. We are periodically re-running some articles from past newsletters. The following is from May 2003.

Don’t Worry; Be Happy!

I was reading our local newspaper recently and saw an article titled, “Don’t Worry; Be Happy.”  The subtitle was: “Sunny people have brighter outlook, stay healthier.” It was about achieving a balance among the physical, emotional, and spiritual elements in your life. If you can do that, chances are excellent that your physical health will improve right along with your emotional well-being. 

Happiness isn’t just a touchy-feely concept—it’s being studied by health experts worldwide for its possible link to better physical health. Later in the article the reporter commented that this study was based on work under way at the University of California at Irvine and, you guessed it, Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The article also noted that the study involved showing people a one-hour humorous video and then observed a decrease in production of stress hormones that could last 12 to 24 hours. That explains some of the jokes, poems, songs, and antics from our friends Gerry Troy and Dr. Lynn Martell at the Wednesday night support group meetings. 

So, don’t worry, be happy!

Loma Linda Comes to You: Dayton, OH

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BOB Reunion: Portland, OR

Thursday, May 25, 2017: Golf and dinner. More information will follow in the May issue of BOB Tales.

$74,000 to Marckini Chair in December

In December, 48 BOB members made gifts to the Robert J. Marckini Chair for Proton Therapy Research at Loma Linda University Cancer Center. The average gift amount was $1,540 and the total was $73,931.

“Nothing makes me happier than to see gifts being made to the chair bearing my name,” Bob said. “When I think of all the important proton research projects needing funding, it warms my heart to see these contributions coming in.”

The Robert J. Marckini Endowed Chair for Proton Therapy Research, an outgrowth of the BOB Chair Fund, was established in 2013 through a generous gift from BOB member, Chuck Kubicki. Since that time, members have regularly contributed to the chair, often in honor of Bob Marckini or care givers at LLUCC. The chair is approaching $3 million and is helping to fund proton research at Loma Linda University Cancer Center.

Bob wants to convey his heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed, and wants to encourage our members to remember the Marckini Chair and Vision 2020 in your charitable giving and estate planning.

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How to Contribute to Proton Research

• Donate Online: Visit the LLUCC website. Make sure the “Designation Type” is set to “Proton” and the “Designation” is set to “Robert J. Marckini Chair."
   
• Send a Check: Make your check out to “LLUCC Proton” with “Marckini Chair” on the memo line and send to: LLUH, Office of Philanthropy, P.O. Box 2000, Loma Linda, CA 92354.
   
• Make a Call: Contribute by phone. Contact Elvia DeHaro at 909-558-5010
   
• Make a Future Gift: Contact Todd Mekelburg at the Office of Planned Giving at Loma Linda University Health at 909-558-5376 or legacy@llu.edu.
   
• Other Ways to Give: Contact Matt Miller at the Office of Philanthropy at Loma Linda University Health at 909-558-3582 or matmiller@llu.edu.

Regular Dental Cleanings Lower Pneumonia Risk

Odd as it seems, it’s true, according to Michelle Doll, MD, MPH, assistant professor and associate hospital epidemiologist in the department of internal medicine, division of infectious diseases, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

In a study of more than 26,000 people, those who did not go to the dentist were 86 percent more likely to get bacterial pneumonia than those who had dental checkups twice a year. Regular dental cleanings reduce levels of bacteria that cause lung infection.

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The Dirtiest Spot on an Airplane: NOT the Toilet!

A microbiologist hired by Travelmath came up with the following dirtiest places on an airplane:

It’s always a good idea to travel with disinfecting wipes and to wipe-down your seat, tray table, overhead air vent, seatbelt buckle, etc. 

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Series: “Make Vegetables Taste Good”

This is the eighth segment on a subject that’s consistent with our Anticancer series that began in October 2016. Deb Hickey made it her mission to find recipes that make the most healthful vegetables taste delicious. She also learned that some vegetables fight specific health issues while others interact with each other to become “super” foods that target specific cancers.

We hadn’t received much feedback on this series, so last month we asked readers to let us know if they find this section valuable. Not only were we overwhelmed with emails asking us to continue the series; several of you sent recipes and some emailed tips and tricks for cooking healthfully. Thank you! We will continue posting vegetable-based recipes and invite readers to send us their recipes.

Black Bean Brownies

The following recipe was sent in by a BOB member last month. He told us, “Finding good vegetarian recipes isn’t easy,” (especially when it comes to dessert!) and attached a few that he and his wife have enjoyed. The following is from the Food Network.

Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x9-inch square baking pan. In a blender, puree the beans with oil. Add eggs, cocoa, sugar, coffee, and vanilla. Melt half the chocolate chips and add to blender. Blend on medium-high until smooth. In small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to blender and pulse until incorporated. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Pour into pan. Bake about 20 minutes (surface should look somewhat matte around edges and shiny in the middle). Let cool 15 minutes and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Amazon: Surge in Reviews after Last Month’s Newsletter—Thank You!

Last month, we reported that Amazon reviews for Dr. Patrick Walsh’s book, Surviving Prostate Cancer, had doubled (to 467) in one week. For years, Bob Marckini’s book, You Can Beat Prostate Cancer, had more reviews than any other prostate cancer-related book in the top 50 Amazon search results. We are not sure how the number of reviews for Dr. Walsh’s book jumped so dramatically; we suspect there was something strange going on.

Last month, we asked our members (and other newsletter readers) who have read Bob Marckini’s book—even if they had read it years ago—to post a review on Amazon as we need them now more than ever. As a result, there were a record number of reviews posted last month (total is now 302). Thank you!

Please keep them coming! Post a review today. Below are excerpts from recent reviews:

This is a ‘must read’ book.

… I decided to buy this book based on the title … I am in the process of making arrangements to go to Loma Linda for a consultation, as this facility has been online the longest, since 1990, despite my living across the country in VA. Even though the book was written 10 years ago, the information in it is still valid… —George Gilmer, 2/22/17

Save Your Life—Read This Book

I read this book 10 years ago … It clearly and logically presents evidence about alternative treatment options that enables the reader to see the benefit of proton therapy … I used what I learned from the author, who is also a cancer survivor, and have remained cancer free with no adverse side effects. —AFK/MCK, 2/17/17

Proton Therapy—the real 'GOLD STANDARD'

7 years ago I had a PSA of 18 and was a Gleason 7. I was told by three different doctors there were options but the “gold standard” was surgery, preferably robotic … a friend told me about his son-in-law’s successful proton treatment at Loma Linda University in southern California. I called him  … after a glowing endorsement he , in turn, gave me another man’s number to call. He also gave a similar success story and told me to read Bob Marckini’s book … I made the decision and it was one of the best of my life. It truly was like a weight lifted from my heart and shoulders … Side effects from radiation? ABSOLUTELY NONE! No incontinency, no impotency, no more cancer! —Bruce Helm, 2/17/17