Treated 2011 · Posted 2011 · Updated 2019
"The news (diagnosis) hit hard—like a ton of bricks. If I knew then what I know now, it would have been much easier to deal with."
I was the picture of health—no cancer in the family. And I was leading a clean "California life style." The last thing I expected to hear from my urologist was, "Bob your test came back positive for prostate cancer. Your PSA is 5.76 and your Gleason score is 4+3 for a total of 7. You have no palpable tumors and your stage is T1c."
I remember I had no idea what any of that meant. It was January 3, 2011. The news hit hard, like a ton of bricks. If I knew then what I know now it would have been much easier to deal with.
Upon the diagnosis, the homework began. My wife and I read everything we could. I read Bob Marckini's book, "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer: And You Don't Need Surgery To Do It" in one day.
Being a very private person, the decision to go public was difficult. But, it was one of the smartest things we did. I sent my biopsies to Johns Hopkins. I spoke with and saw many doctors. We looked at every
option. Finally I spoke with many men who had been treated for the disease. I learned about proton therapy.
Proton kept coming back as a good choice. I made note that all of the men I spoke with who had proton treatment were between happy and ecstatic with their choice. I spoke with men who had been to University of Florida, University of Pennsylvania and Loma Linda University in California for treatment. All were pleased with their results.
The most important thing to me was that my wife and I discuss treatment options together. We did the research. We chose to visit Loma Linda.
We flew to California on February 5th, 2011 to meet with an LLUMC doctor. We intended to fly back home to Philadelphia after the meeting.
But, upon meeting the doctor and seeing and learning about the facility, we absolutely knew we were in the right place. We never when home.
By May 3rd my treatment was finished. The care I received was unbelievable. The decision would have been even easier had I know what the experience would be!
While undergoing treatment, I worked by phone and computer every day. I also hit the Drayson Center gym five days a week. What a blessing that we found Loma Linda and the wonderful people that work there!
On October 4th, my first check-up resulted in a 2.56 PSA.
So my advice is this: Do your homework. Make your own decision. Do not depend on any one doctor or type of doctor to make your decision for you. I know they all think they are right, but many of them do not medically understand ALL your options.
Try not to worry too much. Medical solutions are available. If you choose
LLUMC in California, embrace Dr. Lynn Martel's Wednesday support group meetings.
Robert Crudup
rcrudup@seic.com
Update: November 2019
Robert Crudup here - from the Loma Linda Proton Class of 2011. My status is very healthy with PSA less than 1. This past May marked the eight year mark of my treatment!