Patient Stories: Prostate Cancer

Memorial Hermann The Woodlands

James: Enjoying the Active Life
Early diagnosis and treatment key to beating prostate cancer
   

I love to hunt, fish and play golf. Thanks to the cancer specialists at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, I am still able to enjoy all of these activities because I am a prostate cancer survivor.

I was being treated for kidney stones at a local hospital in Humble when my urologist ordered a routine exam of my prostate gland. When test results came back with elevated results, a biopsy was conducted which determined that I had prostate cancer.
   

Just hearing the word 'cancer' scares people. There was no history of it in my family, so the diagnosis surprised and upset me. I kept asking myself, "Why me?"

My physician referred me to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands for treatment. After speaking with the specialists there, as well as with my family, I underwent a treatment called radioactive seed implantation.
   

About 35 tiny, radioactive pellets, or "seeds," were implanted in my prostate to decrease the size of the cancer. I was in and out of the hospital in the same day.

I was told that with this method there was an 85 percent chance the cancer would not come back. That was a small victory for me right from the beginning. Radiation therapy was also used to treat my cancer.

Three years later, I am cancer free. Because of my own success, I was recently able to refer someone else to Memorial Hermann. My daughter's neighbor knew what I had been through while battling prostate cancer. Several months later, he was diagnosed with the disease and he called me to ask where I was treated. I immediately suggested he contact Memorial Hermann The Woodlands.