Prostate Cancer Meets The Proton Beam: A Patient's Experience
Fuller Jones is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in mechanical engineering, and more than thirty-five years of experience in the aerospace field. A veteran of more than 140 space vehicle launches, he is a retired NASA engineer whose career spanned almost four decades. Systems analysis reports and launch summaries were the genesis of his writing skills. Later he published an article on the evolution of the Centaur launch vehicle, the first hydrogen powered rocket. After Fuller retired in 1995, he published “The Matthews of Moore,” a comprehensive genealogy work that required ten years of research. “Prostate Cancer Meets The Proton Beam”  draws heavily on that writing, investigative research, and analysis experience.  The shock of cancer diagnosis is numbing, and particularly in the case of prostate cancer, one is forced into a study of the various treatments in order to make an informed decision. When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, Fuller embarked on this journey down the murky and complex path of choosing a prostate cancer treatment. Most men will find this task extremely difficult, frustrating, and confusing, because there are several types of treatment that yield similar “cure rates.” The problem is that there are conflicting opinions, even from experts in the field. There are also many frightening potential side effects such as impotence and incontinence with most of these. This is particularly true with surgery, because prostatectomy is a major operation, and requires a high level of expertise and experience for success.  Proton therapy is not a well-known treatment and is not usually recommended, primarily because there are very few locations in the U. S. that have the expensive and complex equipment that can administer it. In 2008 there were five “centers of excellence” that have the proton beam. In 2009 there will be seven, with many more in the planning stages. The author believes that post-treatment “Quality of Life” during and following treatment should be one of the prime considerations when making the decision for a prostate cancer treatment method. When potential side effects of other treatments are taken into account, Proton Beam Therapy ranks very high as a modality that must be given serious consideration.  Following his successful proton therapy in 2007, Fuller has devoted much of his time to informing newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients about proton beam therapy. This book is one means of doing so.