Local resident, Bill Ellenberger, was diagnosed with prostate cancer last March.
He was proactive in finding a treatment center for the cancer. He and his wife, Anita, traveled to Loma Linda University Medical Center located in California, since it currently provides proton treatment for prostate cancer.
According to Ellenberger, the protons are designed in such a way to target the area exactly where the cancer is in the body, which is unlike radiation treatment. The protons stop at the treatment area and travel into the cancer cell. The electrons are repelled from the cell and leave the cell. Therefore, the cell cannot divide, so the cancer cell dies.
Ellenberger pursued this kind of treatment because it was less evasive than other forms of cancer treatment.
The average number of proton treatments is 44, and doctors decided that he should have 40 treatments. Each treatment lasted for 1-1 1/2 minutes at a time. Ellenberger finished his treatments on September 10.
Recently, Ellenberger offered an update on his progress to The Daily Herald.
“I just received an update on the results of my recent PSA test,” Ellenberger said. “Prior to my first Proton Treatment on July 12, Loma Linda University Medical Center in the Los Angeles area, I had a PSA test before my first treatment. That PSA test score was 9.2.
“Loma Linda likes to see this score cut in half, four months after my last treatment. An ideal and encouraging score for me would be less than 5.0.
“This morning my family practice doctor, Dr. Tom Mextorf’s office, called to inform me of the result of my PSA test. The score was 1.57. I will now have a PSA test every three months for the next year. Loma Linda would like to continue to see that score go down.
“Anita and I thank God for these exciting results. Thank you for all your thoughts, comments, encouragement and prayers through this process.”
Ellenberger said the main reason he wanted to share his experiences is so that men from this area will get tested annually, and so that individuals also know there are more than the traditional treatments available.
