Ladislav
With exaggeration one could say that Mr Ladislav is the prototype of the ideal patient. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he himself was actively interested in various possibilities how he could cure his diagnosis as gently as possible. A careful search of resources on the internet eventually led him to the Proton Centre in Prague. The more shocking the discovery of his cancer was for the patient, the smoother the whole proton treatment process in his case eventually went.
It never occurred to Mr Ladislav that a preventive blood test at the urologist’s could end in an uncompromising finding that showed an elevated PSA marker – one of the basic indicators of suspected prostate cancer. A follow-up examination and a new blood test confirmed the elevated PSA value. “It was a really unpleasant surprise for me. When I heard the word cancer in the office, I was terrified. In the end, the doctor decided to take targeted samples from the prostate, which were biopsied, and unfortunately 2 out of 12 samples turned out to be positive,” says Mr Ladislav. After the biopsy, he had to undergo a series of diagnostic tests – MRI, CT scan and bone scan, after which the urologist presented the patient with a fairly clearly defined choice that offered two options: photon irradiation or surgical removal of the prostate tumour.
“Since I am a heart surgery survivor and had a triple bypass, surgery was not an option for me from the beginning. On the other hand, I didn’t want to undergo photon irradiation either, where there was a risk of affecting healthy tissue. So we sat down at home and started to search for the maximum information available about the treatment options. The internet eventually led us to the Proton Centre. I have to say that I liked the PTC from the beginning – especially the fact that proton therapy targets only the tumor, leaving the healthy parts of the body completely out of reach of the proton beam. I therefore approached my urologist about the possibility of proton radiotherapy treatment, who told me that I would have to arrange the proton radiotherapy myself. However, if everything can be arranged, he will give me the necessary medical documentation to start the proton treatment,” says the patient, describing the steps that made the proton beam treatment possible. According to Mr Ladislav, the treatment was arranged relatively quickly. “From the very beginning, I was accompanied by a number of very helpful and kind people at the Proton Centre, who made the treatment negotiations very easy. Almost immediately I was assigned a treatment coordinator who helped me with the administrative steps of the whole process. In my eyes, this was truly a cut above the rest in terms of the human approach to patients.”
Mr Ladislav underwent 5 irradiation fractions which were very effective. Already at the first check-up after the last radiation treatment, the PSA marker value dropped to the very minimum, which, according to Mr. Ladislav’s words, surprised even his attending physician very pleasantly.
“From the beginning, I was not indifferent to how I would be treated for cancer and today I am therefore extremely happy that I was able to find the Proton Centre. I was happy with the treatment in every way – from the environment, the staff and the simple fact that I experienced no pain during the radiation. In the end, I also did not experience any side effects or other complications during the treatment. I also really liked the flexibility with which the centre accommodated me in scheduling post-treatment follow-ups – I live about an hour by train from Prague, but as a cancer patient I did not want to take the risk of travelling by public transport too often during the pandemic. Therefore, I very much welcomed the opportunity to consult the development of my health condition with the doctor by phone. I simply like the Proton Centre,” Mr Ladislav concludes his story.