Prostate cancer survivor
Dr Tom Johnson adopted a salad-rich holistic diet
after his diagnosis
Photo credit: Kaz Novak,
The Hamilton Spectator |
When a Burlington, Ontario, doctor
discovered he had prostate cancer, he went in search
of the best medical care money could buy. His search
took him to the United States and cost him $100,000,
but balanced against his chances of survival if he'd
stayed in Canada, it was an easy decision.
Dr Tom Johnson, 54, an FP at Halton
Family Health Care, was healthy and fit, despite his
gruelling 75-hour work week. When he was diagnosed with
prostate cancer last April, he had reason to be concerned.
His test results put him in the
high risk category. Normal prostate specific antigen
(PSA) results for prostate cancer are between zero and
four, with 20 considered high. Dr Johnson's was 49.
If he combined his PSA with other
scores, including another test that showed nine out
of 10 of his biopsies were positive for cancer, he had
less than a 5% chance of a cure.
"I thought, oh my God, I'm going
to die," said Dr Johnson, who's married with four children.
"I saw the word death written across my face."
After consulting a urologist, he
was told the only option was to have surgery to have
his prostate removed. He started taking goserelin, a
hormone treatment that blocks the testosterone that
feeds the cancer and was booked for surgery at Princess
Margaret Hospital in Toronto in mid-May.
FORK
IN THE ROAD
While waiting for surgery, Dr Johnson read a book called
Prostate Cancer — A Survival Guide. It mentioned
a centre in Sarasota, FL, called the Dattoli Clinic.
It was a fork in the road and the
first of many eye-opening discoveries he happened across
in his cancer journey.
The clinic treats high-risk prostate
cancer patients by using an external beam radiation
followed by brachytherapy or seed implants. The treatment
involves the implantation of small titanium radioactive
'seeds' into the tumour. As the seeds release radiation,
the tumour shrinks and dies. Unlike surgery, the procedure
did not carry a high risk of erectile dysfunction and
urinary incontinence.
Dr Johnson was impressed with the
clinic's 15-year longitudinal study, which showed a
71% survival rate among high-risk patients. "When I
saw that, I flipped through the roof," he said. "Medically
it all made sense to me and they had studies to show
their success rate."
He knew similar procedures were
being done at Princess Margaret, but was surprised to
discover they were only performed together on low-risk
patients.
OHIP refused to cover the costs
on the grounds that the same procedure was available
in Canada, a point Dr Johnson refuted, but decided not
to fight because of the "emotional wear and tear."
He estimates the trip cost around
$100,000, with $25,000 of that for hotel and living
costs. "I needed to put my energy into fighting the
cancer," said Dr Johnson.
HOLISTIC
JOURNEY
Fighting the cancer took him into another arena. He'd
had many chats with his daughter, Kelly, about healthy
eating as she was a recent graduate of the Institute
for Holistic Nutrition in Toronto. He decided to fight
his cancer through healthier eating and set up a meeting
with holistic nutritionist Darko Prce. Within a week,
Dr Johnson was on a strict diet that eliminated dairy,
wheat and sugar from his meals. His daily eating regimen
now includes two salads topped with turmeric and freshly
chopped garlic and onion.
Once back from his two months of
treatments in Florida, Johnson made more changes in
his life. He cut back his work week to 35 hours and
cut out night hours.
Perhaps most important, says Dr
Johnson, is that he changed his attitude about life.
"I was grateful to be alive," he said, adding the experience
brought him closer to his family.
His cancer journey also taught
him that people need to be their own advocates for cancer
care. He tries to pass along to others something he
read in seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's
book on surviving testicular cancer: Find the best cancer
doctor you can and do everything he or she says.
"It was one of the most inspirational
things I read and I hung onto it," said Dr Johnson.
"And I would add to that to find the best holistic nutritionist
you can and do everything they say."
Reprinted with permission of
The Hamilton Spectator
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