Prostate Cancer Doc - REPOST

Kegan

Kegan

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Alright folks, normally I don't do cross-forum posts, but this time I need an answer a little faster, so I thought I would post where there's a little more traffic. Hope you guys don't mind.

My dad, unfortunately was diagnosed with prostate cancer approximately 3 weeks ago. At first, utter shock took over and then tons of research began. I tried to find everything I could find in regards to information, from treatments to different stages of the cancer.

Admittedly, I still don't know as much as I'd like on the subject, but I'm learning more each day.

Now, through both my mother's, as well as my own research, we came upon a fairly new procedure called HiFu. It's not incredibly new or anything, but its new to North America and not recommended by urologists or anything (they still prefer the removal of the prostate or radiation methods, strictly because its been PROVEN effective and has been around longer). Its getting good reviews and has been used in Europe and other parts of the world for about ten years now.

I guess what I've learned through this experience thus far is that things really can happen to any and everyone - crazy, harmful, unexpected illnesses can just pop out of nowhere. I never even thought of prostate cancer...granted, I haven't hit 40 or anywhere close to that yet, but it still hadn't ever crossed my mind once before.

I was also considering making a documentary, but wasn't sure what to do it on. Then it hit me - why not do it on something thats directly affecting my family and I right now? Prostate cancer is the slowest growing cancer and yes, most men live their full lives, dying WITH prostate cancer as opposed to FROM it...but there are the unfortunate few that don't survive because they didn't catch it early enough.

My dad was fortunate enough to catch it in Stage 2 (T2A to be exact) and for those of you who don't know, it means that 50% or less of one out of the two lobes is what the tumor is occupying. Its good news, though the Gleason score (the aggressiveness of the cancer) is a little high (8/10).

The odds are most definitely in his favour and I want to document his journey from start to finish, to promote awareness for prostate cancer as very many men are infected and don't bother to have prostate exams done to check for cancer.

I guess after giving you all a little background on the reason why I want to do this documentary, I'll get on with my questions...

I'm obviously going to want to interview the doctor thats meeting with my father with this new HiFu procedure. I don't want to interfere with the process of things, as my main goal is him getting better...but I do want to get a quick interview from the surgeon. Is there a way of going about this? Should I contact the doctor after the appointment is made, myself or should I ask my father to speak with the doctor, requesting permission?

Also, I'm trying to figure out some questions to ask my dad specifically, in order to get the awareness out there and he's all for it...but I'm not sure of what to ask, or what he should say. Any ideas?

If my dad is an eligible candidate for this procedure and I'd like to document it, how would I go about getting permission to do so? It would be PROMOTING it, more than anything but I'd still like to know what the formal way to go about it would be.

Now, time is of the essence here and I'm going to need to move quickly as his appointments start next week if I want to get the ball rolling.

Any help is much appreciated, as is the time of those reading this post.

Thanks a lot,

Kegan
 
My father died of prostate cancer on 1/1/2000. It's a cause close to my heart. I will be following this thread with interest. I wish you the best of luck and if there's anything I can do along the way I'll be happy to do it.
 
Thanks a lot Blaine - being someone who has been directly affected by prostate cancer, I would love to interview you. I know I'll be able to get a few people in Toronto and the surrounding area as well, but maybe a trip to the States, (provided I gather enough reason for the doc) wouldn't been such a bad idea.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and I sincerely hope that things go differently with my father.

-Kegan
 
Kegan,

I hold your father in my prayers. I believe that it is essential that the doctors' instructions be followed. I hope you have your father with you for a long time.

Blaine
 
I work in cancer research, specifically Urology. Specializing in prostate cancer.
I have personally sat in on many RP* surgeries myself. (*Radical Prostatectomy)

I also plan on filming some RP's in the not so distant future.

Your father's Clinical stage is a T2a.
(I'm assuming that the stage you gave us was the Clinical Stage.)

Most Clinical Stages are a T1c from my experience. A T2a is usually given if something is felt during the digital rectal exam or seen in some form of diagnostic test. That suggests to me that surgery is something he should definitely consider. if the cancer is extending beyond the capsule then action should be taken soon. Has he had an MRI?

Most men can go on to lead a normal life following a RP. Especially due to potency enhancing prescriptions that are available today. Continence usually bounces back with Kegel exercises.

"Watchful Waiting" as you hinted to above is usually for low grade cancers in patients who will probably die of old age longer before the cancer gets out of control. No need to put them through surgery. Somehow I don't think your Dad is quite that old. How old is he?

Radiation treatment following a RP is also fairly rare, as long as the Cancer isn't out of hand by the time surgery takes place. At least it's rare in our Urology Department.

We have some of the best Surgeons in the Country. Most of the senior staff were Resident's at MSK. (Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.)
One of the best Cancer Centers in the world.

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, but this is a very treatable disease!
I lost my Dad to cancer a long time ago.

Any questions, just PM me.

Mike
 
Thanks a lot for that post! Much appreciated. Yes, my father's stage is T2A. He's 63 years old, will be 64 in 2008...I know that "watchful waiting"isn't an option for him, nor is seed therapy. Radiaton and Radical Prostatectomy are his options that the urologist gave him. He went for a bone scan today as far as I know.

I'd be interested in what I could do to promote awareness on the Radical Prostatectomy procedure - I know its tried and true, but are options developing that may be better?

Thanks again Mike and I'll shoot you a PM as soon as I get home from work,

Kegan
 
New therapies are always on the horizon. Of course, Laparoscopic surgery is even less invasive than a standard RP. Is that an option for him at that hospital?

He's getting the bone scan because of the T2a Stage. There must be a lump, they probably just want to be sure that it hasn't spread beyond the capsule.

Pretty standard procedure.

PM me an we'll talk further.

Take care,

Mike
 
Just a quick update to this thread:

Kyser and I may be collaborating on this together, depending on if we can work out a way to shoot it, being in different parts of Ontario.

Thanks to those who responded and if anyone else has any ideas on how to get some support/funding or even testimonials, it'd be great if you could let us know.

-Kegan
 
Another update here:

I've been speaking with a producer, by the name of Val Mauro and she's going to be helping me with the proposal and speaking with a few other documentary production companies, here in Toronto.

In regards to getting my message across, I want the documentary to tug at the viewers' heartstrings. I want it to show the emotional and often, last thought of spiritual part of having a person in your life affected with prostate cancer or any sort of disease.

I'm looking for it to be a one hour special, but unsure of how to get the story laid out for the proposal. I'm considering focusing on three newly diagnosed cancer patients, but thats about all I've got. Any ideas to implement family/friend's views or to create a more heartfelt story?

Thanks everyone,

Kegan

EDITED TO ADD: I'll be interviewing my dad for possible footage inclusion, or if nothing else - my own personal reasoning for starting the whole thing. Sort of a constant reminder as to why I need to stay dedicated to the cause. Plus, it'd be great BTS for the DVD when I'm finished.
 
I'm not much help to what your looking for, or have the answers you want. Though I just thought I'd give my best wishes to you and your family. I'm sure that every family out there has been affected by Cancer in some form or another so really if you think about it everyones behind you.

All the best,

P.S - As Como says below, alot can happen in 6 months.. my grandad was a fantastic example. More, Quicker check-ups than once every 6 months or 12, does make a difference.
 
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I heard on the news this morning that a man died of Prostate cancer, and they were saying to us that we have to go get check ups more often and make sure we're healthy and ok. It was exactly the idea you're doing here Kegan, getting the message out there really helps, and can make a huge difference.

Dvxuser,

A fellow friend of mine Rob Dyer, skateboarded from LA to Toronto, to raise money for cancer. His mom passed away because of cancer, and he wanted to change the world. One act of random kindness at a time :)

He had a bunch of fans, and a bunch of sponsors.

www.skate4cancer.com

Check it out, and show your support!
 
Thanks a lot Ki-Ki - your kind words are always helpful during times like this.

Thanks Robbie for contributing a post to help Rob out. I should get in contact with him as well. I just got in touch with Mark Dailey from CityTv here in Toronto and he was diagnosed with PC, so he's done a few segments on it.

I'll be contacting him as well, to see if maybe he'd like to get involved. The support that you get, just from reaching out to raise awareness for a subject like this is overwhelmingly incredible. I didn't think I would get this much feedback, this quickly but I'm glad I am.

-Kegan
 
Okay, just an update here - haven't posted in a little while in regards to my doc. I've been speaking with the producer and our pitch is almost complete. She'd like for us to have a comittment letter from a "name" (a Canadian actor who is well known I suppose).

She says it'll greatly increase our chances of it getting picked up by a network. I mentioned that I had spoken to Mark Dailey but I haven't communicated much with him since. I'll try him again later today, but until then I want to consider other options as well. She suggested Allan Thicke and Paul Gross and asked if I had any other ideas.

To be perfectly honest, I have no way of communicating with actors of this calibre and don't even know where to start. It would be much easier if I was able to get a hold of Mark again and get him to do it, but I'm not sure of the procedure to finding/communicating with other actors and asking if they'd like to be apart of it.

She never specifically said I had to communicate with them directly, just suggested that I try to find some other "names". Any advice on what I should do, or who I should contact? We're looking for people more out of Toronto, than in the West...but a lot of Canadian actors have since moved to the States.

Thanks for your help,

Kegan
 
You could try to get in touch with someone like Atom Egoyan. If he gets interested he could probably help in a big way. I believe he owns a bar in Toronto (at least he did when I was at TIFF in 2005) and bases his operations there.
 
Thanks a lot, do you happen to remember what the bar was called? Its Friday night, maybe I can check it out and see what the scene's like there.

-Kegan

EDIT: I found it - its called "Camera". It's a lounge/bar/screening gallery. I sent an email to the "Contact Us" email in the hopes that it'll somehow reach Atom. We'll see what happens with that..now time to keep lookin'!
 
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Camera

It's on Queens Street West. I screened my feature there in 2005 - they have a small screening room in the back. I don't know how often Atom is really there, but if you know what he looks like, keep an eye out for him.

EDIT: didn't see your edit, my bad. Anyway, here's the link for others who are interested in the place...
 
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Another quick update:

I finally got a hold of Mark Dailey and said that he'd be happy to do it. He'll be calling me this week as we have to do it through his agency. Also, he said Gord Martineau of CTV might be interested and he'll be talking to him about it. He briefly mentioned Steve Smith (of The Red Green Show) and said he had prostate cancer and speaks on the topic quite frequently.

After contacting my producer, she said that her brother does Steve Smith's taxes! She'll be calling her brother shortly and seeing if we can setup a meeting with him as well. My producer seems to think we've got a "dream team" of people to speak out on the issue and enough to get picked up by a network.

I'll be meeting with her today to go over the polished pitch and from there setup the meetings with some production companies she has in mind.

Hopefully all goes well,

Kegan
 
Okay, so my producer and I met, talked and revised the pitch. She's going over the budget and is budgeting approx. $750,000 CDN for the one-off (44 minutes, 30 seconds to be exact haha). She suggested I be the director/writer and wants to include me in the proposal (I mean hell, it is my idea haha).

I was just curious as to if you guys know sort of a ballpark figure on what a director/writer makes for something like this. I didn't start out with the intention of making money, but judging from the size of the budget, it sounds like I'll get something decent.

Totally new at this though, any ideas?

Thanks,

Kegan
 
Hmm, I've been reading around and finding out some information which I haven't really discussed with the producer yet. It seems that when someone finds a producer to work with and get an idea produced, they don't make much, if any money. The money goes to the producer for the work put in.

I guess this is something that has to be brought up with her, which I intend to do, but still in general I was curious since we have a fairly decent budget if I should expect anything and around how much.

-Kegan
 
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