SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2017
3 B
Us TOO Flor ence
Our Prostate Cancer Journey — Update
B Y G ARY S ANDERS
CANCER SURVIVOR
AND
J OANNA T ROLINGER
The following is part of
a series of true personal sto-
ries about men’s experience
with prostate cancer. These
men tell their stories with the
hope that they will help some-
one else traveling the same
road.
T
his is an update of
my prostate cancer
journey, which was
first published July 14, 2010,
in the Siuslaw News.
First a review: In July 2009,
I was unable to urinate. In the
local emergency room I was
treated for a urinary tract
infection, catheterized and
set up with an appointment
to see Urologist Dr. Tom
Kollmorgen
at
Oregon
Urology Institute (OUI).
Dr. Kollmorgen’s internal-
camera examination revealed
that my urethra was blocked
by an enlarged prostate and I
needed a transurethral resec-
tion of the prostate (TURP),
a.k.a. roto-rooter, to open the
urethra.
Dr. Kollmorgen reached the
prostate by putting an instru-
ment into the end of my penis
and through the urethra. Upon
reaching the prostate, he
removed the tissue that was
blocking the urethra to restore
normal urination. Prostate
tissue removed by the TURP
was analyzed and revealed
Gleason 6 prostate cancer.
My oversized bladder was
impossible to empty com-
pletely, so I was given instruc-
tions on self-catheterization
which I have been doing twice
daily since that time.
A Gleason 6 is considered
non-aggressive,
so
Dr.
Kollmorgen and I decided to
follow a program of Active
Surveillance (AS), meaning
no immediate treatment.
We decided I would have a
digital rectal exam (DRE) and
a Prostate-Specific Antigen
(PSA) blood test every six
months with a biopsy taken
every two years to see if either
my Gleason Score had
changed or my cancer had
spread.
My first biopsy was taken a
year later. Out of 12 samples
taken, only one was found to
have cancer (still Gleason 6).
This result suggested more
AS.
Shortly after the initial can-
cer diagnosis, I began attend-
ing meetings of the Us TOO
Florence Prostate Cancer
Support Group.
Doctors Mehlhaff, Hoff and
McKimmy have all attended
those meetings, sharing their
expertise
and
providing
answers to our personal ques-
tions. They all reassured me
that Dr. Kollmorgen and I
were “right on.”
A Chinese Proverb that Us
TOO International highlights
is: “To know the road ahead,
ask those coming back.”
Having prostate cancer sur-
vivors at the meetings to talk
with was very helpful. There
is nothing like talking with
someone who has “been there
and done that.”
My next biopsy revealed
cancer in 3 of the 12 samples.
The Gleason Score was still
6. Two years later, my biopsy
showed 9 cancerous samples
at Gleason 6. With the cancer
growing at a slow but steady
rate, Dr. Kollmorgen and
I concluded it was time to
take action. This is exactly
what AS is all about — being
very diligent in regular use
of the DRE and PSA testing,
so if any change occurs in
the cancer, there is still time to
have curative treatment.
Unfortunately, my prostate
cancer continued to spread
until treatment was necessary.
Radiation appeared to be
the best option in my case.
Even though we were find-
ing more cancer, we were
relieved that it was still
Gleason 6.
Had Dr. Kollmorgen found
Gleason with a higher number
(7 to 10), that would have
indicated a more aggressive
cancer and called for more
immediate treatment.
At the OUI radiation center
in Springfield, I met with Dr.
Forsythe and received a
Lupron shot (to shrink the
prostate and stop the cancer).
I started radiation therapy
on Jan. 4, 2016, and used the
Friends of Florence Van to get
to my 45 treatments; that serv-
ice is a great gift to all patients
from Florence who need can-
cer treatment in Eugene or
Springfield.
Throughout the whole
process, the Us TOO Florence
meetings have taught me that
prostate cancer doesn’t have
to be frightening if it is caught
at an early stage.
I’ve been told that people
with a cancer diagnosis often
think of nothing else, but with
the support of Joanna, the men
and women who attend Us
TOO Florence meetings and
OUI urologists (namely Drs.
Kollmorgen, Mehlhaff, Hoff
and McKimmy), I have been
allowed to barely think about
cancer and just live my life.
And, with regards to that
prostate cancer, I am doing
great!
M ILITARY H ERITAGE C HRONICLES —
United States Merchant Marines
B Y C AL A PPLEBEE
Special to the Siuslaw News
hen we first started
planning the Oregon
Coast Military
Museum, we made a commit-
ment to honor all eras of mili-
tary heritage and all disci-
plines of military service.
Even though we’re located
adjacent to an airport, we’re
not just an Air Force or avia-
tion museum. And just
W
because Florence enjoys a
U.S. Coast Guard Station (and
hopefully will soon be a
“Coast Guard City”), we’re
not just a Coast Guard or
naval museum.
Despite that commitment,
as we began designing and
creating our initial displays,
we found we had very little to
honor the Merchant Marine
Veterans.
Fortunately, there is a fairly
large contingent of USMM
Veterans in Oregon, including
a chapter of the American
Merchant Marine Veterans
Organization, and in the vein
of their World War II com-
rades, came to our rescue pro-
viding some artifacts and dis-
play items, but just as impor-
tantly, information about the
contributions and sacrifices
the members of the Merchant
Marines made in WWII.
Armed with a better under-
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standing, I started out to
enhance our original nominal
display, at the request of fami-
ly of a recently deceased
Merchant Marine Veteran, in
the hopes of doing more to
honor that heritage. Still wait-
ing for some display items to
arrive, we now have that dis-
play enhanced to present a
more accurate portrayal of the
contributions of these unsung
heroes.
But it wasn’t easy getting
to the real story. I simply
couldn’t grasp out of the vast
research material the year the
USMM was actually estab-
lished, like we had been able
to do for the other five
branches displayed in the
museum. So, I reached out to
a real authority, Dr. Josh
Smith of the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy, and he was
able to confirm that I wasn’t
hallucinating when I couldn’t
determine that date —
because it doesn’t exist.
What I learned was amaz-
ing but, at the same time, was
also somewhat alarming.
Last Resort Players (LRP)
will present Ken Ludwig’s
“Moon Over Buffalo” on
March 17 through 19 and 24 to
26 at Florence Events Center,
715 Quince St.
In the madcap comedy tradi-
tion, the hilarious “Moon Over
Buffalo” centers on George and
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Suite B-3
Florence, OR
997-8114
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States Merchant Marine have
served in both peace time as
well as times of war since the
American Civil War. In
WWII, they received no paid
leave, vacation or other bene-
fits. And unlike Navy sailors,
when their ships went down,
their pay stopped. Mariners
who served in WWII only
received actual “veteran” sta-
tus in 1988, and then only
with limited benefits.
It is often stated they were
the first to go, and the last to
return. And, they received the
highest casualty rate of all
serving veterans during WWII
— 1 in 26 were killed.
Although the veterans of
the United States Merchant
Marine don’t enjoy the status
of an officially recognized
branch like their brethren,
they do enjoy the distinction
of having served a vital role
in the defense of our nation
for a long period of time, and
through a diverse assortment
of challenges and sacrifices.
The veterans of the
Merchant Marine are as much
a part of the fabric of our mil-
itary heritage as all veterans.
Of their contribution to the
war effort, General Dwight D.
Eisenhower commented, “The
officers and men of the
Merchant Marine, by their
devotion to duty in the face of
enemy action, as well as natu-
ral dangers of the sea, have
brought us the tools to finish
the job. Their contribution to
final victory will be long
remembered.”
When the final component
of our new display is in place,
I hope you’ll visit and pay
your respects to this worthy
“non-branch.”
To learn more about the
United States Merchant
Marine, visit www.usmm.org
or www.usmma.edu.
You can learn more about
military heritage in general by
visiting Oregon Coast
Military Museum on
Kingwood Street from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Thursday through
Saturday, or visiting our web-
site at www.oregoncoast
militarymuseum.com.
Fly over the moon with LRP’s ‘Moon Over Buffalo’
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BRADLEY
BERG
While the concept of the
American Merchant Marine
dates back to 1775 similar to
other disciplines of military
service, it never evolved into
an official military branch of
the United States. Leading up
to WWII, mariners were
trained by the U.S. Maritime
Service, (USMS) established
in 1938. They were employed
as civil servants for either
U.S. Coast Guard, Army
Transportation Corps, U.S.
Army Transportation Service
or U.S. Navy, on commercial,
non-naval merchant ships,
even some of foreign registry.
Over time, the USMS has
been largely dissolved and its
duties absorbed into other
Federal entities. During
WWII, the civilian crewmen
and officers of the Merchant
Marine manned the collective
of commercial, non-naval
merchant ships that transport-
ed the military might of the
United States as the “fourth
arm of defense” alongside the
Army, Navy and Marines.
Mariners of the United
Charlotte Hay, played by John
Bachman and Judy Adams, fad-
ing stars of the 1950s. At the
moment, the Hays are playing
two shows in rep in Buffalo,
New York, with five actors.
On the brink of a disastrous
split-up caused by George’s
dalliance with a young ingenue,
they receive word that they
might just have one last shot at
stardom: Frank Capra is coming
to town to see their matinee,
and if he likes what he sees, he
might cast them in his movie
remake of “The Scarlet
Pimpernel.”
Unfortunately for George
and Charlotte, everything that
could go wrong does go
wrong, abetted by a visit from
their daughter’s clueless
fiancé and hilarious uncertain-
ty about which play they are
actually
performing,
caused by
Charlotte’s
deaf
old
stage-man-
ager mother
who hates
every bone
The cast and crew of Last
Resort Players’ “Moon
Over Buffalo”
in George’s body.
Directed
by
Paula
Lindekugel-Willis with Leah
Goodwin as assistant director,
LRP’s strong ensemble cast fea-
tures eight actors in comedic
roles.
Daphne John plays Ethel,
Karylynn
Keppol
plays
Rosalind “Roz” Hay, Victoria
Seitzinger plays Eileen, Grant
Hammond plays Howard, Jim
Wellington plays Paul and
Chuck Knorr plays Richard.
For more information, go to
lastresortplayers.org.
To purchase tickets, visit the
FEC Box Office, call 541-997-
1994 or go to eventcenter.org.