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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 11 A Us TOO Flor ence My Prostate Cancer Journey — An Update The following is part of a series of true personal stories about men’s experience with prostate cancer. These men tell their stories with the hope that they will help someone else traveling the same road. O kay, so the best thing that could have happened to me was having my initial referral for treatment with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) being denied. That sure didn’t make sense at the time, but looking back… B Y B OB H ORNEY CANCER SURVIVOR I had previously scheduled a July 31 MOH surgery with Dr. Jay Park to remove an Infiltrating Basal Cell Carcinoma from below my left eye. Fortunately, with the delay in getting my HBOT approved, my start date at the McKenzie Wound Center was set for Wednesday, Aug. 2. That delay gave me time to complete my surgery with Dr. Park prior to starting the HBOT. Dr. Park then suggested not starting my HBOT treatment until the following week to give his surgery a chance to begin healing. So, on Aug. 7, I headed to Eugene for the start of my pre- scribed 40 HBOT treatments. Dr. McKimmy’s referral to the McKenzie Wound Center stated that up to a third of my bladder showed signs of radiation injury. Of course, the location was the lower third, which included the area where the bladder meets the urethra. That fact is readily noticeable when I go from a sit- ting/reclining position to an upright position, and the bladder contents shift directly to the injured area. Wham-bam-gotta go! In my previous update for August, I referred to HBOT as an “exciting adventure.” I’ll stick with that term because it is my primary hope for regaining my continence (i.e. normal life). First came the necessary edu- cation about this therapy. I will be sealed inside an acrylic cham- ber with an air mask, urinal and small water bottle. Once sealed in the chamber, I will be lowered to 33 feet below sea level (two atmospheres). That “dive” takes about 7 to 8 minutes with a lot of relieving pressure in my ears. Once at my assigned depth, there is no longer a need to clear the ears. At that point, and for the next 90 minutes, I will be breathing 100 percent concentrated oxygen while either watching TV, listen- ing to music, looking around or sleeping. I have chosen to simply snooze the time away. It isn’t just the fact that I am breathing 100 percent oxygen, it is the “concentration” of oxygen that counts. Here’s something to compare: Standing next to the HBOT chamber, the room air oxygen I am breathing is 21 percent. However, being in the chamber pressurized to 33 feet below sea level, I am getting 10 times more oxygen in my blood stream with every breath than at the 21 per- cent room air. That level of con- centrated oxygen is saturating my body with oxygen, so much so that it needs to find places to use it. That is good news for my bladder, because some of that excess oxygen will be used in the generation of new capillaries in my damaged tissue. Those capil- laries will, in turn, lead to trans- porting oxygen to that area and healing the damage done by the radiation 9 years ago. This process doesn’t happen with one or two “dives.” I know it could take up to 20 treatments just to get my body so saturated that the growth of new capillaries begins. For that rea- son, I’ve been told to expect my greatest gains between treat- ments 20 and 40. As of today, Sept. 13, I am in the mid-20s of my treatments. In my particular case, what are we looking for as evidence of healing? With no bleeding to monitor, the short answer is reduced — or hopefully elimination of — my current symptoms, i.e. frequency of urinating and urgency to uri- nate. If those two symptoms disap- pear, I’ll be confident my radia- tion injury has been healed, espe- cially if my bladder is retaining an increased volume of urine before being voided. Terry, my HBOT “Dive Master” (my term), tells me that using HBOT for treatment of my delayed complications from radi- ation therapy is one of the very successful uses of hyperbaric oxygen. I’ll update again in October. Ute were sold from 1940 to 1954. While some research indicates the earlier existence of a 1929 Pontiac Ute, General Motor’s Australian subsidiary, Holden Ltd., entered into the Ute market its their own version in the 1950s. However, they also built 200 Holden Ambulance units in 1942 and 1943 on the Willys Jeep platform for the United States Marine Corps. Jumping a few years into the future, Ford Motor Company of Australia again produced a mili- tary variant of the Falcon Ute in the 1960s. Ironically, it utilized the Jeep CJ drivetrain for the four-wheel drive components. Some research insinuates that the Australian Utes of the 1940s and ’50s were the pre-cursor to the US-market Rancheros and El Caminos in the late 1950s. Unfortunately, both Ford Motor Company of Australia and Holden, Ltd. are scheduled to cease production of passenger cars in 2017 or 2018, which is sad. Back to Barney’s brute. While not a former military Ute, it is a very unique vehicle which is seldom seen in the States. To be sure, it is no longer original as it was built into a high-end custom hot rod in Australia before being shipped stateside in 2001. That build included conver- sion from right-hand drive to conventional (at least to us) left- hand drive, plus many other cus- tom body mods. Instead of the iconic flat-head V8, it now sports a twin-turbo charged small block Chevy 350, which produces roughly 600 hp. What I thought was one of the coolest features is a build-tag on the firewall required in Australia which actually chronicles the major re-build elements of the vehicle. There are only a small hand- full of other Utes in Oregon, so if you see Barney’s rumbling through town on the way to the drive-in, be kind and don’t form a convoy behind him — it truly is a real car. To learn more about military heritage in general, visit the Oregon Coast Military Heritage Museum Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 2145 Kingwood St. in Florence, or visit www.oregon coastmili- tarymuseum.com. from 10A Army during WWII and again in the 1960s. Urban legend says an Australian farmer’s wife sent a letter to Ford Motor Company of Australia in 1933 pleading “My husband and I can’t afford a car and a truck, but we need a car to go to church on Sunday and a truck to take the pigs to market on Monday. Can you help?” The end result was the devel- opment of a new design, called a “coupe utility,” starting produc- tion in 1934. Australians nick- named it a “Ute.” Based on a Ford Model 40 five-window coupe, it was a hybrid that incorporated the bed into the body, and over 20,000 m M erica Biscuits & Gravy! $2 n A LCC opens registration for continuing ed. classes ARKET Registration for the Lane Community College Florence Center’s Continuing Education programming is now open. Classes begin Sept. 26. New courses for the fall term include a watercolor painting series, Viking knit jewelry making, basic quilting, genealogy basics, hula dance, handcraft cards, understanding intuition and chair yoga. This term, there is a special opportunity for Oregon licensed massage therapists to earn up to 16 Continuing Education hours through an introductory course that explores energy medicine. Program favorites, such as courses on how to better use iPads and iPhones, health and fitness and clay, are also avail- able this term. The program’s Outward Ventures — educational and cultural day trips — include tours of the coastal bridges with Judy Fleagle, a behind- the-tank tour of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, a trip to expe- rience the musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” and a visit south to Stillwagon Distillery and the holiday lights at Shore Acres. To register, visit lanecc.edu/ ce. For more information, con- tact Marsha Sills at sillsm@ lanecc.edu or 541-997-8444, ext. 4825. 8ejalÛJaf_`ÛFof]j BEST PRICES ON CIGARETTES & TOBACCO IN TOWN HUGE SELECTION OF BEERS Summer Specials Rolling 18 pack, Summer Specials Rock Star Rock 12oz B I G B A G S cans & 24 oz 2 for $5 2 f for $6 bottles $7.99 Summer Specials + deposit Amp Energy Drinks 2 for $2 Hot Deli! 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