Prostate Cancer Awareness Month: Finding the best prostate cancer care at Valley View's Calaway-Young Cancer Center

The day before Paul Creeden of Fruita, Colo., was to celebrate his 66th birthday, he found himself in a chair at a doctor’s office where he was told he had prostate cancer. After receiving the diagnosis, Dr. Paul Maroni at CU Anschutz Urological Oncology referred Paul to Dr. Peter Rossi, board-certified radiation oncologist at Valley View’s Calaway-Young Cancer Center in Glenwood Springs.
 

“He told me Dr. Rossi was the very best, the top radiation oncologist in Colorado,” says Paul. Dr Rossi quickly set up a PSMA PET scan for Paul at Valley View. “That’s when the ball really started to roll and sent me on the path to getting my cancer addressed.”

Paul and his wife, Renee, met with Dr. Rossi and reviewed the biopsy, MRI and PSMA PET scan confirming Paul had Stage 4-A prostate cancer, which had spread to the pelvic lymph nodes. Dr. Maroni and Dr. Rossi consulted after the PSMA PET scan, helping to clarify the best course of treatment for Paul’s case. 
 

Dr. Rossi immediately started Paul on 12 months of androgen deprivation therapy. During that time Paul was also treated with image-guided, intensity-modulated External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT). He finished with high-dose brachytherapy (HDR), which involves inserting thin tubes into the prostate gland where radiation is passed down the tubes and into the prostate to destroy cancer cells. The source of radiation is then removed, so no radiation is left in the body. 

Paul commended the entire radiation oncology staff, from scheduling through treatment, for delivering outstanding care. “My nurses, doctors and the EBRT team were so kind and compassionate, and worked their hardest to give me the best chance for a positive treatment outcome,” he said. “It felt great to get such outstanding care close to home.”

Today Paul’s program continues with blood tests for the next five years. In March of this year blood tests had an undetectable level of PSA. 
 

“While there is no telling what the future holds, we are certainly off to a good start, he says.” I have great confidence that we picked the right place, the right doctor and treatment,” says Paul.

“I feel so fortunate to have Dr. Rossi as my radiation oncologist,” he says. “His knowledge level and the way he relates to patients is extraordinary. He knows more than anybody, but can still relate the issues right to the patient level. Dr. Rossi is an outstanding physician. Truly the absolute best there is.” 
 

For more information on Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, visit www.cancer.org. For learn about  prostate and prostate cancer treatments at Valley View, visit Rocky Mountain Urology at vvh.org/urology and Calaway-Young Cancer Center at vvh.org/calaway-young-cancer-center.