Back in the Saddle
Jack White is enjoying retirement, still living an active life while raising Arabian show horses on his Fresno ranch. But a recent diagnosis of prostate cancer threatened to take that away.
“The minute they tell you have cancer in your body, that’s really bad. That’s a bad word,” White said.
“I didn’t want any down time,” White said. “I didn’t want to be laid up six months to a year.”
The fourth-generation CyberKnife, available at Community Regional Medical Center, allowed White to treat his cancer in just five visits within 10 days. Community Regional was the first in the world to use this generation of the revolutionary robotic surgery system – a knifeless, painless treatment option.
Dr. Douglas Wong, radiation oncologist at California Cancer Center and Community Regional, emphasizes the importance of early detection and treatment.
“All of the options are most available to you if the diagnosis is made in its earliest stages,” Dr. Wong said. “So, the ideal patient would have a diagnosis of prostate cancer detected – even before it’s symptomatic.” …
Dr. Wong convened a multi-disciplinary team that included urologists, surgeons and radiologists to determine White’s best course of action. They agreed that CyberKnife was the right course of treatment.
Less than a week after receiving the green light, White started his treatment in the Charles and Ann Matoian Oncology Unit at Community Regional.
The CyberKnife staff made the procedure as comfortable as possible, he said. White heard the sound of soft music and a running waterfall as the robot maneuvered around the table zapping the tumors.
About an hour later, he was back at his ranch tending to his horses.
White is grateful he discovered this leading-edge treatment. Not only did CyberKnife enable him to continue caring for his horses, but it allowed the Fresno State booster to watch the Bulldogs baseball team make an unprecedented run for the College World Series championship.
“There is no down time. No depression time, as you would have in a normal operation,” White said. “There is nothing. It is like going in the house and lying down and taking a nap for two hours and getting up.”
This story was reported special by David Taub. He can be reached at MedWatchToday@communitymedical.org.