Prostate cancer patient Ismo: I have been given extra time for my life
Ismo received his first cancer diagnosis unexpectedly while being healthy and in good shape, when his PSA levels were found to be significantly elevated during a 50-year check-up at occupational health.
– I was completely shocked and panicked when the familiar occupational health nurse revealed that the high PSA level might indicate prostate cancer. Further tests conducted by the doctor soon confirmed the suspicion, Ismo recounts.
Surgery and new concerns
The diseased prostate was completely removed through surgery, and the situation was assumed to be under control.
However, six years after the surgery, PSA levels began to rise again. The situation was monitored with test results every six months until imaging studies revealed the cause of the sharp increase in PSA levels.
– To the surprise of the doctors, a tumor was found in my right kidney, which was not a metastasis of prostate cancer but a completely different type of cancer, Ismo states.
Unexplained pain leads to a new discovery
The kidney cancer was also treated surgically. After recovering from this, Ismo returned to work, and life smiled again. However, a few years later, he began to suffer from unbearable pain in the lower back. The pain was initially treated as sciatica, but it did not ease.
As the situation worsened, imaging studies revealed the harsh truth, a cancerous lesion was found in Ismo’s lower back.
– The doctor stated that the lesion could not be surgically removed due to its difficult location. The risk of paralysis was high. The pain in my lower back and legs was unbearable, and my condition deteriorated to almost incapacitated within a few weeks, Ismo describes his situation at the time.
Hope from Docrates
Access to treatment took time, and in a serious situation, Ismo decided, with the help of his daughter, to seek help from a private cancer hospital to halt the progression of the cancer.
– I had already accumulated two binders full of documents related to my cancer treatments. We sent them by express mail to the oncologist at Docrates for review and to create a treatment plan. The very first hospital visit gave the impression that I could get help here and possibly extend my life, Ismo recalls.
Ismo underwent necessary tests such as a biopsy, which allowed for the creation of a treatment plan. Ismo praises the staff at Docrates, who, according to him, did everything possible to quickly start the demanding targeted radiation treatments and halt the aggressively progressing cancer.
The targeted radiation treatments were successful according to plan, and recovery from the pain and side effects brought by the radiation sessions began.
Living with Cancer
Ismo has been a client at Docrates for seven years, and the treatment relationship continues with periodic follow-up examinations and CT scans. Good and trusting relationships have developed with the healthcare staff during this time.
– At the appointments with the doctors Maigo Riener and Jorma Sormunen, who have treated my cancer, there has always been friendliness, professionalism, and care. Through the coordinating nurse Katri Siltanen, follow-up appointments, imaging, and medications work like a Rolex watch – on time and with high professionalism, Ismo praises.
Ismo now spends his retirement days with his spouse, grandchildren, and friends. With his story, he also wants to remind about the importance of health insurance. He himself did not get insurance due to prostate cancer at the age of 50.
– Over seven years of cancer treatments and follow-up visits to the hospital have cost so much that the plans and dreams I made while healthy have partly remained unfulfilled, but in return, I have gained extra time for my life, he concludes.
Want to book an appointment?
Docrates Cancer Center is a Finnish hospital specializing in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cancer in Helsinki. We offer the opportunity to get to the top cancer professionals quickly without a referral, which also means starting treatments without delay. Please contact us, we’ll be happy to help!
