April 2023 Mayo Visit
The trip is a go! Many of you have already heard about the 11,000 plus mile cycling trip around all the exterior United States that Scott Freitag will be doing to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer and schizophrenia. (www.milesformoney.org). The last hurdle was having a good Mayo check up. Scott's stage 4 prostate cancer, ( metastasis to lymph nodes and bones,) continues to "sleep" which is indeed great news.
As many of you have experienced the cancer journey is filled with ups and downs. We have been battling this disease for over 5 years now, which is a blessing! While at Mayo for his recent tests and treatment Scott again saw Dr. Eugene Kwon, a preeminent urologist and researcher who continues to lead the forefront in new advancements for PC. We took the occasion to ask Dr. Kwon to describe why what Scott is doing is so important. He gave us two reasons ( my apologies to Dr. Kwon if my paraphrasing is not as eloquent as his answers!) :
1) Awareness
In a very tactful, but precise manner Dr. Kwon explained that historically (based on what he has seen from his patients,) men often don't complain, or come forward or talk about it when they don't feel 100 percent. They are often the family provider, and they don't want to appear vulnerable or weak. They also have not been as vocal advocates for prostate cancer advancements, as compared to the visibility of women in breast cancer. Hopefully this is changing as men become more comfortable sharing, but this is one of Scott's missions to raise awareness. This mission is supported by zero prostate cancer, the 501(c)(3) non profit that we have partnered with for miles for money: www.zerocancer.org . We will be seeking to raise awareness about prostate cancer generally, and more specifically encourage men to get their PSA tested - a simple blood test. Hopefully with more testing and early detection an aggressive cancer is caught earlier and some lives are saved. We will do this through sharing Scott's story, as well as other men's stories, who choose to join Scott along the way on this epic journey in person or virtually. Follow this blog, the website and share please! Scott will also be available for talks to share his story as he travels around the exterior United States.
2) Funds
Dr. Kwon pointed out that there are many promising discoveries in technology and innovations in diagnosing and treating prostate cancer, however these developments are not making it into the clinical setting due to the lack of funding. The "theoretical is outpacing the practical " according to Dr. Kwon.
We are grateful to all the doctors Scott has had and most recently Dr. Kwon and his team at Mayo. Scott has had great care - even so he will tell you the treatments could use improvement, especially the Lupron that eliminates all Scott's testosterone. Testosterone feeds the prostate cancer. Having zero testosterone has negative impacts on Scott's life, and men's lives, and eventually the prostate cancer finds a way to feed itself without testosterone and becomes "hormone resistant." New treatments are needed in the clinical setting for men's quality of life and length of life. ( More to come later on the treatments and their affects.)
Scott's mission is to raise awareness and funds, please spread the word! The count down to departure has begun... two months from today the epic trip begins. www.milesformoney.org
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