My name is Jerry Boyd and I’m from Patton, Missouri. I have been an ACS volunteer for about 25 years, including team member, ACSCAN member, and Logistics chair.
I lost my first wife to Adrenal Carcinoma in 2004 shortly after her retirement giving me caregiver experience also. I am currently a member of the leadership team of the Madison/Iron counties Relay For Life in Fredericktown, Missouri.
Because of a history of prostate cancer in my paternal family, my PSA count has been a constant watch for the last 20 years. Around the end of July, 2024 PSA level had reached 5+, so at the advisement of my family doctor, I was referred to a Urologist. At his advisement, I decided to forego other tests available and have a biopsy done. The biopsy revealed 2 low risk cancer cell samples, one intermediate risk cancer cell sample, and one area of pre-cancer cells. This was the result of 12 samples. Because of my age and other health concerns, I was advised to take radiation therapy instead of prostate removal. The gold chips were implanted into prostate later in 2024 to direct the radiation. After taking an earlier scheduled cruise in early January, I began 9 weeks of radiation therapy that last week of January 2025. The last day of radiation was March 27, and am now waiting the 6 week PSA test to reveal the result. Because of early PSA testing and early diagnosis, I did not require hormone therapy or other treatment.
My goal as VOH is to stress early screenings, to inform people of resources available from ACS , and to lobby legislators to continue to support funding for further research and increased resources from ACS.ORG and 800-ACS-2345.