Alright folks, I haven't posted in this part of the forum before, nor have I gotten to look through it as in-depth as I want. I will read more, but maybe I can get some opinions while I do that.

My dad, unfortunately was diagnosed with prostate cancer approximately 3 weeks ago. At first, utter shock took over and then tons of research began. I tried to find everything I could find in regards to information, from treatments to different stages of the cancer.

Admittedly, I still don't know as much as I'd like on the subject, but I'm learning more each day.

Now, through both my mother's, as well as my own research, we came upon a fairly new procedure called HiFu. It's not incredibly new or anything, but its new to North America and not recommended by urologists or anything (they still prefer the removal of the prostate or radiation methods, strictly because its been PROVEN effective and has been around longer). Its getting good reviews and has been used in Europe and other parts of the world for about ten years now.

I guess what I've learned through this experience thus far is that things really can happen to any and everyone - crazy, harmful, unexpected illnesses can just pop out of nowhere. I never even thought of prostate cancer...granted, I haven't hit 40 or anywhere close to that yet, but it still hadn't ever crossed my mind once before.

I was also considering making a documentary, but wasn't sure what to do it on. Then it hit me - why not do it on something thats directly affecting my family and I right now? Prostate cancer is the slowest growing cancer and yes, most men live their full lives, dying WITH prostate cancer as opposed to FROM it...but there are the unfortunate few that don't survive because they didn't catch it early enough.

My dad was fortunate enough to catch it in Stage 2 (T2A to be exact) and for those of you who don't know, it means that 50% or less of one out of the two lobes is what the tumor is occupying. Its good news, though the Gleason score (the aggressiveness of the cancer) is a little high (8/10).

The odds are most definitely in his favour and I want to document his journey from start to finish, to promote awareness for prostate cancer as very many men are infected and don't bother to have prostate exams done to check for cancer.

I guess after giving you all a little background on the reason why I want to do this documentary, I'll get on with my questions...

I'm obviously going to want to interview the doctor thats meeting with my father with this new HiFu procedure. I don't want to interfere with the process of things, as my main goal is him getting better...but I do want to get a quick interview from the surgeon. Is there a way of going about this? Should I contact the doctor after the appointment is made, myself or should I ask my father to speak with the doctor, requesting permission?

Also, I'm trying to figure out some questions to ask my dad specifically, in order to get the awareness out there and he's all for it...but I'm not sure of what to ask, or what he should say. Any ideas?

If my dad is an eligible candidate for this procedure and I'd like to document it, how would I go about getting permission to do so? It would be PROMOTING it, more than anything but I'd still like to know what the formal way to go about it would be.

Now, time is of the essence here and I'm going to need to move quickly as his appointments start next week if I want to get the ball rolling.

Any help is much appreciated, as is the time of those reading this post.

Thanks a lot,

Kegan

Hey Keegan, sorry to hear about your dads illness, though it's good to know he discovered it relatively early on.

Good idea with the documentary. Doing something that is close to your heart will really help your finished product in my opinion.

I'd perhaps get your father to speak to the doctor. If he knows that your father is okay with him discussing all manner of the illess and treatment with you then he may be more inclined to give you his time. I'm sure he will be happy to help you out either way though.

Not too sure about how you'd go about obtaining permission for the procedure and all that. Hopefully someone else can share some advice with you.

Good luck with the documentary, and I sincerely hope your father is better as soon as possible.

Ah, I had forgotten I made this post here. There have been MANY developments since I last posted this, quite some time ago.

I met a producer, who used to work for Discovery channel and cancer had affected her family in various ways. She seemed very interested in helping me out and guided me along what to do, to get my idea off the ground. I came up with a proposal, which she is turning into a draft pitch at the moment and working very hard towards completion.

I sold my DVX100b (what a sad day that was), but if I had any intention of broadcast, HD is the way to go now. I emailed her and she told me not to worry - that when the time came, the budget would allow for camera rentals and things like that. It seems that we will be taking this idea, after fine-tuning to a few different networks and getting funding that way.

As for my father, he is going to be starting a sort of radiation shortly, as the location of the tumor is too dangerous to attempt anything else. Unfortunately, radiation is 4 months long and the hormone treatment that he will undergo, is to take 3 years total. The doctors are fairly certain that this will be just as effective in ridding him of the cancer.

I'm going to be interviewing him as soon as I get a camera again - it's going to be in the BTS section of the DVD, to show what my motivation for starting a project like this was.

Oh, I've found that speaking with various cancer support groups as well as contacting doctors has had both its advantages and disadvantages. Some doctors are willing to talk to you and if nothing else, the cancer support groups are willing to point you in a good direction.

Thanks a lot for your kind words,

Kegan

hey kegan,
all the best for ur documentary, my husband is a radiation physicist working with a cancer center, incase u need any info or help in this field, please feel free to ask. i can drop u my email address if u like.
good luck!

Thanks Sunayana - I'll send you a PM so you can check your inbox for my email.

-Kegan

Another quick update:

I finally got a hold of Mark Dailey and said that he'd be happy to do it. He'll be calling me this week as we have to do it through his agency. Also, he said Gord Martineau of CTV might be interested and he'll be talking to him about it. He briefly mentioned Steve Smith (of The Red Green Show) and said he had prostate cancer and speaks on the topic quite frequently.

After contacting my producer, she said that her brother does Steve Smith's taxes! She'll be calling her brother shortly and seeing if we can setup a meeting with him as well. My producer seems to think we've got a "dream team" of people to speak out on the issue and enough to get picked up by a network.

I'll be meeting with her today to go over the polished pitch and from there setup the meetings with some production companies she has in mind.

Hopefully all goes well,

Kegan