Professor Gerald Haslam

“I’d always planned to retire at 60, just not under these circumstances.”
 Diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 60

When author and professor Gerald Haslam retired after 30 years at California State University, life wasn’t what he expected. Just months after undergoing prostate surgery and radiation treatment, the news from one of his follow-up visits was devastating: his PSA level was on the rise.  His physician feared that his cancer had returned and referred him to the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a leading cancer center and one of eight members of the Prostate Cancer Foundation Therapy Consortium.  Dr. Eric Small, an oncologist, enrolled Mr. Haslam in a PCF-funded clinical trial of an innovative form of immunotherapy that stimulates the body’s immune system to eradicate prostate cancer cells.  Immunotherapy is similar in theory to receiving a vaccine or flu shot. Compared to other treatments for prostate cancer, immunotherapy has proven to be relatively nontoxic.

"I'd always planned to retire at 60," Professor Haslam says, "just not under these circumstances. I was always an athlete and still considered myself young and alive."

"The best patient care always comes from integrating the most innovative and novel therapeutics with a vigorous research program," says Dr. Small.  "Without the PCF’s financial support of UCSF’s immunotherapy research, Mr. Haslam's treatment options would have been limited.  Our participation in the Prostate Cancer Foundation Therapy Consortium has helped transform us into a top-tier cancer center. We strengthened our research infrastructure to complement the expertise we already had."

Dr. Small's colleague, urologist Peter Carroll, agrees.  "The PCF gave us not only the impetus, but the guidance to become better.  As a result, we have been able to help many more patients with high-risk prostate cancer."

Today, Mr. Haslam's PSA is down to an acceptable level.  He continues his fight against prostate cancer and expects to enter another clinical trial involving the hereditary factors of the disease.  Because his family has a history of prostate cancer, he and his three sons are also participating in a PCF – funded study of familial predisposition for prostate cancer.  

"When I do die, my death will have been of value in the long-term struggle. And if something I experience helps my sons down the road, that's a wonderful gift.  Hope in any form is priceless," says Mr. Haslam.