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Survivors Say - John M. Floyd
Paying it forward
Promise - Fall 2012
John and Cher Floyd
Photo by John Kenyon
Entrepreneur, fitness enthusiast and prostate cancer survivor John M. Floyd of Baytown, Texas, and his wife, Cher, recently contributed $50,000 to MD Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center to support the research of Thomas Pugh, M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology. John, chairman and CEO of John M. Floyd & Associates, explains the couple’s decision to “pay it forward.”
“After a CAT scan last year indicated an enlarged prostate, I scheduled a PSA test. My brother had been diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer, and I knew it was a possibility. The results gave no cause for concern. But new tests during a physical eight months later reported an elevated PSA. After a biopsy and other tests, my wife, Cher, and I learned I had stage II prostate cancer.
We met with an MD Anderson surgeon and radiation oncologist to discuss options. Thanks to Cher’s research, we were familiar with proton therapy. Soon we had an appointment with Dr. Thomas Pugh at the institution’s Proton Therapy Center.
From the beginning, we knew we had made the right choice. Treatment began Feb. 20 of this year and ended April 12. The physicians and staff went out of their way to make my care and our entire experience the best possible. I was able to continue an active role in my company, going in for proton therapy in the mornings so that I could be in the office in the afternoons. I experienced no side effects, and I’ve returned to the hobbies I enjoy most: biking, cruising and traveling with Cher.
We were so pleased that at my ‘graduation’ ― an informal ceremony celebrating the end of treatment ― Cher and I presented a $50,000 check to the Proton Therapy Center in support of Dr. Pugh’s research.
We felt we were paying it forward. Someone else came before us to make this possible ― we wanted to do the same for others.”
Promise invites cancer survivors to share their reflections. Email Promise@mdanderson.org.
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Promise - Fall 2012
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