Father and Entrepreneur Crosses Finish Line After Prostate Cancer Treatment

Sylvester Brings Innovative Radiation Technology to UHealth SoLé Mia

A busy father and entrepreneur, Derek Francis never imagined he would hear the words prostate cancer in his early 40’s.

“Are you serious? There has to be something wrong,” Derek says.

Derek worried about how treatment would affect his active lifestyle. He met with Matthew Abramowitz, M.D., radiation oncologist at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System.

“Prostate cancer incidence increases with age, so the older a man becomes, the higher the frequency or the risk. Derek is interesting, because he’s on the younger side of men who have had to deal with this,” says Dr. Abramowitz. “There are certainly high-risk groups, people with family history, certain BRCA gene mutations, and certain ethnic populations, black men in particular, who are more likely to develop it at younger ages.”

Derek had his prostate cancer treatment at UHealth SoLé Mia where Sylvester brings its most innovative therapies and state-of-the-art technology to patients.

“So, when radiation is a treatment that’s given over a month or two, minimizing the patient burden of having to go back and forth to a treatment center… it makes it much easier for them to go through it,” Dr. Abramowitz says.

Sylvester offers theranostics – a powerful tool in the treatment of metastatic and recurrent prostate cancer.

“We use that to diagnose and stage, but what if we switch out that imaging isotope and put in an isotope that kills cancer, something that delivers radiation directly to the cancer cells still, sticking to that same receptor? So, now you have a platform that can both image, diagnose, and treat,” says Dr. Abramowitz.

Derek had a prostatectomy followed by radiation and hormonal therapy.

“January 25th, I ran the Miami Marathon. Even after going through the surgery and radiation and all these things, my quality of life has not suffered. I’m still doing everything the same, and I feel phenomenal,” Derek says.

Derek hasn’t slowed down and encourages all men to get checked. He’s now focused on his future.

“I’m looking forward to it. Life is just beginning for me again,” Derek says. “Don’t wait, make it a part of a routine checkup. It’s just blood work. It’s something very simple, and you can really gain a lot.”

Video transcript compiled by Janna Ross for ‘Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine,’ a series of healthcare-related stories airing regularly on ABC-Miami Channel 18.  For more stories like this one, visit UHealth’s YouTube channel.

Tags: Dr. Matthew Abramowitz, focusing on you, PSA, radiation oncologist, theranostics