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Former Mayor Optimistic

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By GEORGE WILKENS gwilkens@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 18, 2009

PLANT CITY - Longtime city commissioner and former mayor Mike Sparkman was scheduled this week for nonsurgical treatment for prostate cancer.

In making the announcement to colleagues at last week's city commission meeting, the 64-year-old Sparkman said he would undergo prostate seeding brachytherapy on Monday.

The technique, which injects tiny radioactive seeds directly into the prostate gland, is an alternative to surgery for early stage prostate cancer. The process typically takes less than an hour and is often performed as a minor outpatient procedure, according to various Internet medical sites.

That is the case with Sparkman. In a conversation following his announcement, Sparkman said 70 seeds would be injected during the procedure, which was to be performed early Monday at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.

The schedule called for Sparkman to be released by noon.

Based on a prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test, followed by a biopsy, Sparkman was diagnosed about 10 months ago. After he tried anabolic steroid treatment, brachytherapy was decided upon.

Though brachytherapy was developed more than 20 years ago, patients aren't always aware of the treatment option.
Sparkman was. "I've had two or three of my friends in the last five or 10 years who've had it," he said. It's the least invasive and has the least chance of damaging other tissue, he said.

Based upon the early detection and confidence in his physician, Watson Medical oncologist Randy Heysek, Sparkman said he is optimistic about the outcome. He said he was told he could resume normal activities two or three days after the procedure.

According to medical experts, each seed - approximately the size of a grain of rice - emits continuous, precisely targeted radiation, killing cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue. The seeds gradually lose radioactivity and remain harmlessly in place, they say.
Sparkman said there are no plans for radiation treatment, which physicians sometimes recommend in conjunction with brachytherapy.
Sparkman will return to the hospital a week after the procedure "to make sure everything is fine." He will receive PSA tests every six months.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433.

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