Mike Hawker’s prostate cancer is not in remission. As his doctor says, it’s just “on probation.” So every six months, Hawker travels from his home in Alaska, where he serves in the state legislature, to Rochester, Minnesota, where doctors at the Mayo Clinic track down even the tiniest new tumors in his body using an ingenious new technique.
“It helps you hunt down this otherwise invisible cancer,” says Eugene Kwon, MD, a cancer researcher who helped developed the technique. Dr. Kwon, like any smart hunter, uses food to lure his prey. In this case, a molecule called choline.
“The weird thing is that, for whatever reason, prostate cancer loves to eat choline,” says Kwon. “So there is a very rapid and a high uptake of choline by prostate tumors.”
Kwon’s technique involves marking the choline molecule so it lights up under a PET scan. A blood test might reveal that Mr. Hawker’s cancer has returned, but not where to find it. Kwon says “in one fell swoop” it’s changed how quickly doctors can respond to new cancer.
“Instead of waiting around for months and losing time,” he says, “we can make very rapid assessments in terms of how effective or ineffective a treatment is.”
“When I got here, I had but three or four weeks left to live,” Hawker says. “Right now I’ve got a long horizon again, and I’m living every minute to the fullest.”