Prostate cancer: Rotorua patient spends $36,000 on private treatment Lutetium

Rotorua prostate cancer support group coordinator Daniel Hazelwood was diagnosed with prostate cancer in August 2021.

Rotorua cancer patient Daniel Hazelwood has spent $36,000 on private prostate cancer treatment this year.

Without it, “I’d be dead by Christmas”.

The 62-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer in August 2021.

Since then, he has had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy at Tauranga and Rotorua Hospitals. But he was told this year he could not be treated further in the public system.

Hazelwood will find out today if the treatment he is getting at Auckland’s Mercy Hospital is reducing the cancer cells.

“If it’s working we carry on, if it’s not we stop. So we’re hoping that it’s working ... "

This month is Blue September - the Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand’s biggest fundraising event of the year and dedicated to raising awareness of prostate cancer.

Four thousand men in New Zealand will be told they have prostate cancer this year, making it the country’s most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men, a foundation press release said.

Cancer ‘wrapped around my spine’

Hazelwood said he had no symptoms prior to his diagnosis.

He saw his doctor after he saw a friend’s social media post about prostate cancer encouraging people to get tested.

Tests and biopsies confirmed Hazelwood had prostate cancer.

“It was a shock. It took a while to sink in ... "

He was told his cancer was “possibly curable”.

Hazelwood had an operation and started chemotherapy in January 2022, having six sessions three weeks apart.

“Then things went well for 18 months.”

Rotorua prostate cancer support group coordinator Daniel Hazelwood was diagnosed with prostate cancer in August 2021.

At an oncology appointment, he found out his PSA levels were rising. He was told he needed to have chemotherapy again, which finished in February 2024.

In March, he went on holiday and started getting back pains. A week later, the pain was so severe he ended up in hospital, he said.

Hazelwood started getting “wobbly feet” in the hospital. A scan revealed the cancer had “wrapped around my spine”.

He had a back operation and radiation.

After that, his oncologist told him he could not be treated further in the public system.

Without further treatment, “I’d be dead by Christmas”.

Scan reveals cancer was ‘just about everywhere’

Hazelwood was referred to Mercy Hospital where they offered a treatment called Lutetium-177 PSMA.

The Mercy Radiology website says Lutetium-177 PSMA (prostate specific membrane antigen) treatment is a form of radionuclide therapy that aims to destroy prostate cancer cells that have spread into parts of the body, including lymph nodes and bones.

Hazelwood said before having Lutetium-177 PSMA, he had a Pet scan which showed where the cancer cells were in his body.

“It lit up like a Christmas tree. It was just about everywhere.”

Hazelwood has done two sessions of Lutetium-177 PSMA which cost $18,000 per session. The sessions were self-funded.

He will have a Pet scan today to find out if it has reduced the cancer cells. If it has, he will have two more sessions.

Pharmac welcomes application for funding to be considered

Pharmac advice and assessment director and chief medical officer Dr David Hughes said the agency empathised with all New Zealanders who were unwell and their whānau who supported them.

“Hearing how medicines impact the lives of New Zealanders is important in helping us understand what medicines we should be funding.”

Hughes said Pharmac had not received an application for consideration of Lutetium-177 PSMA for people with prostate cancer in New Zealand.

“We would welcome an application for this treatment so that it could be considered for funding.”

For it to be considered for funding, the supplier would need to submit an application to Medsafe for regulatory approval, he said.

“While it is ultimately our role to decide which medicines are publicly funded, we work with external experts when making these difficult decisions.

“We’re guided by robust evidence and the expertise of clinicians, the healthcare sector, and the wider public.”

Be ‘proactive’ and get tested

Hazelwood and Heinz Fett are coordinators for the Rotorua prostate cancer support group.

Hazelwood encouraged men aged 45 and older to be “proactive” about getting tested for prostate cancer.

“Because a lot of men, like myself, don’t go to the doctor ... I hadn’t been to the doctor for maybe five, six years.”

Fett said the annual Blue Walk for prostate cancer will be on September 15 at 2.30pm, starting at Hennessy’s Irish Bar in Rotorua.

A Blue September quiz will take place at Hennessy’s on October 2.

All are welcome to attend. Those interested can email Fett at hfett780@gmail.com.

In a foundation press release, president Danny Bedingfield said a major goal of Blue September was to get men to talk about prostate cancer.

“We have come a long way, but the truth is all men over 50 need to chat to their doctor about prostate cancer as well as insist on a programme of PSA testing appropriate to them.”

For Blue September, Bedingfield encouraged people to host a “blue do” to raise money or donate.

Money raised will help the charity provide essential support services for men and their whānau living with prostate cancer.

People can text the word “BLUE” to 2449 to make a $3 donation.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.