Duane Sieler has been fighting cancer for several years.
It began with a prostate cancer diagnosis, then a few years later, leukemia.
“2017 I got diagnosed with prostate cancer, and then in 2021 I got diagnosed with leukemia,” said Sieler.
Chemotherapy was recommended for treatment of leukemia, but not long after; Duane learned that his prostate cancer had returned.
“When I started seeing him, he had been diagnosed with what we call a biochemical recurrence of his prostate cancer. He had undergone a few years earlier, surgical removal of his prostate and they had been monitoring his PSA level and it had recently gone up,” said radiation oncologist, Michael Peterson, MD.
Both Dr. Peterson in Yankton and Duane’s doctor in Sioux Falls would need to work together to determine the best treatment option moving forward.
“This maintenance therapy treatment was helping keep his leukemia in remission, he achieved such a great level of remission that it allowed us to take a break from treatment, it ended up working great because that gave him time off chemotherapy so that we could take care of the prostate cancer,” said hematology and transplant specialist, Xavier Andrade-Gonzalez, MD.
Undergoing Radiation Treatment
That meant that Duane would start radiation treatment in Yankton, where he lives, rather than traveling over an hour away for care.
“So we did the 38 treatments, and that actually went well, Dr. Peterson said I tolerated it pretty well, so I was happy with that,” said Sieler. “It was just a blessing that we can come here to do it, doing it here is just amazing. If you feel bad, at least you’re 2 miles from home and can go lay down and rest and do what you need to do.”
“There’s a certain amount of tiredness you have to expect when you go through radiation treatment, not usually too bad, but it’s real and so it’s a lot easier on patients and their families to be able to be treated locally,” said Dr. Peterson.
Continued Care for Leukemia
After completing radiation, Duane continues treatment for leukemia.
“By the time he finished his treatment for the prostate cancer, we were able to resume his chemotherapy and get the leukemia back in remission,” said Dr. Andrade-Gonzalez.
Throughout Duane’s cancer journey, teamwork and access to care close to home have been important in his treatment experience.
“We want to make sure we have the best treatments and can deliver them safely and effectively close to home,” said Dr. Andrade.
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