Hansell is cancer free
By Terry Murry on Thursday, July 18th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
ATHENA – Oregon State Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) got good news from his oncologist this week. He has won his second battle against prostate cancer.
Hansell underwent radiation treatment in 2000 successfully. He found shortly after he announced his retirement in March 2023 that the prostate cancer had returned.
He selected high-dose radiation treatment, which drained him. Then he was scheduled for an appointment on Tuesday. That’s when he got the good news.
His prostate-specific antigen rate was at 2.9 and had been rising when Hansell was tested. While that is within the normal range for his age group, he sought medical advice because he didn’t like that it was going up. At this week’s appointment he learned his PSA was now at 0.5.
He said his doctor told him the cancer, which was initially described as aggressive, was gone.
Hansell urged people to take their health in their own hands. He said since the PSA reading appeared normal, it wasn’t initially questioned until he questioned it. Hansell said he’s learned that people who have been treated for prostate cancer before should forget about normal ranges and look for changes in readings.
“You have to be a self-advocate,” he said.
The retiring lawmaker said he wanted those treated for prostate cancer with radiation to remember that successful treatments don’t mean things are back to normal.
“Your PSA level won’t be as accurate, so if it starts to tick up, seek treatment,” he said.
