The news is good about prostate cancer. Although it is the third most often diagnosed cancer in men in the United States, following skin and lung cancers, 98 percent of sufferers are still alive five years after diagnosis. This is a vast improvement over the 64 percent rate of the late 1980s. Although the rate drops to 91 percent ten years after diagnosis this is still an impressive survival rate considering that the group includes men who were first diagnosed with advanced cancer and many older men of whom an appreciable number have other health issues.
The news can be very good indeed; for example, 99 percent of men with Gleason 6 organ confined prostate cancer have not had any relapse (biochemical failure) a decade after surgical treatment. Further, it is very unlikely that these men will experience a recurrence after that time.
Despite the highly encouraging statistics many men and their families are initially devastated by the diagnosis. Although every man and every family member has a very individual reaction there are some common elements that many men share.
Don’t go it alone. Whether you’re an average man or consider yourself emotionally tough you stand to benefit from having people to lean on and use as a sounding board to ensure that your decisions regarding your disease are reasonable. There are many likely candidates to help you through this period. They range from family and friends to your physician or your clergyman. Virtually every community has a number of prostate cancer support groups that provide access to information and the shared experiences of others who have gone through exactly what you are facing. And there is a tremendous amount of information about this disease on the internet although as with every other type of on-line information you will need to do some work to ensure that it is is accurate.
While cancer control is a crucial treatment concern other considerations include minimizing the side effects of surgical treatment. Of immediate concern are factors such as blood loss, infection control, pain management and length of hospital stay. Following discharge from the hospital and the successful management of the immediate post surgical process concerns usually shift to two primary areas; return of urinary continence and adequacy of sexual functioning.
Concern about recovery – prostate treatment may result in serious effects on the body. The recovery process varies by type of treatment, the physician who performs it and of course by the man’s individual physiological resiliency. Some types of treatments are relatively noninvasive, but may exhibit lingering or even increasing side effects as time passes while others have a greater initial effect on function which can markedly improve over time.
Take your time – In the majority of newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases there is no urgent need to decide on a particular course of treatment; consult with your physician to confirm that your situation is not pressing. In the course of your fact finding speak with at least one surgeon and a radiologist to better understand the advantages and drawbacks of these major treatment options. Not surprisingly, you may find that each type of physician may advocate the treatment he provides.
In general, the more experience a physician has the better his patients tend to do. Physicians in big city teaching hospitals tend to be continually reviewed to ensure they provide excellent care for their patients. And physicians who publish their work extensively in peer reviewed clinical publications are frequently at the top of their field, employing the latest advances. When you meet with the physicians you are considering for your treatment ask the important questions that may give you an indication about how you will do under their care.
Make a treatment decision that you are comfortable with – By the time most men finish doing their “homework” a treatment decision (or even the decision to defer treatment) will have assumed a certain shape in their mind. It will be the result of time spent speaking with their support crew of family and friends, hearing or reading about prostate cancer survivors’ experiences, reading the information available in print and on the internet, speaking to physicians about the best course of action to take and doing a fair amount of thinking. By the time most men move forward with their decision much of their initial fear and uncertainty has vanished and the road ahead assumed at least some sort of reassuring outline Over a longer span of time subsequent to treatment most men express a fairly high degree of satisfaction with the treatment decisions they made.
Find out more about prostate cancer treatment. To learn more, contact Dr. Tewari.
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