I want to pass on some information that newly diagnosed men absolutely should consider. It is from the excellent blog "Palpable Prostate" by A. Black. The gist of this is that for intermediate- and higher-grade PC pts (GL 7+, PSA 10+), *open* surgery for PC is considered preferable to laparascopic (which includes robotic) surgery by [...]
There is an article in today's New York Times in which the author describes his thought processes as he went about first choosing a treatment and then a doctor after he was diagnosed with PC. Trouble is the guy is a newbie who doesn't know anything but thinks he does . But didn't we all?? I think [...]
All serious illnesses cause emotional distress. But prostate cancer patients may be even more vulnerable. This is because treatments for PC often cause erectile dysfunction (in at least 50% of men who've had RP, for example), which is highly correlated with depression. Also, some men who've undergone treatment have been left with distressing side effects [...]
This was a good week for prostate cancer. First there was a front-page article in the Sunday New York Times which reported that the drug finasteride (Proscar) may, if taken regularly, lower one's risk of developing prostate cancer by 30%. Then there was a study by Dr. Ornish of UC San Francisco, (excellent hospital), which [...]
This is a follow-up to the previous posting. Please read that first. Following is an editorial by Dr. Michael Blute of the Mayo Clinic urology faculty. He is commenting on a study by Dr. Hu which compared laparascopic and open surgery. I am going to cite the entire article almost verbatim and I have emphasized parts that I [...]