Somehow I have been negligent and not let people know that I have written and posted a major update of my “Guide to Advanced Prostate Cancer.” As in the past, it is available as a free download from the Malecare web site. Helping me to update the book was prostate cancer survivor Craig Pynn and [...]
As I have said before, the true unsung heroes of our fight against advanced prostate cancer are our caretakers. Our caretakers are our saints, they help educate us, they advocate for us, they shield us and they make us as complete as we can possibly be. They improve our lives and help us get through [...]
Becoming a full time 24/7 caregiver for someone with any chronic illness, including advanced prostate cancer is overwhelming. Most caregivers find that they stop their own personal activities, including those that give them personal pleasure. Caregiving means subverting personal needs in favor of the needs of the patient. This situation often leads to the [...]
I want to share a post I made today on the advanced prostate cancer online support group ). It was in response to an ongoing thread with a spouse (caregiver) who was fired by her husband's doctor by having his nurse call them. She was guilty of asking questions, relevant and important ones, but the [...]
In July the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sent out the first stipend payments to nearly 100 family caregivers of veterans, including men with prostate cancer. To qualify for the benefits the caregivers first had to complete a training program, “Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers”. Qualified family caregivers receive an average $1,600 in monthly stipend [...]
It is in the normal course of events that as our advanced prostate cancer progresses we will eventually end up dying from the disease. There will come a time when our doctors will no longer have any additional treatments or tricks up their sleeve, or we will just decide that we are done and wish [...]
Written by our own Richard Wassersug appearing in UroToday.com BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) – Much has happened with the use of androgen deprivation to treat prostate cancer (PCa) patients since Charles Huggins first castrated a patient in order to alleviate the symptoms of advanced PCa. Back then, patients were generally elderly and symptomatic with either urethral [...]
An article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet Oncology reports that an oral bisphosphonate, sodium clodronate, improves overall survival in men with advanced prostate cancer. However, it does not reduce the risk of death in men with localized disease. These are the final results of the MRC PR05 and MRC [...]
November 21 is our country’s first annual Men’s Health Night. We’re asking every home to light a blue bulb that night, as a way to think about ourselves and the men we love, our sons, boyfriends, Dad’s, Uncles, Granddads, brothers, friends, partners, and husbands. One blue light bulb, one night a year, showing we care [...]
When I was first interviewing oncologists to decide whom to put on my team to help me deal with my prostate cancer recurrence, I remember leaving the office of the doctor I eventually selected and saying to my wife, “I can’t use him.” She asked why and I replied, “He is not going to be [...]
