Anger hurts prostate cancer treatment. I feel angry and I’m not going to take my pills or show up for IMRT session.
The thing about prostate cancer is that you’re not told what to do every step of the way or how to do it. Nothing is planned out for you, you just have to make your own choices. Sure, the doctors suggest and outline things for you…what the treatments will do and maybe even the side effects. But rarely do they say, “this is what you ‘should’ do.”
There’s no routine, you don’t know what’s coming, and there are not clear next options if something isn’t working. Everything rides on blood tests and scans and biopsies. And, we’re told, it “might” be this or that. Very few men are told, your scan indicates this and you should do that. Who wouldn’t feel anger with a disease that has no clear pathway for treatment. We all get pissed off around prostate cancer, some of the time. That’s a very human, natural response to the crap our disease throws at us. We get angry with our doctors for not giving us clear guidence and with our friends and family for telling us they are with us, but now, get on with it (treatment). Doesn’t everyone know about all the side effects that I will feel? Doesn’t anyone understand that prostate cancer isn’t hurting me, but incontinence is?
Feeling anger may suck to to outsider who sees me angry. Tough. Sorry. This is what I feel. Don’t tell me to meditate or do yoga. That may help, but not right now. I’m pissed off at this disease and everyone associated with it. Leave me alone with my anger. I’ll probably get over it. But, don’t let me forget to take my pills or keep my appointments. That will kill me.
I ask the doctor, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Not perfect, as they’ve never had cancer but at least I get a clear recommendation.
Prostate cancer screening and early detection does NOT saves men’s lives. Let’s do the math. Per the USPSTF (a US government health agency): “A small benefit and known harms from prostate cancer screening” and “Only one man in 1,000 could possibly have a life saving benefit from screening”. However about 1.3 to 3.5 deaths per 1,000 from prostate blind biopsies. Also 5 men in 1000 died and 20.4% had one or more complications within 30 days of a prostatectomy. This does not include deaths and injuries from other procedures, medical mistakes, increased suicide rate, ADT therapy complications, heart attracts, etc, caused by screening and treatments. Detection and overtreatment for prostate cancer has killed or destroyed millions of men’s lives worldwide from understated and multiple undisclosed side effects. The doctor that invented the PSA test, Dr. Richard Ablin now calls it: “The Great Prostate Mistake”, “Hoax” and “A Profit Driven Public Health Disaster”.
A 12 or 18 core blind biopsy, holey prostate! One million dangerous and outdated prostate blind biopsies are performed in the USA each year and they should be banned: Invasive, dangerous, degrading and unnecessary. Men with a high PSA tests result are often sent to a urologist for a blind biopsy. This technology is (obsolete) 30 years old. Would you use a cell phone or drive a car that was designed 30 years ago? Blind prostate biopsy cost in the USA is at least $3 billion annually. False positives and false negatives can occur. Men should be told about other options; Percent free PSA test, 4Kscore test, PCA3 test or a 3T MRI test before receiving a blind biopsy. These tests can often eliminate the need for a risky and invasive blind biopsy. Unfortunately, sometimes insurance companies may not pay for other tests. Insertion of 12 or 18 large hollow needles through the dirty rectum into a gland the size of a walnut, a blind biopsy can result in pain, infections, a risk of temporary or permanent erectile dysfunction. Biopsies can cause, urinary problems, An infection rate of 7.2%, up to a 6.9% hospitalization rate within 30 days from a complication, sometimes even death from sepsis (About 1.3 to 3.5 deaths per 1,000. There is also debate that a biopsy may spread cancer because of needle tracking. A blind biopsy is degrading and can also increase PSA reading for several weeks or months, further frightening men into unnecessary treatment. Blind biopsies are almost never performed on other organs. One prestigious hospital biopsy information pamphlet states: semen color has a rust tint. Another well-known hospital describes semen as: reddish or brown. These statements can be an extreme exaggeration (mostly lies). After a biopsy, a man’s semen can turn into a jet black goo. This could be an unpleasant surprise for a man and especially for his unsuspecting partner. If some prestigious hospitals are not factual about the color of semen, what other facts are being misrepresented?