The following article explores the pro’s and con’s of the many and varied treatment modalities for prostate cancer, likely outcomes and, the results experienced. Quite evidently, and I have always believed this to be the case, far too many people go into surgery or undertake other, harmful forms of treatment: chemotherapy, brachytherapy or radiation, without full discovery of the likely outcome. It is my belief that only through self-discovery will sufficient information and available options be revealed; enabling the patient to make his own, informed, decision.

I am mindful of the fact that there is no evidence that surgical intervention increases longevity in the predominant, older age group. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that conventional medical treatments; prostatectomy, brachytherapy and radiation and the like, severely reduce the body’s disease fighting capability; leaving the patient prone to succumbing to other, seemingly unrelated causes. Such death’s being recorded as unrelated to cancer, thereby fudging the cancer death statistics.

Global Look at Fallout from Prostate Cancer Therapy Reveals Buried Troubles

By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

BOSTON, March 19 — Sexual dysfunction and incontinence seem to be only the better known quality-of-life downsides of therapy for prostate cancer, according to researchers here.

Among the generally neglected factors determining quality of life and satisfaction with treatment are pretreatment prostate size, urinary obstruction, and changes in “vitality,” reported Martin G. Sanda, M.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard, and colleagues in the March 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Click below for the full article from MedPage;

http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/ProstateCancer/dh/8809

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Informative Web-Sites, Prostate Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.