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PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT SITE

 

 

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SURVIVING PROSTATE CANCER

INVOLVE YOUR PARTNER: As we say, it is a long road that you have started on. It is vital to have your partner and family on the journey with you. You should go to all medical meetings together. Often in the confusion one of you may miss something important.

Discuss the meeting as soon as possible and make notes. Your family will suffer different stresses to you. Encourage them to talk to the people on our Mentors pages.

DON'T KEEP IT SECRET: Apart from your partner and family you should not hesitate to discuss your diagnosis openly. Keeping it a secret makes it much more difficult to deal with. People are usually very supportive to those diagnosed with cancer - and you will be surprised at what you may learn. The only downside is that well meaning people may flood you with information - books, pamphlets and alternative medicine ideas - and that can be overwhelming. So it may be best to start talking to a few people at a time.

It is also worth contacting a local Support Group - your doctor may know of one or you may get the details from your hospital or from your local newspaper. On line you can find details of US Support Groups at US-TOO, Malecare , Man to Man, PSA Rising has details of local Support Groups in many US States and internationally, such as CPCN (Canada) , PSA (United Kingdom)

You may try and pick your way through the information you are given, but better still, go to our Resources Links on the Resources page. There are also many places on the Internet where you can talk to people. Most of the founding members met on the WebMD (Prostate Cancer section) message board. You can join that website by registering for free.

TAKE YOUR TIME: Many medical people will urge you to immediate action but this is very rarely necessary. Of course you must not neglect your disease. But since most Prostate Cancer is slow growing you should have time on your side. Time to go through these steps which we recommend and make the decision that you feel is best for you. The "window of opportunity" is a lot larger than most people think. The tumour detected has in all likelihood been growing for many years - a month or two is unlikely to make any difference in outcome.

ASSESS STATUS BEFORE DETERMINING STRATEGY: The steps described below are all part of this process. They will help to focus on what are concisered the three most important aspects in the successful treatment of prostate cancer:

Selection of a treatment that is most appropriate for you

Your preparation for the intended treatment

Your choice of the doctor or team most qualified to treat you throughout the course of the illness

Medical Oncologist Dr Stephen Strum describes in great detail how, in his opinion A Strategy Of Success in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer can best be developed.

ASK YOUR DOCTOR THESE QUESTIONS: This list of the questions you should ask the doctors you meet is comprehensive and will give you invaluable information. You will see there the suggestion that you should take along a tape recorder so that you can freview your discussion. this is an excellent idea as is the advice that, if ghe doctor objects to your tape frecording, find another doctor.

UNDERSTAND YOUR DIAGNOSIS:It is of utmost importance that you understand your diagnosis and what it means. All of the terms used will be foreign to you and the medical people often will not have time to explain them all. It is also important to understand that there is very little certainty in the process of diagnosis. The reports you will receive will represent the interpretation of the data gathered by the tests or scans. You might find it useful to read Interpreting Reports

We list some of the common terms you will come across on our Diagnosis page and give you links to find more information there.

COPY YOUR MEDICAL REPORTS: Always obtain copies of every medical report and test which you undergo. Keep these reports in a safe place. Go through them thoroughly and make sure you understand them.

Look out for typos and personal information which you know is incorrect - they will give you a feel for the potential for inaccuracy in other matters. Make notes of matters you do not understand to discuss with your medical people and/or your Mentor.

SECOND OPINIONS:We recommend getting at least one other opinion on your diagnosis as a matter of course. This is not implying that your first medical adviser lacks competence in any way. But diagnosis is not an exact science and one opinion may differ significantly from another. Some suggest that a minimum of three specialist should be consulted: a surgeon/urologist; a radio therapist; a medical oncologist. In the majority of cases they will most likely recommend their speciality, but in doing so they should explain clearly why they are making that recommendation over any other.

You should certainly get another opinion if you feel you are being pushed into a decision that you are not comfortable with or if you cannot get satisfactory answers to your questions from your medical adviser.

GET INFORMATION:There is an amazing amount of information available. So much so that it will confuse you. At the end of the next page - Treatment Choices we list some sites that we think may be most useful. We try to keep this list as up to date as possible based on feedback from Members. If you find a site not listed which you think would be useful, please tell us.

CHOICE OF TREATMENT:The radical prostatectomy is often referred to as the 'gold standard' of treatment (especially by surgeons) and is closely followed by external beam radiation as being prime recommendations for treatment.

But there are other treatment options which you should consider. It is very important that you believe that the treatment you select is the best one for you. This belief is one of the key factors in survival and recovery.

DISCUSS YOUR CHOICE:Once you have selected a treatment which you feel will suit you best, discuss it fully with your medical adviser. If you choose a treatment which is not regarded as 'main stream' you may encounter considerable opposition. Listen to and analyse what is being said to you. If necessary obtain other opinions. You might find it useul to join a Discussion List, details of which you will find at the end of the next page - Treatment Choices.

If you have found a Mentor who has had the same treatment as that selected by you he may be able to give you information with which your medical adviser is not familiar.

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES:If you have found this site to be of value, then others will probably do so too. Join us! and become a Mentor and help others on their journey. Please tell everyone on your e-mail address list about this site - they may know someone who will benefit from visiting us.

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NOW, PLEASE CONTINUE TO THE NEXT STEP... - TREATMENT CHOICES

 

 

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