Welcome!
This site will provide the reader with a realistic overview of Prostate Cancer (from my personal experience) and attempts to provide a bounty of information to make plotting a course of action... easier.
Please note: If you find any bad links, or you believe that some item is not correct, or you know of an item that should be noted... please do everyone a favor and notify me by Email.
Thank you.
Why Me?
(you ask!)
They did, TOO!
- Ed Asner
- Marion Barry
- Harry Belafonte
- Richard Bloch
- David Brinkley
- Frank Borman
- Senator Bob Dole
- Eddie Fisher
- George Forman
- Robert Goulet
- Jesse Helms
- King Hussein
- Jerry Lewis
- Victor Mature
- Michael Milken
- Roger Moore
- Arnold Palmer
- Fes Parker
- Richard Petty
- Sidney Poitier
- General Schwarzkopf
- Johnny Unitas
They all have three things in common. They are MEN, they were all diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, and they are all alive!
So THINK POSITIVE!
Catch James Fulks
LONG list at "Rattler".
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The Dave Rietz Prostate Cancer Info Page
(I have added this page to DORway because I am convinced that one or more of the many toxins in aspartame or conversion components from its breakdown played a significant role in my contracting prostate cancer.)
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Prostate Cancer!
(This information
courtesy of
CaP Cure.)
Symptoms? Check here
Stumped on TERMS?
Check out the glossary!
Need more info on
Understanding a
Diagnosis?
What's a Gleason Score?
New ProstaScint
Screening test!
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These are the cold, hard facts: Every 13 minutes, another American man dies of prostate cancer. Every three minutes, a new prostate cancer case is diagnosed. That makes prostate cancer the most diagnosed cancer in America today, with 250,000 (others estimate 300,000) new diagnoses and 45,000 deaths annually.
DO NOT PANIC! FIRST... slow the growth of your cancer. Do this by abandoning ALL cow's milk and dairy. The hormone IGF-1 in dairy is identical between cow's and humans... and you can think of it as "plug and play cancer fuel"! Read more about IGF-1 (and milk) at NOTMILK, and my own experience.
2003 Update: As of last year all efforts to contain my prostate cancer have ceased to be effective. My PSA is rising again at an alarming rate and I am now on chemotherapy (Taxotere). For more info read a running log on my situation. Read this article on chemotherapy and other therapies.
I have two files on Taxotere that may be of interest:
Taxotere 1 and Taxotere 2.
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From healthing-with-nutrition
"Prostatectomy leaves about 85% of its patients impotent and 25% of them incontinent." (My comment: Certainly not worth the approximate 10 grand fee!)
"Add soy protein and soy products such as tofu to your diet. Soy supplements have been shown to increase the concentration of isoflavonoids in your blood"
(visit http://www.soytoy.com and do it yourself! Saw Palmetto and vitamin "C" are to other positive helpers. Last but NOT least... THINK POSITIVE!)
These staggering statistics are likely to get worse. By the year 2000, the incidence of prostate cancer is expected to increase by 90 percent. African-Americans will suffer the most: They have a 50 percent greater chance of getting prostate cancer than Caucasian males. Wrongly considered a disease just of the elderly, the fact is that the number of prostate cancer cases among men in their forties and fifties has risen dramatically. (Why? Fats and food additives? Vasectomy?)
See what the WEB site InteliHealth says about it all!
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Prostate Cancer. Those two words can strike fear and confusion in anyone personally involved, especially when the doctor is addressing you, face-to-face! In all probability you are visiting this site because you, or someone important in your life may or does have prostate cancer.
A Death Sentence it is NOT!
Rest assured that MOST prostate cancers are slow growing. Should the one you are concerned about be a more virulent type... the physician should be knowledgeable enough to say so. Regardless, there is plenty of time to arrive at a well-informed and rational course of action. No matter what, it is not a situation that demands an immediate course of action. Although it is a very natural tendency... there IS NO NEED TO PANIC and to rush into a course of action you will later regret!
Because prostate cancer is generally a slow-growing disease many victims will die of other causes rather than from prostate cancer (especially so for those diagnosed when in their sixties). READ READ READ! Do the homework, get all the facts, discuss the options... and then settle on the best course of action for the case that confronts you!
On the UP-SIDE!
What cancer
cannot do! The many
stages one can encounter.
Here are a few facts to keep in mind: (More info at:
CoMed)
If a man lives long enough he WILL get prostate cancer.
Heredity plays a significant role, but it is NOT a given as to how soon it will happen.
Diet more than likely plays a greater role (meats products and fried foods with lots of fat increase the risk!)
Elevated levels of testosterone
There is growing evidence that having a Vasectomy may increase the risk for getting prostate cancer.
| Personal Encounter (or, where I'm coming from) |
As a career military man with regular medical exams, the usual "DRE" (digital rectal exam or "fingerwave") did NOT detect the growing tumor in my gland. I can only assume that my tumor began on the side farthest from the rectum... and until the whole gland was affected the DRE was useless as a detection method. Regardless, I understand that the DRE only detects around 15% of prostate cancer tumors, which makes it a very unreliable detection tool! However, from the onset this urologist did not suspect cancer, probably due to my young age and overall good health. Instead, for quite some time he treated me for infection using sulfa drugs. Not until the infection was subdued and my urinary flow somewhat better did he consider other possibilities.
About that same time that the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test became an accepted diagnostic tool. A PSA reading only indicates that something is bothering the prostate gland. The higher the number, the more the gland is being molested by something... infection, blockage, or perhaps cancer. I was already afflicted with urinary flow problems, and now the DRE manipulations detected a "solid" prostate gland. Around November of 1993 I was given my first PSA test. Generally speaking, a PSA reading of one or less is considered "normal". A reading from one to five indicates that the person has something wrong that should be investigated. For readings between five and ten it begins to approach a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Those with a PSA over ten almost certainly have PC. My first PSA was thirty-seven! Incredibly, the urologist was not motivated to insure that I understood the rating system, nor to say anything other than he though I should have a needle biopsy. I inquired about the procedure and when I was informed that they literally punched a needle through the wall of the lower rectum, into the prostate gland, to scoop up a small sample of tissue... it scared the hell out of me. I was sent home to think about it. All I could envision was massive infection and maybe death from such a procedure. Never once did this doctor indicated that it was a simple, almost painless, and easy to perform
task. Finally, months later (during a follow up visit) the doctor checked my record and again suggested that a biopsy be taken. This time around he was more informative, quelled my fears, provided some pre and post biopsy antibiotics, and within a few days the deed was done. Four biopsies were taken and all four were malignant. (Up-Date: New PSA TEST reduces need for biopsy's) What next?
Then began the grand comedy of errors! At no time did I encounter any doctor that was well informed on this subject. I most certainly did not encounter one who was both candid and completely honest (especially as pertains to their level of knowledge on the subject). Many months later I learned from an off-hand remark by the original urologist that he was displeased that my cancer was too far along for surgery. Instead, without explaining all the options (according to him there were only three... surgery, radiation therapy, or do nothing and "wait and see"). Like a lamb being led to slaughter I was passed on to an oncologist at a local hospital, where I was given 35 doses of radiation concentrated on a 10 centimeter area on four axis... for a total of 6500 RADs. That cost over $6500.00 and it did not solve the problem! It did cause additional problems, some of which I must accommodate for the rest of my life. That much radiation to a small area cooks the prostate gland. However, it also damages other organs in line with the beams... including the lower intestinal tract, and the urinary tract. I now have what I call a "thirty seconds to disaster" syndrome that should I be too far away from a bathroom I am at risk of being very embarrassed.
At NO time was I ever informed of any alternative procedures from the three mentioned above. Not until my PSA fell to ten... and began to rise again, did I realize how badly my case had been handled. Before the radiation treatments the urologist told both my wife and I that, based on all the tests they had done (bone scans, MRI, etc.), my cancer was "contained". After wasting all that money, permanently damaging my bowels, when the PSA began to rise again this less-than-honest doctor mused, "Well, I did think the lymph glands looked a bit fuzzy."
All too typical! Wasted time, wasted money, and more problems to come!
When I learned that all of this had been for naught I was devastated! Only then did I come to the conclusion that my case had been mishandled. I began to do what I should have done from the onset... explore, read, ask questions. I learned of a "CANCER HOTLINE" at the Charleston Medical University, so I called the number. A very knowledgeable nurse gently asked questions and took notes... and I later discovered that she was also evaluating my frame of mind. On that first call she was mostly supportive, and tried to answer my very specific questions as best she could without stepping over the doctor/nurse line of information. During my second call she satisfied herself that I was not unstable, or suicidal, and mentioned a "radical organization in Michigan". Months later I asked her why she had phrased it that way and she said "because most doctors don't recommend their course of action because they prefer surgery or radiation treatments". Suspicions confirmed!
The organization mentioned was Patient Advocates for Advanced Cancer Treatments (PAACT) based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The founder, a Mr. Ney, had been diagnosed as having late stage "D" prostate cancer. He had 31 bone lesions, and his doctor told him he had no longer than six months to live. He didn't like that idea at all. Fortune blessed him and the most promising new possibility was something they called "combinational hormone therapy" or CHT. He got on the appropriate drugs and after two years of this therapy he was declared to be cancer free!
ON the 12th of September I received a special "Cancer Communication" newsletter that announced that Mr. Ney, at the age of 79, had passed away on the 19th of August, 1998. That was over 14 years AFTER the date he was given only SIX MONTHS TO LIVE! Take heart, all you who have NOT been given just six months to live, that if YOU get informed and follow reasonable advice... you may also have many quality years yet to live. My PSA has been and remains 0.1 or lower (rather then the 50 when money was wasted on useless radiation treatments)... and it has been so for years.
PAACT
1143 Pamelee N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
VOICE: (616) 453-1477
FAX: (616) 453-1846
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My urologist, knowing that I was stage "D" and that my lymph nodes might be infected... should NOT have submitted me to radiation treatments! Regardless, after that treatment failed he recommended just going home and practicing what they call "watchful waiting". Were I in my late sixties or beyond that was probably a good suggestion. However, at a young fifty-five it was completely inappropriate! I abandoned that urologist (finally) and saw a cancer specialist at the hospital. Incredibly, he suggested the same course of action.
But this time there was a major difference... I had done my homework! PAACT had sent me a large information packet and I had read it all. I equated the relatively few cancer cells to ten cockroaches in the bottom of a bushel basket. Were I to turn the basket over and attack those insects with a hammer, I told this new doctor, I stood a fair chance of killing all of them. However, sit back (watchful waiting) and let those ten multiply to hundreds of thousands and then dump the basket and attack with that hammer... no way! Too late! So, against his own suggestion he started me on CHT treatments. Perhaps the major reason many doctors recommend watchful waiting, and order very few PSA tests, is because it all costs money. Money that all too often the insurance companies don't want to spend, or money that patients without insurance can't provide. CHT therapy costs around $800.00 a month. Add to that the periodic PSA tests ($50.00 or so a pop) and test necessary to insure that the CHT medications are not destroying the liver... and the cost is even more. Finally, add the cost of the services of a doctor to follow your case and a nurse to do the injections... and the total cost could fall between $1200.00 to $1500.00 a month. It is a lot cheaper to just send the patient home and tell them to come back when they hurt real bad and they are ready to die!
Prostate cancer cells thrive and multiply when testosterone is present in the body. Remove this source of nourishment and the cancer shrinks, and perhaps ceases to be. CHT or Combinational Hormone Treatment is one standard treatment. CHT typically consists of a periodic LUPRON shot which medically castrates the patient. Then, because the adrenal gland (in both sexes) produces a testosterone precursor (androgen) that can be converted into testosterone the patient takes daily pills in the form of FLUTAMIDE (typically two pills every eight hours) or CASODEX (one pill a day) that terminates this secondary source of testosterone. Some men cannot tolerate the side effects (hot flashes and similar reactions, and temporary loss of potency). Some do not want those side effects, and they insist on maintaining full sexual capabilities. In a small number of cases the prostate cancer cells find nourishment in some other aspect of the human body and no longer need testosterone. From that point on the CHT treatment is no longer effective and is terminated.
This is the major reason that the "watchful waiting" while the cancer spreads did not sit well with me. The more cells there are to starve to death the longer it would take. This protracted period of time, with a much large population of cancer cells, would greatly increase the possibility that CHT treatment would become ineffectual before full remission was achieved. For some reason the simple logic of this escaped both doctors that handled my case.
I have provided a lot of detail with the main purpose of impressing everyone that no doctor is perfect. No doctor knows it all. No doctor can nor should be placed on a pedestal as being above human fragilities. I trusted too much and I got burned. That has affected my bodily functions for the rest of my life, drastically altered my role as husband and lover, and wasted a lot of money. Doctors are all too human, and after spending a great deal of time learning of the human body and diseases they are all too ready to make money... in the best possible fashion. Pumping the patient with expensive drugs does not earn that doctor a dime. Repeat business, does! Repeat business that requires more attention is better yet. As in any negotiation... Cravat Emtor! (Let the buyer beware).
What does all that really mean? It means take charge of the situation. It means learn all you can about the subject. It means learn all about current as well as "experimental" treatments. It means discuss the problem with doctors and patients, and then select the best options that work best for your situation. Just do NOT rush into any course of action without getting all the facts! Surgery, by the way, is perhaps the WORST option! I read somewhere that 80% of those who elected surgery required radiation or other treatments at a later date (read a Jan. 2000
article on surgery).
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Hereditary and Prostate Cancer
The importance of asking about a family history of prostate cancer
The Department of Urology (Johns Hopkins) strongly encourages clinicians to take a family history of prostate cancer from each adult patient, as a positive family history markedly increases the risk of prostate cancer in first degree male relatives. For example, a patient with a father or brother with prostate cancer has two times the usual risk of developing prostate cancer. A man with both his father and brother affected with prostate cancer has almost a 50% chance of developing the disease. In addition, in such families prostate cancer occurs at an earlier age. At this time, our recommendation is that men with more than one first degree relative affected (father or brother) should be encouraged to undergo yearly digital rectal exam and yearly serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) beginning at age 40. We should add that annual serum PSA testing and annual digital rectal examinations are recommended by the American Cancer Society for all men over age 50 whether or not they have a family history of prostate cancer. (The foregoing comment courtesy of: http://infonet.welch.jhu.edu/research/prostatopathy.html)
Remember... a small contained (localized) tumor is much easier (and cheaper) to eradicate!
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Up CLOSE and Personal!
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Talk To Me
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Yes, I'm on that list for the Charleston, SC area.
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PC InfoLink
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Visit The Prostate Cancer InfoLink pages
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Cancer News
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Cancer News on the NET E-mail Registry
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PAACT
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Patient Advocates for Advanced Cancer Treatment (PAACT)
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Share
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Share your experiences with others
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Some other Prostate Cancer Sites
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Pointers
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Rattler.com Excellent site called "Pointers" (Probably the BEST!)
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PCDC
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Prostate Cancer Dot Com. Excellent new site 2/97
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New Zealand
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Alan Peacock PC page
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U of Mich
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University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
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Doctor's Guide
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Prostate Cancer Information and Resources
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OncoLink
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PDQ... OncoLink on Prostate Cancer, staging, and treatments.
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CoMed
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Comed on Clinical Staging of Prostate Cancer
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OncoLink
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Risks... OncoLink on statistics with NCI access 1-800-4-CANCER.
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Prostate-Online
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Virgil's Prostate On-Line site
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Tcap
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ENDOCARE'S Targeted Cryoablation of the Prostate (TCAP)
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APC
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APC Online Emerging Concepts
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Surgery
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Radical Prostatectomy info at Crittenton Hospital (MI)
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Radiation Therapy
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Radiation Therapy info at Crittenton Hospital (MI)
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CHT Therapy
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Hormonal Deprivation Therapy info at Crittenton Hospital (MI)
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Seed Implant
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Pocono Cancer Center implant information
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MUSC
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MUSC Charleston Brachytherapy (Seed Implants)
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Columbia
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Columbia Presbyterian Medical (Seed Implants) Center
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OncoLink
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OncoLink on Cryosurgery
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Cryosurgery
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Cryosurgery info at Crittenton Hospital (MI)
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Ameripros.org/
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American Prostate Society
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CaP CURE
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Association for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate
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Sloan-Kettering
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Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
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healthy.net
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Alternative Approaches to Prostate Cancer
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Health Gate
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HealthGate online Info (Free MedLine Searches)
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Prostate.com
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Mediconsult.. Prostate cancer Information for the Well Informed
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AMA
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American Medical Association
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Look for a Doctor?
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AMA Select
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Physician Select Program
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What did you want to know about drugs or medicine?
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PharmWeb
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PharmWeb... Have a question on a drug/procedure?
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Drug Database
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The Internet Drug Index/database
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Top Drugs
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The TOP 200 drugs.
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Drug/Medical info
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Search the WEB for Drug/Medical info. (RX List)
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MedWeb
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Multimedia Medical Reference Library (MMRL)
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ALL Cancers!
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Guide to Internet Resources for Cancer (30 pages of links!)
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| The Hippocratic Oath (International understanding of) |
International Code of Medical Ethics of the World Medical Association - 1949
Adopted by the Third General Assembly of the World Medical Association at London in October 1949. (World Medical Association Bulletin, vol. 1, no. 3, 0ctober
1949, pp.109, 111).
Duties of Doctors in General
A doctor must always maintain the highest standards of professional conduct.
A doctor must practice his profession uninfluenced by motives of profit.
The following practices are deemed unethical:
- Any self advertisement except such as is expressly authorized by the national code of medical ethics.
- Collaborate in any form of medical service in which the doctor does not have professional independence.
- Receiving any money in connection with services rendered to a patient other than a proper professional fee, even with the knowledge of the patient.
Any act, or advice which could weaken physical or mental resistance of a human being may be used only in his interest.
A doctor is advised to use great caution in divulging discoveries or new techniques of treatment.
A doctor should certify or testify only to that which he has personally verified.
Duties of Doctors to the Sick
- A doctor must always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life from conception.
- Therapeutic abortion may only be performed if the conscience of the doctors and the national laws permit.
- A doctor owes to his patient complete loyalty and all the resources of his science.
- Whenever an examination or treatment is beyond his capacity he should summon another doctor who has the necessary ability.
- A doctor shall preserve absolute secrecy on all he knows about his patient because of the confidence entrusted in him.
- A doctor must give emergency care as a humanitarian duty unless he is assured that others are willing and able to give such care.
Duties of Doctors to Each Other
- A doctor ought to behave to his colleagues as he would have them behave to him.
- A doctor must not entice patients from his colleagues.
- A doctor must observe the principles of "The Declaration of Geneva" approved by The World Medical Association.
RESULTS:
There has been a progressive and marked increase in percentage of schools administering an oath over the past 65 years. The graduates of 98% of the 150 responding schools took an oath in 1993 while only 26% of schools administered an oath in 1928. We determined that only one school used the text of the classical Hippocratic Oath, but 68 reported they used other "versions" of the traditional oath.
When we examined the contents of all oaths in current use, we discovered that:
- all still pledge a commitment to patients
- only 43% vow to be accountable for their actions
- only 14% include a prohibition against euthanasia
- only 11% invoke a diety
- only 8% foreswear abortion
- and only 3% retain a proscription against sexual contact with patients.
Where does YOUR doctor fit in the above?
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I must admit that none of this is very surprising to me.
Again, thanks to the CCME for providing this information.
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Allergies