| When you first find out you have prostate cancer, | | | | of becoming impotent can be reduced by having |
| that voice inside your head screams. Loudly. And the | | | | something called "nerve sparing surgery," where the |
| fear begins. | | | | surgeon is careful not to snip any "erection" nerves. |
| But fear gradually gives way to furious thinking; | | | | Still, with surgery you would have to face long |
| thinking about what happens next and where to go. | | | | hospital stays and long recovery times, which brings |
| Usually this is in the form of treatment options, a | | | | us to one of the other common treatments: radiation. |
| myriad of them, and the many, many characteristics | | | | Scary-sounding as it is, radiation is much less invasive |
| of each that must be weighed carefully. Watchful | | | | than most forms of therapy. Hospital time is less, and |
| waiting? Surgery? Radiation? Hormones? | | | | recovery time is quicker. Not to say it's perfect. |
| Cryosurgery? Perhaps even proton beam? And so | | | | Radiation side effects can be severe, and include |
| on. Along with the careful advice of your doctor, you | | | | such nasties as diarrhea and bleeding from the |
| may begin to narrow it down, or you may begin to | | | | rectum. In addition, there is some controversy as to |
| feel overwhelmed. What exactly ARE some of these | | | | whether radiation can zap cancer as effectively as |
| treatments and which one is the best? | | | | surgery. |
| As you've probably already guessed, the "best" is | | | | In fact, the effectiveness of many treatments are |
| different for everyone. Watchful waiting is "best" for | | | | often compared to surgery. Does this mean surgery |
| you if you're cancer is slower and less aggressive and | | | | is the gold standard, and hence the "best" |
| you are old. That's right, I called you "old." Seriously, | | | | treatment? |
| though, if your doctor thinks you are no spring | | | | It's just too complicated to answer. Certainly, a study |
| chicken, he may recommend that any treatment | | | | performed by the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in |
| would be harder on you than the cancer itself, and | | | | 1998 came to the conclusion that only surgery can |
| that you both should take a wait and see approach. | | | | successfully remove all cancer, and that surgery |
| If not, he may decide that you are ready for | | | | patients may have short term decrease in their |
| surgery. | | | | quality of life in exchange for long-term freedom |
| This is the most drastic treatment choice, and is seen | | | | from cancer. Other treatments have been improved |
| by some as the "best" of the "best." What's so great | | | | since then, however, and this answer is less certain. |
| about it is that the surgeon manually removes the | | | | For some individuals, surgery is simply too drastic and |
| entire prostate gland, including the cancer. It's gone. | | | | the cancer too slow to demand it. For others, |
| Completely. And he can poke around in there to see | | | | previous health problems or your own personal |
| if there's more. The problem is that there can be side | | | | reasons may make radiation a more reasonable |
| effects that can seriously mess up your comfort | | | | choice. |
| level. Effects like the inability to hold in your pee | | | | Only your doctor and you can make a decision like |
| (incontinence), and the inability to have an erection | | | | this together. Treatment for prostate cancer is one |
| (impotence). Tempering these problems are two small | | | | of the most personal decisions you can make, and |
| facts: incontinence is very, very rare, and the chance | | | | the "best" is different for everybody. |