The truth and how to prevent cancer


What is the Best Prostate Cancer Treatment ?

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



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