LDR (low dose rate) brachytherapy for prostate cancer is more commonly known as seed implants. You may be familiar with this treatment option but for those of you who may be new to the confusing world of prostate cancer treatment, seed implants involve the insertion of small radioactive pellets or seeds into the prostate by transrectal ultrasound guidance, in order to deliver a focused dose of radiation to the prostate.

In 2010, Provenge was approved by the FDA, the first approved prostate cancer treatment that functions by enhancing the immune system.  Over the last couple ofyears Provenge has been gaining popularity with oncologists and urologists as well as with patients. What has been surprising to me is how slowly doctors and patients have warmed up to the idea of using the immune system to fight prostate cancer. For years my patients have been taking handfuls of Graviola, Shitaki mushrooms, Pau de Arco and Esiac tea because of unsubstantiated claims of immune enhancement. Yet, when the FDA approved an effective immune treatment that prolongs life I was surprised that my patients needed to be convinced to use it.  

Radium-223 (or Alpharadin) is a new targeted alpha-emitting agent which has shown a prolongation of survival in castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients with bone-metastatic disease (5). 

When your partner is diagnosed with prostate cancer you will undoubtedly experience a tidal wave of emotions, including the devastating fear that he might die. At the same time as you are trying to get a hold on your own fears, you also want to support and reassure your partner—who is struggling with the same shock and fear. It’s a tough act to balance, and it’s only too easy to repress or ignore your own feelings and needs.                  

After interviewing thousands of newly-diagnosed prostate cancer patients, I have found that the first impressions of most patients about prostate cancer are almost always wrong.  Why?  There are several reasons.

All this not withstanding, in my mind there is no doubt that Testosterone Inactivating Pharmaceuticals (TIP), when appropriate and applied in a timely manner, acts effectively to control prostate cancer.

I have never seen a real game of chicken where two cars race head on toward each other to see who will swerve first, i.e., who is chicken. However, we are seeing an actual game of chicken being played out before our eyes on the national stage. 

There is no easy way to receive the news that you have cancer, but it is important to realize that prostate cancer is typically not a death sentence. In fact the vast majority of men diagnosed with prostate cancer have the low-risk form of the disease, and will live a normal life span. Even those men diagnosed with the more aggressive kind of prostate cancer have effective treatment options available to them today.

Beware of indulging your initial gut reaction to “just cut it out.” Instead of saving your life from cancer, all you may be accomplishing is the eradication of your sex life.