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.                  

In reality, there is no “good” treatment for prostate cancer. Sure, some men can luck out and are happy to talk about it. But more frequently, when men are asked how they are doing after surgery, they say they are fine, even when they are not. No man likes going public about his lost sexuality.  And there is little value in bemoaning what can’t be changed.

According to the National Cancer Institute, African Americans may have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world. Furthermore, black men often develop the disease at a younger age than white men, and the cancer is often more aggressive. 

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.

Choosing the right specialist is a decision that will have a significant effect the rest of your life. So I repeat, take your time. And make sure that the doctor you choose gives you confidence that the treatment he recommends will be successful.

Every day in the office, as a practicing prostate oncologist, I confront serious problems:  PSA levels that are rising, treatments causing too many side effects, patients desperately worried about their future. And sometimes, given our limited tools, the solutions we can offer are only partial. However, every time the FDA approves a new treatment there is an excitement akin to opening gifts on Christmas morning. All of a sudden we have a shiny new tool in the tool chest to help us do a better job. 

Although I don’t subscribe to the idea that we men are exclusively the products of our hormones, our sex life—or lack of it—following cancer treatment is a matter of serious concern to almost all of us.  

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. 

For many men, a diagnosis of prostate cancer is a wake-up call to make lifestyle and dietary changes. If you have been diagnosed with the Low-Risk and even Intermediate-Risk form of the disease, and you have decided to delay radical treatment, it is particularly important to follow a diet known to inhibit cancer growth.