While at Pete’s Coffee to write my bi-monthly blog I ran into another regular who occasionally hangs out at Pete’s. Vandana is a professor at Loyola University.  She is an expert in the psychology of learning.  While we were talking I started to bemoan my struggles to educate people about prostate cancer. One of the biggest bugaboos I face is how people overestimate their grasp of the prostate cancer situation. Once I verbalized my complaint, Vandana immediately proposed I create a basic test of prostate cancer knowledge so men could self-assess their level of knowledge.  Thanks Vandana!

New prostate cancer drugs come to market quite rarely because the studies mandated by the FDA cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The FDA requires these studies to randomly allocate men into two comparison groups. One group receives the new medicine being tested. The other group gets an ineffective fake, called a placebo. Assuming the study is performed in an acceptable manner, the FDA will approve a new drug for commercial use, only if the men who are receiving the new medicine outlive those treated with the placebo by a specified margin without excessive toxicity.

Studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of surgery for prostate cancer take a long time to perform because prostate cancer grows much slower than other cancers.  Since it is primarily in older men, mortality from unrelated causes—other cancers, heart disease and simply old age—frequently occurs before the prostate cancer progresses enough to impair health. 

Selecting a treatment for prostate cancer is increasingly complex. In an effort to help my prostate cancer patients navigate the complexities of this process, I routinely frame the discussion around these three rules:

Rule #1: If you listen to enough people you will hear just about anything.

Whenever the prostate gets mentioned, excess enlargement is frequently mentioned, as if increased size is the root of all evils. So what follows may surprise you: Having a big prostate can be desirable. For example...

Prostate cancer support groups can be an invaluable platform for peers exchanging questions, offering information and sharing their personal experiences with treatment options and related side effects. There is genuine empathy and unmatched credibility from interacting with others who have “been there and done that.” The collaborative format of a support group facilitates conversations among group members who are assembled with the common goal of empowering each other with relevant knowledge and best practices.

Eight years ago, at the age of 55, I learned I had prostate cancer. At that time, ignoring three separate doctors’ recommendations, I decided to forego surgery. One of my doctors, a urologist, gave me the name of a patient who was on active surveillance. I contacted Brad Cole and our conversation gave me the courage to try it myself.

Circulation is a vital part of strengthening your immune system’s ability to fight off disease. This is especially true in the case of cancer. Providing a good amount of oxygen to your cells keeps them healthy and increases their resistance to disease. Oxygen also aids in the repair of previously damaged cells. Dr. Dean Foster and strength trainer Joseph Aviel are going to show you an exercise that will keep your heart and lungs at the top of their game, circulating as much oxygen as possible to your body.

A Clinical Sexologist talks about how to accept and grow with the inevitable changes that come with prostate cancer. It's “back to school” for learning a whole new sexuality when it comes to prostate cancer.