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Seeking advice on treatment options
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Oct 6, 2023 | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
Here is a good website to compare odds of cure for the major treatment paths. You have to determine your stage, low risk, intermediate, or high risk (risk of recurrence). So if you are intermediate, pull up the intermediate chart and you can see the odds of 10-20 yr survival, etc. based on the treatment you pick.
https://www.prostatecancerfree.org/compare-prostate-cancer-treatments/
It is best viewed on computer or just print it on paper. Not so viewable on phone.
To make the graphs easier to read, i drew a dot on the endpoints of the elipses, and then drew a line through the dots. This turns the elipses into lines.
Also be aware the the graphs don’t show any salvage radiation benefit. This would boost the surgery odds up a bit.
Also beware, this is a very dysfunctional industry from my view. Loads of bad info mixed in with the good info. Same with the docs. Some of them are more dangerous than the cancer.
Replies to "Here is a good website to compare odds of cure for the major treatment paths. You..."
This graph has been created by someone advocating a particular kind of treatment. I looked at the intermediate graph. How does it manage to use facts to advocate preferences? It's pretty simple, really. First, you decide how to group the data. You do this even though you may know that the data being grouped does not correspond across types of treatment. Then you decide how to present the data. The use of the ellipses helps to emphasize the positive presentation of the preferred treatment.
Bear in mind that this is just the opinion of one non-clinical observer. It does not mean that the data presented is not useful and I may be completely overlooking meaningful reasons why this portrayal might be appropriate.
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Great comments and I so very much agree. Prostate cancer is tricky and doctors that make definitive statements about treatment plans and the chance of BC reoccurrence are misleading or trying to support their treatment method. It is vitally important for the patient to do their homework and treat the cancer that best aligns with their circumstances. For myself, relatively young (56 last year when I had to make my decision), active - I took the advice from doctors into account, but this was not the only information that I used. In the end, I went with a radical prostatectomy because it removed the known cancer from my body, gave the best chance for understanding what level the cancer was at within my body (full pathology post surgery), and allowed for the most follow-up treatment options if there was BCR.
Prostate cancer is not fully understood and must be taken seriously if you want the best outcome.
Good luck to everyone!!