Which books influenced your PCa treatment plan?

Posted by handera @handera, Dec 9, 2023

Diagnosed with PCa two months ago (details in my profile).

Obviously, our doctor(s) have (and should have) a significant influence over our treatment plan decisions.

That said, which books have also been most influential towards defining your initial and current PCa treatment plan(s) and why?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Oh.. and this website,.

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.

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@smurphympls

In addition to the Dr. Walsh book, Surviving Prostate Cancer, I am also reading Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers, by Dr. Mark Scholz as a co-author. Dr. Scholz is a Urologic-Medical Oncologist and was formerly Executive Director of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute.

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MY 2 recommendations as well. Being diagnosed can be a shock and yet these books quickly helped me to understand the prevalence of PC and suitable treatments.
Best wishes for a successful treatment.

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Everybody likes a good book. Dr. Edward Creagan, MD, retired Mayo Clinic cancer and palliative care specialist has a wonderful book. "How NOT to be my patient". Very easy read and helps with making decisions about your care. Dr. Creagan was also a speaker at the Mayo Clinic Study for Aging Gala this fall. This book may help you with your cancer journey. Many helpful suggestions about taking care of yourself. I have the book on my Kindle reader and read parts of it every now and then, Chek it out if you want to help yourself with taking care of your body.

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I found a great deal of useful information on the Prostate Cancer Research Institute YouTube Channel.
Many videos covering everything from diagnosis to treatment to recurrence along with related health issues.

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I read a lot of blogs, websites such as this one, videos on youtube from a number of treatment centers and the book "You Can Beat Prostate Cancer And You Don't Need Surgery to Do It" - New Edition by Robert Marckini.
It was very informative and was his description of his journey from diagnosis to a successful treatment. I found it very informative and very helpful. It gave me a lot of hope after being diagnosed and made me feel like it is not a "big deal". The key is to be informed regarding all forms of treatment and to be in a collaborative relationship with your physician so that he can inform and you can make an informed decision. Don't be afraid to ask questions and the more informed you are prior to your visits with your doctor, the more questions you will be able to ask. This youtube site below is excellent and you can spend hours on it getting all the information you can possibly absorb. The videos are produced by The Prostate Cancer Research Institute.
Best of luck.
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePCRI

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Dr. Patrick Walsh's Book Title: Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer, 4th Edition

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Can I add Dr Walsh's book to the growing list of most important book. I read the 3rd ed. three time paperback and Kindle. Only read the 4th ed. four months after my June 4th surgery with Dr Pathak Jax Mayo. I felt very confident with Dr Pathak because we could both talk understanding the options. Dr Walsh's book is now my guide post for post RP issues. Everyone of us with Prostate cancer show at least have a copy for reference. It really helped with calming down any doubt or anxiety that I would have had otherwise.

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Thanks to all for the great replies and suggested reference materials! I will be reviewing all those I have not yet seen!

The first book I purchased, recommended by an older friend (~73 y/o) who selected EBRT/ADT treatment, was "Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide To Surviving Prostate Cancer". Dr. Walsh's 5th edition was just published Oct 3, 2023. I've read it from cover-to-cover and continue to go back and reread various portions. It appears many of you agree Dr. Patrick's book is a "must read" regarding PCa.

I want to especially thank "groundhogy" for the "Prostate Cancer Free" website reference. The treatment comparison charts on this website, provide up-to-date information (2021) as to how many patients remain in remission, (prostate cancer free), and for how many years following all forms of PCa treatment, based on their risk level at the time of treatment. It's based on the treatment outcomes of over 129,000 PCa patients who have been tracked for up to 15 years after their treatment. It's the result of the work of 36 prostate cancer experts. These comparison charts are invaluable in helping one make a results based PCa treatment decision.

Another PCa book I found helpful is "The Myths and Reality of Localized Prostate Cancer: A Simple and Practical Guide to Help Patients and Families Make a Shared Decision" by Dr. Thomas Cangiano (Sept 2022). Dr. Cangiano has been treating PCa patients for over 25 years and his book summarizes sometimes difficult to understand PCa diagnosis and treatment concepts, in layman's terms, that are backed up by the science.

Since I've decided to start down the path of Active Surveillance (at least for now), I found the book "Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally by Chris Wark (2nd Edition Jan 2021) of particular practical benefit regarding diet and exercise. Wark's personal journey toward wellness, after being diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer, is a holistic healing approach that taps 350+ references, covering a comprehensive list of medical studies, trials and journal articles from nationally renown institutions. Even before or after one has chosen a surgical, radiation, hormone and/or chemotherapy treatment approach, Wark's insights and engaging writing style will benefit one's overall health, as one selectively integrates the findings which work with whatever "life after PCa diagnosis" one decides to pursue.

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