powerpuffgirls,
You probably know no one at Google Answers can recommend a definitive
“life-saving cure” for prostate cancer, as each patient and each case
is different. I would hope, for your sake that you have a good doctor,
with whom you feel comfortable discussing your options. I am including
a few sites that give you some information about fibrous prostate
cancer, and then I will discuss your question from my own experience.
Fibrous tumors of the prostate are rare, (prostate cancer itself is
not rare) but according to this website, the best treatment is
removal of the prostate by surgery. The prognosis would be good if all
the cancer is excised. Surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy are
common forms of treatment, depending on each case. No one can predict,
without knowing all the particulars of your case, which would be the
best for you. (How I wish we could!)
http://www.uronet.org/cases/jun01.asp
Gene therapy
http://www.genesage.com/professionals/geneletter/news/pr060100a.html
Treatment Options for various stages from the National Cancer
Institute:
http://www.meb.uni-bonn.de/cancernet/201229.html#16_TREATMENTOPTIONSFORSTAGEIPROSTATECANCER
Two years ago, my husband was diagnosed with Stage Two prostate
cancer. He had been to several doctors who did not adequately examine
him, allowing valuable time to slip away. Finally, an excellent doctor
recommended immediate surgery. He offered my husband radiation seed
implants. These are radioactive seeds that would have been implanted
in the prostate, that, over time, would shrink the cancer. We were
told they were less effective than surgery, and if they did not work,
he would end up needing surgery anyway. The deciding factor was the
fact that my husband would be unable to hold our two precious baby
granddaughters (due to the radiation).
My husband quickly opted for surgery. He was 60. He had a fair
recovery, and went back to work, on light duty, after 6 months. The
surgical sequelae was what depressed my husband for a long while; he
must wear Depends-like shields for urinary incontinence still. He is
completely impotent, and Viagra will not work as all of his nerves had
to be removed. (This is not the case for all men).
My husband seems to have finally accepted what I told him all along…I
think we both made the right decision to have surgery. The other
treatments were not fail safe, and he could end up going through the
treatments, and then possibly need surgery as well. I never doubted
surgery was the right decision, for US.
In making your decision, from the available treatments, keep in mind
what will work best for you. If you are willing to go through
radiation, knowing you may have to endure surgery later, then try that
route. If you don’t need to worry about radiation seeds affecting
family members, then maybe that is an option for you.
For me, the decision was easy. To have my husband alive, albeit
impotent, was far more important that his having another form of
treatment, that had lesser success rates.
So, you see, it is a personal decision, and not an easy one. Please
try to discuss all the alternatives with your doctor. If he/she is
unwilling to give you all your options, perhaps you could have a visit
with another provider in the practice. It is your life and treatment.
Best of luck, crabcakes
PS: If you opt for surgery, I would recommend getting, ahead of time,
one of those toilet seat extenders that is placed on the regular seat.
This meant a much easier time of sitting on the toilet after surgery.
The other thing my husband’s doctor never mentioned, but I knew of,
having worked in the medical field for over 25 years, was a Texas
catheter(external catheter). About 10 days after surgery, the doctor
removed my husband’s cather, as an outpatient. My poor husband still
needed to wear full Depends, and hated the wet cold feeling at night.
I went to the medical supply store and bought Texas catheters, which I
attached to tubing, into a sealed waste bag. The Texas catheter fits
on like a condom, but has a tube for draining away the urine. This
kept my hubby dry and comfortable at night. Knowing this, you can find
out about these two very helpful items (to us) in anticipation of the
need.
A picture can be seen at the bottom of this page:
http://www.bdgsales.com/caths.html
How to put an external catheter on:
http://nursing.about.com/c/ht/01/09/How_Apply_Male_External1001609533.htm |
