When I was diagnosed, Amy said I oughtta do some reading, so I asked her to help me find a few books. She came up with a remarkable trio to recommend. In the order in which I read them, they were:
- Robert J. Marckini's You Can Beat Prostate Cancer . . . And You Don't Need Surgery to Do It: What Every Man & His Family Must Know About Early Detection & Treatment.
- Dr. Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer, by Patrick C. Walsh & Janet Farrar Worthington.
- Stephen B. Strum & Donna Poglinao's Primer on Prostate Cancer.
What a great set of books! And how uncanny the selection! Some wise spirit must have guided Amy. Or maybe she's just a genius. Anyway, there are three approaches to treating prostate cancer: radiation, surgery, and medicine, and each one of these books represented one of those three therapies.
Bob Marckini is a cancer survivor, not a physician, but his background in engineering gave him an inclination to do research and the ability to understand the science and technology of prostate cancer and surgery. As a "graduate" of Loma Linda's proton treatment program, he's almost evangelistic about this approach to radiation and about this program. The book is readable, packed with facts, and—like Loma Linda itself—bathed in hope. I learned a hell of a lot from this book, and by the time I finished reading it, I was certain this was the treatment option for me. By the way, Bob is going to be here in Loma Linda in November, and I'm looking forward to hearing him speak.
However, I read on, and I'm glad I did. Dr. Patrick Walsh is a leading urologist. That identity means that he trained and has practiced as a surgeon. Coming from that background, Walsh understandably considers radical prostatectomy to be The Gold Standard. However, he is remarkably objective and gives what I consider a fair representation of the other therapies as well. He even has a section on proton radiation—somewhat remarkable since many urologists still consider it "experimental" (after a track record of almost 20 years and 14,000 patients) and even refer to it as "voodoo medicine." One admonition of Walsh's particularly sticks in my mind: "If you're going to get a prostatectomy, you must find a surgeon who is an artist." While my quotation is loose, the word "artist" is Walsh's.
Walsh's book is big, fat, and thorough, but I moved on to Strum's Primer. Dr. Strum is an internist, which means he gives special attention to hormone therapy, cryotherapy (freezing the prostate), and other methodologies that don't involve radiation or surgery. However, as is the case with Walsh, his book is thorough and relatively free of biases. One particularly interesting section of Strum's book is on diet and lifestyle issues for those who wish to be holistic about their treatment. Of course, prostates are prostates, and cancer is cancer. PSAs are PSAs, and the system of rating cancers by type and Gleason scores are the same across all therapies, so I got a lot of repetition of the basic facts, and as we teachers know very well, repetition is an effective learning device. I picked up even more nuances from Strum's book, and by the time I finished it, I was at least very capable of discussing my disease with doctors and other cancer patients. I could ask the right questions, and even understand the answers.
Well, I know I promised to continue the saga of my journey toward Loma Linda, but this is enough for this time.
I just want to add that anyone diagnosed with prostate cancer should do at least the amount of reading I did. If you don't, you are at the mercy of your physician, and I've heard way too many devastating stories to believe that's an acceptably vulnerable position. You MUST take charge of your own decision making. If you don't, you'll have only yourself to blame for the results.
This afternoon, Gantry 3 went down, so my treatment was cancelled. However, Nancy the Tech called later to tell me it was back on line again and that I could come in at 10:15 tonight, so I'll sign off and head out for my 10th treatment. And by the way, it's a month today since I left Lubbock.
Treatment count (as of midnight tonight): 10 down, 35 to go
No comments:
Post a Comment