Re: new to all of this

[Guest guest]

Hi, Tina:First, I am sorry for the news you recently received. Everyone on this list has been there in one way or shape. I was diagnosed last August (12 of 12 biopsy specimens were positive). Your husband is lucky to have you by his side. My wife of almost 38 years left me upon diagnosis. I opted for radiation only at University of California San Francisco Medical Center and was blessed to work with a world class team. I just had my first PSA following the end of treatment and it is almost zero. Hang in there, ask good questions, and you will find everyone on this list very compassionate and helpful. As for reading let me recommend " Prosttate for Dummies. " It was written by the chief of urology at the University of Washington who is also a PC patient.

All the best to you and your husband.Terry BrejlaSausalito CAOn 4/22/07, Blanchard Family <tinajohn5@...

> wrote:

Hello.

My name is Tina B., and my dh of 25 years , recieved the call Thursday, that his prostate biopsy shows cancer. We go to the doctor on Tuesday, 4/24 to hear what the details are.

At this point, we don't know his PSA or Gleason results. We joined this group to gain an understanding of what treatment options are out there.

We have 5 children, so aren't concerned about sterility. 's father and brother both had prostate cancer, so that plays a part in his diagnosis and treatment. He's 45 years old.

Tina B

-- Terry Brejlawww.sfartsandlit.comil faut d'abord durer Ernest Hemingway

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina.

Sorry you had to join us. We all know what you and are going through right now with so much uncertainty.

If I could recommend a site for you to explore:

www.yananow.net

This is Terry Herberts site and is very helpful to the newly diagnosed patient.

My other favorite for the newly arrived to the battle is:

"A Primer for Prostate Cancer, The Empowered Patient's Guide" by Dr. Strum and Donna Pogliano at www.amazon.com

We are here for you. Best to you and .

"il faut d'abord durer." Hemingway

new to all of this

Hello.

My name is Tina B., and my dh of 25 years , recieved the call Thursday, that his prostate biopsy shows cancer. We go to the doctor on Tuesday, 4/24 to hear what the details are.

At this point, we don't know his PSA or Gleason results. We joined this group to gain an understanding of what treatment options are out there.

We have 5 children, so aren't concerned about sterility. 's father and brother both had prostate cancer, so that plays a part in his diagnosis and treatment. He's 45 years old.

Tina B

[Guest guest]

The link did not transmit correctly. Try this one.

www.yananow.net

"il faut d'abord durer." Hemingway

new to all of this

Hello.

My name is Tina B., and my dh of 25 years , recieved the call Thursday, that his prostate biopsy shows cancer. We go to the doctor on Tuesday, 4/24 to hear what the details are.

At this point, we don't know his PSA or Gleason results. We joined this group to gain an understanding of what treatment options are out there.

We have 5 children, so aren't concerned about sterility. 's father and brother both had prostate cancer, so that plays a part in his diagnosis and treatment. He's 45 years old.

Tina B

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina B,

Please show the following to your husband before he makes a decision

on treatment:

I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. ABOVE ALL DO NOT

PANIC AND RUSH INTO TREATMENT. Your cancer has

probably been growing in your body for several years. It will not kill

you any time soon. It is your responsibility to make the treatment

decision, but it should be a well informed decisions. Before you

make a treatment decision that you will have to live with for the

rest of your life, get a second opinion from a doctor who does not

specialize entirely doing surgery. Take the time to learn all your

options. Have several PSA tests and make a chart. The PSA

will correlate fairly closely to the cancer activity.

I had my prostate removed in 1992- but we did not have as many

options at that time. I would not choose surgery today. I believe

that there are better options. If I had it to do over, I would choose

brachytherapy, (seed implants or HDR). Of course there are

other options such as External Beam Radiation or IMRT, Proton

Beam radiation (it is one of the better therapies, but expensive, some

insurance may not cover it), Cryo Surgery and soon we will have High

Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). HIFU may be the least invasive

of all, but still not FDA approved in U.S. Many are now choosing

Laparoscopic or Da Vinci robotic assisted surgery to remove

the prostate. But it has the same unpleasant side effects of

the Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy (RRP). For advanced

PCa, there is hormone ablation and several regimens of chemo.

For moderate or rather insignificant cancers. you may be better

off just doing Watch and Wait. Pay close attention to several

PSA tests.

No matter what therapy one chooses, there are always some side

effects, No matter who does it or how it is done, removal of the

prostate has side effects, some more pronounced and unpleasant

than others.

You are wise to do a lot of research. One reason not to have surgery

is because, for me, sex was never the same after my prostate was

removed. The prostate and the seminal vesicles manufacture almost

all of the ejaculate. During orgasm, the prostate squeezes down and

forces the semen out. This is a part of the pleasure of an orgasm.

One may still be able to have an orgasm after a RP, but it may take

a lot more stimulation.

Many men who have surgery are impotent afterwards. There are

nerves on each side of the prostate that control erectile function.

These nerves are difficult to see and quite often they are severed

or severely damaged.

Another side effect of RP is that many men lose some length and

girth afterwards. Several studies have been done on this subject.

Go to www.google.com and search for Loss of Penile Length and

Radical Prostatectomy.

Many men are also incontinent for some time after surgery because

the primary bladder valve is intimately connected to the prostate. It

is often damaged. Most men do recover urinary continence by

doing Kegel exercises which strengthens the secondary valve below

the prostate. Unfortunately, a few men never regain continence. A few

of these men have to have an Artificial Urinary Sphincter implanted

in order to control their urinary output.

But even if they do learn to control normal urinary functions by doing

Kegel exercises for this valve, when they try to have an erection or

become sexually aroused, this valve will open and they may have

leakage. This valve has always opened during sexual activities

and no amount of Kegel exercises will cause it do otherwise.

The primary valve is not involved in brachytherapy, or seed

implants so there is little or no incontinence.

The impotence rate is also very low. Some men will still have an

ejaculate, though it may be much less in volume. Some men are

even able to father children after brachytherapy. After a RP, one may

be able to have sperm aspirated from the testes and used to

impregnate a woman. But it is a difficult procedure, is expensive and

may not always be successful. If a man thinks he may want to father

children after a RP, he should consider banking some of his sperm.

For more information, you can read my book below my signature. Over

20 MDs and several survivors contributed to it.

I wish you all the bestAubrey Pilgrim, DC (Ret.) Author ofA Revolutionary Approach to Prostate Cancer-Read new edition

for FREE at http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/capilgr.htmDr. E. Crawford is co-author of the revision

Hello.

My name is Tina B., and my dh of 25 years , recieved the call Thursday, that his prostate biopsy shows cancer. We go to the doctor on Tuesday, 4/24 to hear what the details are.

At this point, we don't know his PSA or Gleason results. We joined this group to gain an understanding of what treatment options are out there.

We have 5 children, so aren't concerned about sterility. 's father and brother both had prostate cancer, so that plays a part in his diagnosis and treatment. He's 45 years old.

Tina B

I wish you all the bestAubrey Pilgrim, DC (Ret.) Author ofA Revolutionary Approach to Prostate Cancer-Read the original book for FREE at: http://www.prostatepointers.org/prostate/lay/apilgrim/Read new edition for FREE at http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/capilgr.htmDr. E. Crawford is co-author of the revision See what's free at AOL.com.

[Guest guest]

Aubrey, Whenever I see you send that reply to newcomers I think back to when you sent it to me. It was the best advice I could have recieved and every time I see it I thank you for it. I hope others take it to heart and learn more before rushing to any treatment type. The word cancer makes us feel the need to rush to treatment and few realize that rushing to treatment is usually the worst thing we can do. I hope others take your advice and learn before deciding. JeffAPilgrm@... wrote: Hi Tina B, Please show the following to your husband before he makes a decision on treatment: I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. ABOVE ALL DO NOT PANIC AND RUSH INTO TREATMENT. Your cancer has probably been growing in your body for several years. It will not kill you any time soon. It is your responsibility to make the treatment decision, but it should be a well informed decisions. Before you make a treatment decision

that you will have to live with for the rest of your life, get a second opinion from a doctor who does not specialize entirely doing surgery. Take the time to learn all your options. Have several PSA tests and make a chart. The PSA will correlate fairly closely to the cancer activity. I had my prostate removed in 1992- but we did not have as many options at that time. I would not choose surgery today. I believe that there are better options. If I had it to do over, I would choose brachytherapy, (seed implants or HDR). Of course there are other options such as External Beam Radiation or IMRT, Proton Beam radiation (it is one of the

better therapies, but expensive, some insurance may not cover it), Cryo Surgery and soon we will have High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). HIFU may be the least invasive of all, but still not FDA approved in U.S. Many are now choosing Laparoscopic or Da Vinci robotic assisted surgery to remove the prostate. But it has the same unpleasant side effects of the Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy (RRP). For advanced PCa, there is hormone ablation and several regimens of chemo. For moderate or rather insignificant cancers. you may be better off just doing Watch and Wait. Pay close attention to several PSA tests. No matter what therapy one chooses, there are always some side effects, No matter who does it or how it is done, removal of the prostate has

side effects, some more pronounced and unpleasant than others. You are wise to do a lot of research. One reason not to have surgery is because, for me, sex was never the same after my prostate was removed. The prostate and the seminal vesicles manufacture almost all of the ejaculate. During orgasm, the prostate squeezes down and forces the semen out. This is a part of the pleasure of an orgasm. One may still be able to have an orgasm after a RP, but it may take a lot more stimulation. Many men who have surgery are impotent afterwards. There are nerves on each side of the prostate that control erectile function. These nerves are difficult to see and quite often they are severed or severely damaged. Another side effect of RP is

that many men lose some length and girth afterwards. Several studies have been done on this subject. Go to www.google.com and search for Loss of Penile Length and Radical Prostatectomy. Many men are also incontinent for some time after surgery because the primary bladder valve is intimately connected to the prostate. It is often damaged. Most men do recover urinary continence by doing Kegel exercises which strengthens the secondary valve below the prostate. Unfortunately, a few men never regain continence. A few of these men have to have an Artificial Urinary Sphincter implanted in order to control their urinary output. But even if they do learn to control normal urinary functions by doing Kegel exercises for this valve, when they try to have an erection or become sexually aroused, this valve will open and they may have leakage. This valve has always opened during sexual activities and no amount of Kegel exercises will cause it do otherwise. The primary valve is not involved in brachytherapy, or seed implants so there is little or no incontinence. The impotence rate is also very low. Some men will still have an ejaculate, though it may be much less in volume. Some men are even able to father children after brachytherapy. After a RP, one may be able to have sperm aspirated from the testes and used to impregnate a woman. But it is a difficult procedure, is expensive and may not always be successful. If a man thinks he may want to father children after a RP, he should consider banking some of his sperm. For more information, you can read my book below my signature. Over 20 MDs and several survivors contributed to it. I wish you all the bestAubrey Pilgrim, DC (Ret.) Author ofA Revolutionary Approach to Prostate Cancer-Read new edition for FREE at http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/capilgr.htmDr. E. Crawford is co-author of the revision In a message dated 4/22/2007 10:25:14 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, tinajohn5hughes (DOT) net writes: Hello. My name is Tina B., and my dh of 25 years , recieved the call Thursday, that his prostate biopsy shows cancer. We go to the doctor on Tuesday, 4/24 to hear what the details are. At this point, we don't know his PSA or Gleason results. We joined this group to gain an understanding of what treatment options are out there. We have 5 children, so aren't concerned about sterility. 's father and brother both had prostate cancer, so that plays a part in his diagnosis and treatment. He's 45 years old. Tina B

I wish you all the bestAubrey Pilgrim, DC (Ret.) Author ofA Revolutionary Approach to Prostate Cancer-Read the original book for FREE at: http://www.prostatepointers.org/prostate/lay/apilgrim/Read new edition for FREE at http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/capilgr.htmDr. E. Crawford is co-author of the revision See what's free at AOL.com.

Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out

new cars at Yahoo! Autos.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jeff,

Thank you very much. I just wish I had known this before my treatment.

I wish you all the bestAubrey Pilgrim, DC (Ret.) Author ofA Revolutionary Approach to Prostate Cancer-

Read it for FREE at http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/capilgr.htmDr. E. Crawford is co-author of the revision

Aubrey, Whenever I see you send that reply to newcomers I think back to when you sent it to me. It was the best advice I could have recieved and every time I see it I thank you for it. I hope others take it to heart and learn more before rushing to any treatment type. The word cancer makes us feel the need to rush to treatment and few realize that rushing to treatment is usually the worst thing we can do. I hope others take your advice and learn before deciding.Jeff

See what's free at AOL.com.