Monday Evening Update
I spent a couple of hours this evening reading the new version in closer detail. Here are some areas that have really been expanded and updated, including data as recently as this year, 2012.
AS - he really gets into the whole subject of AS in greater detail than I have read anywhere else. The good side, the negative side, the criteria for whom should be on it, when to stop it, etc.
Diet - muchly expanded in this edition, again, based on even more studies that have been done since the Second Edition. But the bottom line, diet (foods you should eat vs. foods you shouldn't eat) was tempered at the end by a word I use often here: Moderation. Dietary controls only have so much value in the complexity of prostate cancer
Supplements - anyone that is busy with supplements should read his opinions on supplements in general, there are some good things you can do, and some things that I read about
men doing here on their own, are not helping them, but could be hurting them in the long run.
Hormone Therapy - this is the greatest change in the entire book, much lengthier, and includes about
every possibel combination of HT use and methodology. But, and this won't make some of you guys happy, he even further cements his previous view, that early HT is not a good thing in many cases. He goes through all the different HT protocals one by one in great detail. The bottom line with Walsh in this version, there is no proven advantage to early HT use, period. He still feels that HT is a good tool when dealing with advanced prostate cancer, but quoting him here at the end of that section of the book, HT should only be used "when or if even needed". Please, don't shoot the messenger. He goes on to say, that it is often the patient that insists on the early HT, because they feel the need (at least in their minds) to be doing something at that point, and that there are doctors that just go along with what the patient is asking, because they don't want to take the time to explain otherwise. Walsh still lays out the true nature of quality of life issues associated with HT, and that being another reason not to be on it when its not really needed. (That is the exact same thing my oncologist and urologist have repeatedly told me)
(As a personal note, it gave me a greater appreciation for the approach that my oncologist is taken with me in my own battle. Many of you have made it abbuntantly clear that I should be on HT now, Walsh would completely disagree, and so does my own doctor. I would suggest before anyone comes out on the attack, read the new chapter in this book befoe making an opinion - its a mind
opener on the subject. I feel that his presentation absolutely vindicates my doctor's aproach, and gives sound medical and scientific reasons why he feels so strongly about
the subjet. Of course, that doesn't mean its going to change your mind or your approach, as we are all free to pursue our treatments the way that we feel is best for ourselves, no dispute there)
Advanced PC - also greatly expanded to cover some of the latest approaches and tools that are in the pipeline now, and soon to come.
My biggest disapointment in this edition, as with the previous, it never deals straight forward to someone in my exact situation, when both surgery and radiation has failed fast, and one is dealing with a fast climbing PSA. Most of it seems to be in conjunction with the views about
Fast PSA Velocity before dx, which as even my doctor has said numerous times, is a very difficult situation to deal with, with few good options on the table.
I personally think it was well worth the $12 bucks I spent for a new copy.
david
Post Edited (Purgatory) : 7/9/2012 9:40:58 PM (GMT-6)