Scared and confused

That all changed when he suggested surgery and told me the "possible" complications.

I am 46 and have a 30 year old wife. I enjoyed a very active sex life and find life wearing diapers to be unacceptable.

I am passed the "why me" stage and have done tremendos research into the subject.

So far, we have (I) opted for watchful waiting. Doctor was asking me to do the treatment by the end of March 2009. It's the end of March and I have not given the go ahead.

I have become convinced that I am responsible for the cancer based on my diet and that a new diet may be the answer.

Since everyone I go to has a profit motive, I have had to do a lot of reading.

My reading has told me that men with low grade cancer (Mine is A2 with a gleason 3+3) have a 2% chance per year of the cancer spreading to outside the prostate. My current doctor told me of a recent patient who waited 3 years before finally deciding on the treatment.

I have a personal friend who was on his deathbed with prostate cancer and did a body clense and is cancer free 15 years later.

My neighbor did radiation seeds 5 years ago and is now seeing symptions again.

Currently, I am on pumpkin seeds, Co Q 10, Flaxseed oil, Pomegranate supplements, Sawgrass, selinium, and zinc. I no longer eat red meat or dairy products, and have ramped up my exercise.

My reasearch tells me all of these have some hope in prevention, slowing growth and curing this cancer.

My PSA has been up and down in the last 3 years from 5.0 to 6.0 and is at 5.5 now.

What is the rush to cut me up ?

By waiting, I can give this natural approach a chance or the several treatments showing promise in stage 2 or 3 trials.

Is there anyone out there who has tried a natural approach ?

I am a fairly young man and the thought of these side effects makes it easier to gamble on death.

Honestly, I have lost my faith in modern medicine.

Robert.

Greetings, Robert.  I can only give you my experience - and I'll admit right up front that I am prejudiced toward active treatment rather than natural types of healing.  It seems to me that once you have the disease, it is not a question of "changing" diet or habits to get rid of the cancer, but undergoing some type of medical treatment whether it is surgery, radiation, seeds or something else.

You are a relatively young man - the first thing I'd suggest is to get a second opinion from a qualified medical professional just to confirm the diagnosis.  My doctors considered me young and I was almost 10 years older than you.  My desire was to get rid of the cancer and the treatment with the highest probability of getting rid of the cancer was surgery so that is what we chose.

For what it's worth, the age of your wife has nothing to do with what treatment you choose.  We recently had a thread about guys with much younger wives.  You might want to go back a couple of months and look that thread up.  Frankly, job one is to get rid of the cancer.  My wife happens to be a few months older than I am.  We had been married almost 35 years (yes we got married as mere children), but that didn't mean that our physical intimate relationship was any less important.  In fact over the years it has gotten better and better.  I'll be the first to say that after the surgery it is different - not worse - but different.  I take a pill a couple of times a week and there is more stimulation required but who is complaining about that.  We both miss the ejaculation but as my wife says clean up is a breeze.  Orgasm is different without ejaculation but most times it is very intense - sometimes more intense than before.

As to incontinence, yes there are issues.  Some of us battle it for months and years.  Some of us are fortunate and don't have issues at all.  Whichever category you end up in, there are ways to deal with it.  The most important thing is to get rid of the cancer. 

You have found a good place in this website.  There are many, many people here who have been where you are and are willing to help.  We can give you our experiences and are happy to do so, but the treatment choice is up to you, your family, and your medical professionals.  Keep us posted on what you decide to do.  David

I was 44 when diagnosed and treated. I had (and still have) a very healthy lifestyle and diet, with almost no red meat. I did all of the "prostate friendly" foods and supplements. Unfortunately, my family history of prostate cancer won out. Here are some points to consider:

1) Relatively young men in their 40's do particularly well with surgery. I sought out one of the best surgeons in the field. Ignoring the obvious consequence of having no prostate (no ejaculate), I can honestly say neither my wife nor I have any indication that I have had prostate surgery. In fact, in some ways, sex is actually BETTER after surgery, in no small part that I appreciate it even more.

2) I had read that something like 20-25% of men under "watchful waiting" eventually have their cancer advance outside of the prostate, even though they are being watched. Also, you will be subjected to further biopsies indefinitely.

I am biased toward treatment, certainly, but please be careful not to overemphasize the risks of complications and underemphasize the risks of postponing treatment. Best wishes

CaPCa

You are obviously very well read and knowledgeable as your postings indicate.

I am curious however about your comments re Flaxseed oil- many consume it for cholesterol issues-- the inference is that it can   contribute to prostate cancer. How could anyone possibly know that? Are you aware of any studies or any reputable medical authority such as AMA that agrees with these doctors you refer to. And what exactly is Dr.Ornish selling? Sometimes contoversial statements are made simply to draw attention to or advertise a product.

Selmer: Thanks for your detailed response. You describe Dr. Ornish as one of the best known doctors in America and refer to his recent studies on diet and prostate cancer involving 93 men-------hardly a "scientific" study in my opinion.

My scant research indicates that Dr. Ornish has aligned himself with Pseudoscientists like Deepak Chopra and Rustum Roy. Chopra is well-known from the talk shows and books. Rustum Roy is best known for his support of homeopathy ( quackery ).

Of course diet and lifestyle are important to ones health, but in my opinion these guys are slick con-men in it for the money and adulation, selling books and a lifestyle all under the guise of alternative medicine. They are educated and well-spoken-- snake oil salesmen nevertheless.

Hello Robert:

Like all of the others, I am really sorry you have to be here.  Having said that, and will all of the normal disclaimers, e.g. I am not a medical professional and all of this is IMHO, here are some thoughts:

1.  It's not surprising that your survey showed overwhelming support for surgery.  Most guys on this forum have selected this protocol and believe strongly in it.  Therefore, I'm sure there is somewhat of a built in bias toward that choice...just as I undoubtedly have a bit of a bias toward brachytherapy.  Also, many of the guys who have chosen surgery have the need to "get it out"...the cancer, that is.  I didn't have that psychological need.  I'm not sure why I didn't, but that perspective will affect your choice of treatment.  But, in any case, your stats look like you are a good candidate for most of the treatment options.

2.  Based on your stats, you probably have time to make a decision.  You mentioned "doctor" in the singular.  I would recommend that you see a variety of EXPERIENCED doctors in different disciplines, e.g. a surgeon, a radiation oncologist and a prostate oncologist.  Then you have the benefit of different perspectives as you make your decision.

3.  I think the body clense stuff is urban legend and personally don't believe it.

4.  Improving you diet certainly won't hurt and, indeed it may help...so why not?

5.  If you are seriously considering watchful waiting aka active surveillance aka expectant management, I would contact an expert in the field.  One of these is Dr. Ballentine Carter at Johns Hopkins.  Per his usual criteria he probably would not take you into his expectant management study because of your young age (your other stats are fine).  But, why don't you call him and at least do a telephone consult with him on this?  Clearly your current doc does not think WW is a good idea so you should discuss it with someone who has experience with patients who make this choice.

OK...what would I do in your shoes?  I would NOT make a hasty decision...I would believe (as you do) that I have some time and I personally would be concerned about the side effects of most treatment options.  I would do the things I suggested above plus look into HIFU and proton beam therapy.  Plus I would contact "realziggy" on this forum and find out how I could look into the clinical trial protocol he used.  In other words, I would WW while I looked at ALL of the options.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Tudpock