Observation as Good as Surgery for Some Men with Prostate Cancer?
The controversy over treatment versus “watchful waiting” for prostate cancer patients seems never ending.
The National Cancer Institute just released an article in it’s July 24, 2012 NCI Cancer Bulletin showing that a 10 year old study of 731 with localized and early-stage prostate cancer showed roughly the same survival rate over a 10-year period. These men had a median age of 67.
While I’m not a doctor, I am a 10-year prostate cancer survivor whose research shows that almost every prostate cancer survivor lives at least 5 years, regardless of the stage of diagnosis.
However, the 10-year survival rate for men diagnosed when their prostate cancer already had metastasized is just 34%. In my mind, the prostate cancer conversation needs to move from treatment options to early detection and from early detection to prevention.
The PCAP Prostate Cancer Manifesto
We believe that every man has the right to know that he has prostate cancer while his prostate cancer is still fully treatable.
The PCAP Contribution to Early Detection
Effective prostate cancer treatment means early detection and the best test at present is the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.
We believe men should begin testing at age 35 and have an annual test, just as women do with the PAP test for cervical cancer and their annual breast exams.
The PCAP has created a simple tool for detecting any rising trend in a man’s PSA test number, which is highly correlated with prostate cancer presence. This tool is available at http://ProstateTracker.org.
ProstateTrackeris free to everyone. It does not collect user names so absolute privacy is assured. ProstateTracker visually displays any rising PSA trend. Users can print their PSA history and take it with them to their annual physical with their doctor.
Why Men Need to Track their PSA
- There are more new cases of prostate cancer each year than breast cancer
- Almost 30,000 men die each year from prostate cancer in the US alone
- Prostate cancer usually shows no symptoms until it is advanced
- A rising PSA trend is a reliable indicator that something unusual is taking place with a man’s prostate gland
- Prostate cancer is very treatable, but ONLY IF DETECTED EARLY
- Not all doctor’s track a man’s PSA over time
- Metatastic prostate cancer is a very unpleasant way to die
How to Make Certain You Don’t Have a Surprise Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
❑ Begin annual PSA testing at age 35
❑ Track the results in ProstateTracker
❑ Discuss any rising trend with your doctor or health care services provider immediately
❑ Carefully discuss any treatment program with your doctor
What you Need to Do Today – Right Now – Right at This Moment!
❑ Go to http://ProstateTracker.org and create your account
❑ Input your past four annual PSA results (or as many as you have)
❑ See if the trend is rising
❑ If it is, go to your doctor immediately
2 comments
Nisar
September 27, 2012
I have been active in the Atlanta area now for about two years and have seen how small dootainns can really go along way (as you mention above, Lauren). Get companies involved to donate their space or find a place with low overhead costs. I am participating in a chili cook off in the next few weekends. A brewery has provided their space at a low cost and then a few competitive friends got together to share/judge their chili cooking skills. It started a few years ago and has grown so much, and all the proceeds go towards a good cause. Who doesn’t love the opportunity to get together with friends, eat some chili, have some good laughs and all the proceeds go to helping someone else out.
Ramazan
September 30, 2012
Hi Frank: Please simply eihter print out and copy the email you received, or copy and print the text from malecare.org/blue We don’t have fliers to send out, but if we did, it would be the same text as above. Thanks for your support on this!